More Doggy Ado: Dems Stroking Dogs Against Romney

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

The New York Observer’s Politicker blog is leading the pack in coverage of Mitt Romney’s Walk of Seamus™. First it had this scoop last month, as the hardworking staff has noted:

Did Mitt Romney’s Dog Seek Asylum In Canada?

Mitt Romney may not have told the whole truth about the scandalous tale of his Irish Setter, Seamus, being strapped to the roof of his car during a 12-hour family road trip to Canada. According to a trusted Politicker tipster, two of Mr. Romney’s sons had an off-record conversation with reporters where they revealed the dog ran away when they reached their destination on that infamous journey in 1983.

As opposed to living to “a ripe old age” after being given to Romney’s sister upon the family’s return from Canada.

Now comes this from Politicker:

Who’s Really Behind Dogs Against Romney?

Throughout his quest for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney has been haunted by the infamous tale of the time he put his dog on the roof of his car during a long road trip and Dogs Against Romney, a protest group dedicated to keeping the story at the forefront of the campaign conversation. In the past month, Dogs Against Romney garnered a dramatic surge of attention. However, while much of the coverage of Dogs Against Romney characterized the group as a purely grassroots movement, its recent notoriety got a substantial boost from the behind-the-scenes support of Americans United for Change, a super PAC-like group with extensive ties to the Democratic establishment.

The tail wagging the Dogs Against Romney?

Stranger things have happened.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More Seamus Shame For Mitt Romney

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

First there were the reports in 2007 about Mitt Romney strapping the family dog to the roof (ruff?) of the family station wagon for a 1983 trip to Canada.

Then there was this Fox News drecksplanation in Romney’s current presidential run:

(An airtight kennel? Really? That means Seamus is dead before they hit the New Hampshire border.)

Now this, from Fishbowl DC:

As we continue our in-depth coverage of the “CrateGate” sage [sic] involving Mitt Romney’s dog, Seamus, Politicker cracks open what might be the most interesting part of the debacle thus far. We’ve told you all about Seamus and the road trip from Hell, but there might be more to the story than just the ride on the roof of the car. The official story has been that Romney gave the dog away to his sister after that trip. But, Politicker says that might not be the whole truth.

“According to a trusted Politicker tipster, two of Mr. Romney’s sons had an off-record conversation with reporters where they revealed the dog ran away when they reached their destination on that infamous journey in 1983.”

Seamus on Romney if that’s true.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Anthony Shadid, R.I.P.

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

The world lost a great journalist when New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid died all too soon yesterday in Syria. That he was in Syria at all tells you much of what you need to know about this intrepid war-and-peace correspondent.

From the Times:

At Work in Syria, Times Correspondent Dies

Anthony Shadid, a gifted foreign correspondent whose graceful dispatches for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Associated Press covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict and turmoil, died, apparently of an asthma attack, on Thursday while on a reporting assignment in Syria. Tyler Hicks, a Times photographer who was with Mr. Shadid, carried his body across the border to Turkey.

And that last sentence tells you all you need to know about the Times’s intrepid photographer Tyler Hicks, a magnet for wartime drama (see his 2011 Commencement Address/Slideshow at Boston University here).

Shadid’s death leaves a gaping hole in what has arguably been the most compelling Middle East coverage anywhere (figuring in the redoubtable C.J. Chivers’ reporting as well).

Anthony Shadid, dead at 43. He will be greatly missed.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twitter’s MisAPPropriation Of Your Private Data

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

The Los Angeles Times gets this week’s Long Subhed Award (pat. pending) for this piece (via Politico’s Playbook):

Smartphone apps dial up privacy worries

Undisclosed gathering of smartphone users’ address book data by Twitter and other social networking companies brings heightened scrutiny by privacy advocates and lawmakers.

Disturbing lede:

A new furor has erupted over digital privacy concerns following disclosures that Twitter Inc. and other social networking companies are reaching into people’s smartphones and retrieving their personal contact information without getting explicit permission.

Twitter acknowledged this week that anyone who used its “Find Friends” feature on iPhones and Android phones was also sending every phone number and email address in his or her address book to the company, something that was not made clear to users.

To be clear: Nothing is clear to users. Have you ever read the Terms of Service of any digital platform you use? They could have the rights to your first-born child for all you know.

But know this: Your online data is being strip-mined like West Virginia. And news reports like the LA Times piece are just the tip of the priceberg.

Originally posted on the Newer! Improveder! Sneak ADtack!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Seamus Gets A Ride On NPR

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Call him National Public Roofdog.

Famous Seamus – Mitt Romney’s ill-treated Irish setter – is having himself quite a week.

From Wednesday’s New York Times:

‘Seamus on the Roof’ Prompts Howls of Protest

Mitt Romney may have a new constituency to worry about: dogs and dog lovers.

The group “Dogs Against Romney” held a protest outside the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York on Tuesday afternoon to bring attention to the story of how 25 years ago, Mr. Romney drove from Boston to Canada on vacation with his dog, Seamus, in a carrier strapped to the roof of the family station wagon — a tale that political commentators and opponents have seized on it as a window into Mr. Romney’s character. About a dozen people stood outside Madison Square Garden with signs reading “Mitt is Mean.”

Now comes NPR’s dogged reporting:

Why Romney’s Shaggy Dog Story Won’t Die

It’s the story that continues to, well, dog Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. And, according to some experts, it could jeopardize his standing with voters who care about animals. And yes, it turns out, that is not an insignificant voting bloc.

The incident happened back in 1983, and it’s been public since 2007. But it seems that only now a critical mass of voters is hearing it for the first time.

The dog story was told by a Romney son and published by The Boston Globe as part of a multipart series on the former Massachusetts governor. The anecdote was intended to highlight his problem-solving skills.

It seems that during a 12-hour car ride from Massachusetts to Canada back in 1983, there wasn’t enough room in the family station wagon for the five Romney sons as well as Seamus, the Irish setter. So Romney put the dog in a crate on the roof instead.”

Bad choice.

As everyone from Dogs Against Romney to Pet Lovers for Obama will tell you.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ford’s SI Swimsuit Supermuddle

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition always generates supermodel sparks, but this year’s offering features a extra wrinkle (Quick – get me Photoshop!).

From Adweek’s Adfreak blog:

Ford Sneaks a Fake Swimsuit Model Into ‘Sports Illustrated’

Dalena Henriques may not be real, but she loves the Mustang

Sports Illustrated‘s annual swimsuit issue hits newsstands today. And while it’s full of scantily clad models in bikinis, one young woman is not who she appears. As Creativity reports, a Ford print spread in the issue shows a beauty shot of the 2013 Mustang, along with a partial view of a model identified in the caption as “Dalena Henriques.”

The ad:

More from Adfreak:

There’s no website address, but readers who are interested enough to Google her will likely end up onDalenaHenriques.com (mostly because there’s literally nothing else about this woman online). But instead of more information about her, the site simply shows more beauty shots of the Mustang, and more partial shots of Ms. Henriques, along with some pithy captions.

Nothing to get all pithy about – just stealth marketing as usual.

Right?

Originally posted on the Newer! Improveder! Sneak ADtack!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let The $4 Billion Rumpus Begin! (Full Metal Racket Edition)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

This morning, The Daily Caller published what was essentially an NRA press release under the headline, “Gunny wants you to register to vote!”

Opening paragraphs:

Too many Americans, for one reason or another, have chosen to sit on the sidelines by not registering to vote. Unfortunately, this includes too many American gun owners. It’s part of my job to do something about that.

That’s why the NRA Freedom Action Foundation is wasting no time this year to launch our massive “Trigger the Vote” voter registration drive.

The launch includes a heavy dose of television ads, starting with this one featuring the actor R. Lee Ermey, Sgt. Hartman from “Full Metal Jacket” (tip o’ the pixel to Politico Playbook):

 

That ad’s getting a “six-figure cable buy,” according to Politico, with more TV spots to come featuring Chuck Norris, Ted Nugent, and others.

(You’ll find a whole bunch of Trigger the Vote spots here.)

This video from Slate lays out the NRA’s strategy in clear, if dramamine-inducing, terms:

 

Give ’em a few rough-and-tumble icons, register ’em young, get ’em to protect Second Amendment rights.

Sounds like a bull’s-eye to us.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Different Worlds™ (Fox News/MSNBC Mirth Control Edition)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Further proof that cable news networks exist in entirely different information universes,  Contraception Division

MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell Tuesday night:

With 266 days to go before the presidential election, the Republicans in Congress have come up with the 266th reason to vote for Pres. Obama in November: Birth Control.

It wasn’t on anyone’s list until last week, when the Republicans thought they’d found the perfect wedge issue, but then Pres. Obama masterfully sidestepped their attack with a deft and minor adjustment to the new regulation mandating contraception coverage in health insurance policies.

Sarah Palin on Fox Newshound Greta van Susteren’s show Tuesday Night:

 

Money quote from van Susteren:

I’m sort of stunned at how poorly this was thought out by the Obama administration – that they didn’t think that one step ahead.

So – deft and minor adjustment by the Obama administration? Or poorly thought out policy?

Depends on which universe you inhabit, apparently.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Was Dr. Ads Really Hatched?

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

From Sneak ADtack!:

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let The $4 Billion Rumpus Begin! (Mitt Romney & The Detroit Wheels Edition)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Campaign Outsider

Mitt Romney is to the Republican presidential nomination what Ramen noodles are to college students: The candidate of last resort.

As such, the Michigan primary could well be Romney’s Last Supper, at least according to the Washington Post:

For Romney, the contest is a chance to show that he can connect with working-class voters, who have been lukewarm toward him. He has a built-in advantage in a state where he grew up and his father was a popular auto executive and governor. But for those same reasons, a defeat here could be devastating.

“If Romney loses Michigan, the perception is that it’s just a huge loss for him, one that could really cost him the nomination,” said Steve Mitchell, a Republican pollster based in East Lansing.

And from The Daily Beast:

Mitt Romney’s Michigan surrogate Rep. Bill Huizenga is confident in his candidate, but thinks “it’d be a huge embarrassment if he’s not able to win the Michigan primary.” Tuesday alone, Romney has penned a Detroit News op-ed and released a new TV ad aimed at proving his Michiganness to Michigan voters.

Slight problem: The feeling is not Mittual.

From Politico’s Morning Score:

62% OF MICHIGANDERS DO NOT CONSIDER ROMNEY A MICHIGANDER: Only 26% do, according to the PPP numbers out yesterday. “Only 39% have a favorable opinion of George Romney with a 46% plurality having no opinion about him,” Democratic pollster Tom Jensen writes. “Romney really doesn’t have some great reservoir of goodwill in Michigan to fall back on.” http://bit.ly/ypaFEc

So Romney will fall back on what he always does: The Super PAChyderm Restore Our Future, which truncated Newt Gingrich in Iowa and Florida and has now turned its attention to Rick Santorum in this TV spot (for starters):

 

The ad is currently running in Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio. Restore Our Future is also reportedly buying airtime in Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi – obviously intended to blunt both Santorum’s and Gingrich’s appeal in the South.

There will be blood in the GOP presidential primary over the next four weeks.

The question is, whose?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments