News for September 15

Satire That’s Hard to Swallow

Two vendors selling “Obama Waffles” were asked to leave the 2008 Values Voter Summit this weekend. The waffle mix, which featured stereotypical language and images of Democratic presidental nominee Sen. Barack Obama, were selling for $10 each. Alternative media picked up the story and reported on the summit itself. Is a product such as this satire? Or does it cross the line? Links include:

Think Progress |  “Its creators, Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, said it was meant as “political satire,” and sold the box for $10 from a booth at the Family Research Council event. CNN’s Lou Dobbs stopped by the booth and exclaimed, “My wife will love this!” A photo shows Dobbs with a box of the mix in his hand.”

Talk to Action |  “While reviewing the caricatures, this post will also analyze the “humorous” text on the waffle box, and compare it to the content of conference speakers at the Values Voter Summit. Was the Obama Waffle box an anomoly in this Christian Right event?”

Christianity Today |  “Spokesman for Family Research Council J.P. Duffy said that those in the organization did not look closely at the box until someone brought it up. Duffy said the executive director thinks the box is racist and if Joe Biden were portrayed, it would have been fine.”

Despite Record Month, Obama Needs More Cash  |  Politico

Obama is attempting to become the first candidate to privately finance the general election phase of his campaign, and his August performance seems to be a good start. … But the August sum came after a full-court press by the campaign and in the midst of the Democratic National Convention, historically an easier time to generate donations because the party base is focused and united.

• Related link: Big Bucks  |  Matthew Yglesias

Thank God for Barbara Walters?  |  The Nation

On a day when Obama launched fresh, stronger ads taking on McCain, Sarah Palin’s husband was subpoenaed because of “Trooper-gate” and Palin finally admitted that she had indeed once supported the “Bridge to Nowhere”–The View made the front page of the New York Times website. Why? Because unlike so many other mainstream journalists right now, Barbara Walters actually did her job.

The Last Temptation of Keith  |  Talk to Action

By giving into the temptation to mock, (MSNBC newscaster Keith) Olbermann ceased to provide an effective rebuke to the religious right. In fact, he makes our job more difficult. There is certainly much to question about Governor Palin’s beliefs – especially to the extent that they inform her politics to the point of factious behavior, and dubious if not dangerous public policies.  But ridiculing a subjective religious practice only distracts from our ability to expose which of those beliefs would adversely affect this potential vice-president from governing in a constitutional manner.

Newspapers Deliver ‘Terror’ to Subscribers  |  Editor & Publisher

The arrival of tens of millions of DVDs of a controversial film on doorsteps around the nation — but almost exclusively in election “swing states” — via newspaper home delivery continues this weekend, with explanatory articles and subscriber feedback appearing on some of the papers’ Web sites. …  Despite some protests from Muslim and liberal activists, the newspapers — all hard hit by drops in ad revenue in recent months — have explained that the DVD does not violate their usual standards.