There is no denying it... I hear it all the time from liberals who are allowing themselves to be sucked into the right-wing promotion - mostly based on manipulated stats and lies - that Barack Obama is heading down the drain.

As Cher spoke John Patrick Shanley's words, "Snap out of it!!!"

It is finally setting in for me, just what is so pathetic about the party to which I have been affiliated since I first registered to vote. After Nixon, the perceived failure of Carter's presidency, the Reagan Revolution, and a stunning eight years of Bush II, liberals in this country are acting like children who have been taken to the woodshed and whipped raw and threatened with more if they dare told anyone.

I hate to be unsympathetic to my brethren, but grow the fuck up already.

“We” have already made the huge mistake of indulging Hillary Clinton’s horrible abuse of her own party’s goals in pursuit of even more ego rewards than she and her husband racked up over the last 16 years. McCain could never undermine the new face, Obama, like a fellow Democrat could. McCain could never have made him as much an outsider amongst half his party.

“We” are turning into that character in every high school movie that so desperately wants to be with the in-crowd that we betray our closest ally, all too childishly ready to assume that our ally will not get us where we were so wanting to go anyway… after all, if we are losers, so must our friends be losers.

Pathetic.

Republican conventions have been delusional… I mean, how crazy is it to have Ahnuld get up and proclaim that he is a Nixon Republican? But on the other side, Dems have been apologizing for everything like a bunch of losers. Now we’re apologizing for Obama being popular, smart, being the only one in this position (including the current president) to stick with an Iraq timetable which they are ALL now supporting… to be against the war from the start… to take the heat for being willing to negotiate with enemies in Iran which is now being done by Bush Administration… to push out lobbyists from his process… to be serious about pushing the oil companies… to actually have a profile that the rest of the world welcomes after 8 years of Bush... etc, etc, etc.

We are apologizing for our beliefs!

We are IDIOTS!

Stop. Breathe. And grow up now. Rush Limbaugh doesn’t speak for America unless we treat him like he speaks for America. Are we really so weak that we get queasy when Obama doesn’t pander to the Christian right about abortion and McCain does? Shouldn’t we be enraged when McCain lies and lies and lies about Obama’s tax plan?

Why don’t liberals have the courage of our convictions?

“Here we go again…”

I guess “we” get what we deserve sometimes.

Fortunately, Obama doesn’t seem to be listening to our loser clock. He doesn’t seem to feel the need to pander by asking Clinton to VP. He isn’t manufacturing celebrity. He is not a messiah. He is a politician. But he is smart and motivated and unlike so many of my sisters and brothers, he keeps moving forward. And unlike the first Clinton, I think he will stick to his principles in office too.

It’s hard to be the frontrunner. It’s hard not to make fun of McCain in ways similar to the infantile crap McRove has used to go after Obama in recent weeks. It’s hard to be black in America but not being able to break out the race card like McCain breaks out being a P.O.W. 4 decades ago.

If you want anything worth having, it’s very likely to be hard.

It’s time for Democrats to grow up, grow a shell, and stop waiting to lose. It’s embarrassing already.

With his latest attention-grabbing letter posted to his huge email list, Michael Moore makes a modest proposal to Caroline Kennedy, who heads Barack Obama's vice-presidential search committee: choose herself.

Dear Caroline,

We've never met, so I hope you don't find this letter too presumptuous or inappropriate. As its contents involve the public's business, I am sending this to you via the public on the Internet. I knew your brother John. He was a great guy, and I know he would've had a ball during this thrilling and historic election year. We all miss him dearly.

Barack Obama selected you to head up his search for a vice presidential candidate. It appears we may be just days (hours?) away from learning who that choice will be.

The media is reporting that Senator Obama has narrowed his alternatives to three men: Joe Biden, Evan Bayh and Tim Kaine. They're all decent fellows, but they are far from the core of what the Obama campaign has been about: Change. Real change. Out with the old. And don't invade countries that pose no threat to us.

Senators Biden and Bayh voted for that invasion and that war, the war Barack ran against, the war Barack reminded us was the big difference between him and Senator Clinton because she voted for the war and he spoke out against it while running for Senate (a brave and bold thing to do back in 2002).

For Obama to place either of these senators on the ticket would be a huge blow to the millions that chose him in the primaries over Hillary. He will undercut one of the strongest advantages he has over the Hundred-Year War senator, Mr. McCain. By anointing a VP who did what McCain did in throwing us into this war, Mr. Obama will lose the moral high ground in the debates.

As for Governor Kaine of Virginia, his big problem is, well, Obama's big problem -- who is he? The toughest thing Barack has had to overcome -- and it will continue to be his biggest obstacle -- is that too many of the voters simply don't know him well enough to vote for him. The fact that Obama is new to the scene is both one of his most attractive qualities AND his biggest drawback. Too many Americans, who on the surface seem to like Barack Obama, just don't feel comfortable voting for someone who hasn't been on the national scene very long. It's a comfort level thing, and it may be just what keeps Obama from winning in November ("I'd rather vote for the devil I know than the devil I don't know").

What Obama needs is a vice presidential candidate who is NOT a professional politician, but someone who is well-known and beloved by people across the political spectrum; someone who, like Obama, spoke out against the war; someone who has a good and generous heart, who will be cheered by the rest of the world; someone whom we've known and loved and admired all our lives and who has dedicated her life to public service and to the greater good for all.

That person, Caroline, is you.

I cannot think of a more winning ticket than one that reads: "OBAMA-KENNEDY."

Caroline, I know that nominating yourself is the furthest idea from your mind and not consistent with who you are, but there would be some poetic justice to such an action. Just think, eight years after the last head of a vice presidential search team looked far and wide for a VP -- and then picked himself (a move topped only by his hubris to then lead the country to near ruin while in office) -- along comes Caroline Kennedy to return the favor with far different results, a vice president who helps restore America to its goodness and greatness.

Caroline, you are one of the most beloved and respected women in this country, and you have been so admired throughout your life. You chose a life outside of politics, to work for charities and schools, to write and lecture, to raise a wonderful family. But you did not choose to lead a private life. You have traveled the world and met with its leaders, giving you much experience on the world stage, a stage you have been on since you were a little girl.

The nation has, remarkably (considering our fascination with celebrity), left you alone and let you live your life in peace. (It's like, long ago, we all collectively agreed that, with her father tragically gone, a man who died because he wanted to serve his country, we would look out for her, we would wish for her to be happy and well, and we would have her back. But we would let her be.)

Now, I am breaking this unwritten code and asking you to come forward and help us in our hour of need. So many families are hurting, losing their homes, going bankrupt with health care bills, seeing their public schools in shambles and living with this war without end. This is a historic year for women, from Hillary's candidacy to the numerous women running for the House and Senate. This is the year that a woman should be on the Democratic ticket. This is the year that both names on that ticket should be people OUTSIDE the party machine. This is the year millions of independents and, yes, millions of Republicans are looking for something new and fresh and bold (and you are the Kennedy Republicans would vote for!).

This is the moment, Caroline. Seize it! And Barack, if you're reading this, you probably know that she is far too humble and decent to nominate herself. So step up and surprise us again. Step up and be different than every politician we have witnessed in our lifetime. Keep the passion burning amongst the young people and others who have been energized by your unexpected, unpredicted, against-all-odds candidacy that has ignited and inspired a nation. Do it for all those reasons. Make Caroline Kennedy your VP. "Obama-Kennedy." Wow, does that sound so cool.

Caroline, thanks for letting me intrude on your life. How wonderful it will be to have a vice president who will respect the Constitution, who will support (instead of control) her president, who will never let her staff out a CIA agent, and who will never tell her country that she is "currently residing in an undisclosed location."

Say it one more time: "OBAMA-KENNEDY." A move like that might send a message to the country that the Democrats would actually like to win an election for once.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

First, if anyone at EW is really whining about the Harry Potter date move, they should line up with Moriarty in the shut-the-fuck-you-whinny-spoiled-brat line. The only thing more stupid than EW whining is media pretending it matters... or buying into the bull that EW and WB don't have a "special" relationship... oy!!!

Thing is, like AICN boycotting Star Wars, EW could attack Potter every week from now until the bitter end and it would by cost the franchise a single greenback. Boo Hoo! The "problem" has gotten more media attention for EW than it's generated on its own in years.

NEXT - It doesn't matter whether McCain sat in the front row of the Obama section of the public chat the other night. And it doesn't matter if media thinks McCain or Obama "won." What matters is that Obama answered the questions directly and with thought and McCain stump speeched his way through an past almost every question.

The question of this election becomes clearer... does America want a thinker in the presidency or a guy who tells stories that are well off point, throwing out plattitudes, some lies, and distraction? They wanted the latter for the last two elections. They may prefer it this time. We'll see.

Meanwhile, if McCain wins, it will be the most profoundly sad choice of my adult life of elections (this is my 7th cycle). W is nothing in comparison... because Gore and Kerry were true car wrecks as candidates. Obama can only lose to lies. Of course McCain is locked into 40% of the vote. But the rest? To push away from a candidate of ideas and sincerity based on utter crap about being too thoughtful and too smart and too popular?

Then again, on spite of endless Republican spin, McCain has not make significant incursions into Obama's poll numbers anymore than Hillary Clinton had a way to win the nomination after losing Texas' delegate count. But the lie can be powerful. And it is time for the left to start calling out the lies instead of cowering like a child who fears another unexpected beating.

Finally, the reality is actually one sided...

This Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed movie trailer treatment pits Barack Obama against John McCain, with some help from ally Hillary Clinton. Guess who comes out ahead?

This Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed movie trailer treatment pits Barack Obama against John McCain, with some help from ally Hillary Clinton. Guess who comes out ahead?

Hello again everyone, Jonathan here to talk about the Best Actress Oscar. You might as well start classifying it as the Best Impersonation Oscar because more than any other time in Oscar history that's what it's become. And that's why I don't think Anne Hathaway stands a chance to win. I agree with Nathaniel, she stands a good chance at picking up a nomination. But award? No way. Nothing to do with her talent you understand. It's just that her character is fictional and that just doesn't seem to play anymore with the Oscars.

It's never been like this before in Oscar history. Last year I successfully predicted in the fall (it's on my blog so there's proof) Marion Cotillard would win the Oscar for Best Actress for La Vie en Rose. Why did I predict her? Here's why: 1999 Hillary Swank as Brandon Teena, real person. 2000 - Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich, real person. 2002 - Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf, real person. 2003 - Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos, real person. 2005 - Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, real person. 2006 - Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, real person. In the last nine tries only two (Halle Berry for Monster's Ball and Hillary Swank for Million Dollar Baby) fictional character portrayals have won the Oscar. Go through Oscar history and you'll not find another run like that. The Best Actor award hasn't gone the same way. Yes they had three consecutive years of "Real Person" Oscars (Ray, Capote, The Last King of Scotland) but over the same nine year period fictional characters still lead 5 -4.

So who's Best Actress this year? I don't know yet but I'd put more money on the "Real Person" portrayals than any of the others. Sophie Okonedo seems like a top candidate. The movie, Skin, is a true story and a harrowing one filled with, I'm assuming, pathos and drama. But she's unknown you say. And how many people knew Marion Cotillard before last year? And when it comes to "harrowing story" Oscar doesn't seem to care much for whether you're known or not starting with 1999 when only Beverly Hills 90210 fans knew who Hillary Swank was.

Drew Barrymore's another possibility for Grey Gardens but I'm not convinced she'll be good enough in the role or that the Oscar crowd particularly likes her. Emily Watson is playing another historical character from the Stalin period in Within the Whirlwind so that's a possibility too. But for now I'd say the "Real Person" front runner is Sophie. And the "Fictional Person" front runner? I'll say Kate Winslet. Maybe Meryl Streep for Doubt but Oscar seems to accept that Streep has proven herself, has her Oscars and thus they are satisfied to simply keep nominating her rather than awarding her. So, yeah, I'll stick with Sophie and Kate as my two front runners. For now.