TDS: Terror Attack + Election = GOP

In light of McCain's chief strategist Charlie Black's breathtakingly asinine remark about another terrorist attack prior to the '08 election (I'll get to that in a minute), John Stewart took aim at the GOP's tried-and-true election strategy last night. And, Action!...

"Why is it that a terror attack helps Republicans? Well, it's quite simple. A terror attack, when added to an election, equals Republican. Why is that? Let"s show our work. First we have to solve for "R." Now, if you add 7 1/2 years of Republican administration, times the five years we've been at war, which has divided the nation, add in the government's incompetent response to the domestic disaster of Katrina, minus the equity in your home that's disappeared, plus the price of oil squared, over the boon that the Iraq War has been to terrorist recruiting, times torture, minus the resources we could have been using in Afghanistan, plus the resources we could have been using to catch bin Laden, carry the Cheney and...

Daaaaamn! I su-huuucked at Math in high school (and college) and this equation totally makes sense.

And Stewart isn't totally off his rocker, either, considering Black's, comments in a recent interview with Fortune that a terrorist attack would be a "big advantage" for McCain. To read the entire interview, click Here. An excerpt:

On national security McCain wins. We saw how that might play out early in the campaign, when one good scare, one timely reminder of the chaos lurking in the world, probably saved McCain in New Hampshire, a state he had to win to save his candidacy - this according to McCain's chief strategist, Charlie Black. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an "unfortunate event," says Black. "But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us." As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. "Certainly it would be a big advantage to him," says Black.

Just curious, but if saying something patently absurd like that isn't a fire-able offense, then what is?

McCain's response to Black's comments:

Wow, he "strenuously disagrees." Well blow me down, Popeye.

Is it me, or are Republican politicians okay with just saying whatever comes to their minds, then later backtracking by saying, "I don't know the context?" McCain is big on using the word "context," when he knows full well in this instance in what "context" the remark was made. Presumably, the two were in the same room when the interview with Fortune took place. That is, unless you believe that John McCain and Charlie Black were interviewed in separate rooms. And I don't believe that for a second.

This is simply another McCain lie that he'll presumably get away with, as usual. I strenuously think the man is full of it. No, check that, he's lying, plain and simple.

So much for running a positive campaign. Then again, who honestly believed that cock and bull in the first place?

Crooks & Liars has more on Charlie Black's disgusting track record, a record I would think that McCain wouldn't want the American public to examine about his chief strategist a mere 131 days before the election.

Corporate stupidity 101: Turner Broadcasting

I couldn't help but be amused at the furor that swept Boston and a few other cities this week when suspicious electronic devices (above) were discovered throughout the city.

But, after reflecting on it for a moment, I can certainly understand why first responders and city officials in Boston and other major cities responded the way they did.

One would think that in a post-9-11 world, major corporations, with millions of dollars at their disposal, could think of a better way to promote a television program. (Here's an idea - how about television?)

The devices were intended to advertise a show on the Cartoon Network, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball distributed by Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc. But in Boston, the signs, some with protruding wires, sent a wave of panic across the city Wednesday, bringing out bomb squads and prompting officials to shut down highways, bridges and part of the Charles River.

"Just a little over a mile away from the placement of the first device, a group of terrorists boarded airplanes and launched an attack on New York City," police Commissioner Edward Davis said in an interview with AP.

"The city clearly did not overreact. Had we taken any other steps, we would have been endangering the public," he said.

Davis said that as calls were coming in about the electronic signs in rapid succession Wednesday afternoon, police also received reports of two devices that resembled pipe bombs and had a confirmed report of a man walking down the hallways of New England Medical Center making a rambling speech about "God getting us today" and "This would be a sorry day."

Boston officials found 38 blinking electronic signs on bridges, a subway station, a hospital, Fenway Park, and other high-profile spots in and around the city.

In New York, officers went to various locations and found only two of the devices - both attached to a highway overpass. Police said it did not appear it was targeting any landmarks such as the subway, Empire State Building or Brooklyn Bridge.

"People can be smug and say all you have to do is look at this and know this is not an explosive device, but the truth of the matter is that you can't tell what it is until it's disrupted," Davis said.
He's right.

In Boston, two men were charged with placing devices around the city. Above, Sean Stevens, 28, left, and Peter Berdovsky, 27, jump down stairs as they leave Charlestown District Court in Boston yesterday after pleading not guilty to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. The two men, who authorities say placed electronic advertising devices around the city, were released on $2,500 cash bond.

However, I'm not without a sense of humor, either, and I'm not alone. The men had a few supporters outside the courthouse yesterday. Above, Tracy O'Connor (left) and Jennifer Mason, hold signs outside Charlestown District Court in Boston yesterday in support of Stevens and Berdovsky.

In the end, though, I agree with Boston Police Commissioner Davis. Can you imagine if the city had ignored the devices and, heaven forbid, they turned out to be real bombs?

Imagine the outrage then.

People had really ought to be smarter when considering publicity stunts to promote anything.

Sometimes television executives have the common sense of a newborn, and they are people who get paid high salaries to come up with these ideas. This is the best that they can do?

Perhaps I missed my calling.