By Zac Byer, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET Thank you very much for all of your responses to my first update from New Hampshire. I will eat crow and admit I was too quick to anoint Romney the GOP nominee, but then again, most did. Now, with no clear front runner, we’ve finally got some real excitement on our hands. Sitting on a train to Washington, DC from where I’ll leave for Florida tomorrow, I wanted to send out a few thoughts post-South Carolina and pre-Sunshine State.
-Everything changed in Myrtle Beach last Monday night. Sitting in the debate hall that night felt like being at the Palestra for a Penn-Villanova basketball game back when both teams consistently won games. The seating arrangement made for an interesting dynamic — the back risers were like the bleachers at Yankee Stadium, and the front seats were like the corporate boxes. You heard golf claps from the front, and booing, jeering, and hissing from the back. But when Newt Gingrich hit back at moderator Juan Williams’ race-baiting, suggesting young people get a job to learn the value of a hard-earned dollar, both sections erupted. Until that night in South Carolina, there had not been a standing ovation at a debate since 1980. And that standing ovation, well-deserved or not, lit the fire under Gingrich that he hasn’t felt since December. Something I found fascinating that wasn’t shown on TV was the candidates’ interactions during the commercial breaks. Santorum, Gingrich, Paul, and Perry (still a candidate at the time) would hurry down into the audience to glad-hand, take pictures, and chat with supporters. Mitt Romney didn’t follow suit. Instead, he walked off the stage and stopped at the bottom of the steps, where his wife Ann quickly met him. Romney spoke to nobody but her during the break, effectively cordoning himself off from anybody who wanted to shake his hand and say “Go get ’em.” His seclusion during those five minute breaks was a microcosm of his interactions with the voters during this election cycle — disinterested, unengaged, and lacking energy.
Read the rest of…
Zac Byer: On to Florida!
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET Sundance Film Festival is going on AS YOU READ THIS. /Film has been killing it with the coverage. I’m linking their front page, as there will be plenty of stuff for you to read there. I seriously might as well just shut the post down after this one link, this is plenty to read. [/Film]
This isn’t really about film, but the BBC television program Sherlock is perhaps the greatest item which involves film being made right now. Anyone who has managed to keep up with the show (its only out in Britain right now) is surely wondering about the possibility of a third season. I am happy to report that it will happen. And the two main guys will be back! [Deadline]
They are making a film about Linda Lovelace, the porn actress-turned-anti-porn-vigilante. (Surely porn will make it into one of these debates Jonathan is keen on soon, right?) Amanda Seyfried is playing Linda Lovelace, and there are now some pictures of that happening. [Movie Blog]
Spike Lee is making waves at Sundance with comments regarding the lack of diversity in cinema. I have to say, I agree with him. [WaPo]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET It looks like there’s hope for the media after all. New data reveals that sales for tablet computers and e-readers were up this holiday season. [NY Times]
More news in the U.K. phone hacking scandal. News International is now facing an FBI investigation after it was discovered that the organization was hacking actor Jude Law’s phone while he was on United States soil. [The Telegraph]
Spin magazine tries something a little different: reviewing music through Twitter. [AdWeek]
Some moviegoers in Liverpool are asking for refunds for The Artist, an awards season frontrunner, because they didn’t realize it would be a silent film. [Time]
The Poynter Institute analyzes the Twitter coverage surrounding Joe Paterno’s death. [Poynter Institute]
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
BREAKING NEWS: The date for Fashion’s Night Out 2012 has been set for September 6th! [The Cut]
MAC and The Vera Company team up for a spring collection! [The Cut]
Project Runway‘s Christian Siriano is now designing bridal wear! [Glamour]
Lavin sunglasses, anyone? [Racked]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
U.S. Senator Rand Paul of KY gets into a disagreement over body scanning with the TSA at the Nashville airport. [The New York Times]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET Legendary football coach Joe Paterno passed away on Sunday, yet rumors of the coach’s death were flying around Twitter on Saturday. How did the mass media commit such an error? [Washington Post]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Warren Buffett’s long quest to build a geothermal plant. [Forbes]
What is the point of private equity? [Fortune]
Why the Keystone Pipeline may still be built after all. [CNBC]
Rick Perr’s failed presidential campaign was just never quite ready for prime time. [The Washington Post]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET As cheap solar panels come in from China it is important to ask whether it is more important to be ‘green’ or ‘red, white, and blue’. [npr.org]
Many people have opinions on genetically modified vegetables and foods, but what about when it comes to liquors. Is it worth it for a distilled liquor to be organic?[grist.com]
How many parking spaces do we really need? We need to change the way we think about parking in the US. [nytimes.com]
The story of the Catalina Fox, near extinction a decade ago it is now thriving thanks to rehabilitation efforts. [latimes.com]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET Two of the four quarterbacks set to play in the conference championship games have been under the weather. Eli Manning had some kind of stomach virus and Tom Brady was suffering from a left shoulder injury. Reports indicate they are both back practicing. The lack of practice time is unlikely to have any effect on these two veterans. However, both the injury and illness will be worth keeping in mind as we go into Sunday’s NFC and AFC championship games. [ESPN New York][ESPN Boston]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jan 19, 2012 at 4:30 PM ET
Surely by now you have heard that some sites around the Internet went black yesterday in protest of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Here is a list of some major websites that participated in the protest. [Geek Sugar]
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales spoke to CNN regarding his website going black in protest of the bill. [CNN]
Here is a photo gallery showing what the blacked out sites looked like. There are some pretty cool designs in there. [LA Times]
Results are in: SOPA blackouts led to 10 Senators withdrawing support of the bill. [NY Times]
Support for PIPA is also cracking. 18 Senators are opposing the bill after Internet blackouts. [ars technica]
Were the blackouts an “abuse of power?” [Twitter]
|
The Recovering Politician Bookstore
|
