Blitz of Obama Books Coming

Good lord, they're going to have to devote a whole Dewey decimal just for Obama books.

"The White House has practically been overrun by journalists pumping top officials for behind-the-scenes details for a growing roster of behind-the-scenes books," the Washington Post reports.

"The blitz has created complications for presidential aides, who have a country to run, and frustrations for the authors, who are clamoring for face time with their sources."

New books are coming from Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, NBC's Chuck Todd, MSNBC's Richard Wolffe, The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and David Maraniss, the New York Times' Jodi Kantor and New Yorker writer Ryan Lizza.

Out next week: The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama by New Yorker editor David Remnick.

Obama's Vice Presidential Pick Is Already Staffed

By GottaLaff

Barack Obama is living by the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

[David]Wade, a longtime aide to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), was hired last month to be the traveling press secretary for the eventual vice presidential running mate. [Chris] Mather, who most recently served as political director of the labor union coalition Change to Win, will assume the same position for the spouse of Obama's mysterious No. 2. (Mather, it should be noted, is also president of Steak Club, which boasts a roster of nerdy Washington insiders.)

Wade and Mather and others were hired by Patti Solis Doyle, who was ousted as campaign manager of Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign and later joined the Obama team to head up the presumptive nominee's vice presidential effort. Others who have been hired to work for the as-yet unnamed Democratic running mate include:

- Ricki Seidman, a battle-tested veteran who ran Bill Clinton's 1992 War Room and worked in the Clinton White House; She'll be the communications director for the veep pick.

- Kathleen McGlynn, who was chief of staff to former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) during his 2008 presidential run; She will be the No. 2's deputy chief of staff. (McGlynn's father is mayor of Medford, Mass.)

- Leslie Miller, who was the Obama campaign's spokeswoman in New Hampshire; She'll be communications director for the vice presidential nominee's spouse.

Now all they need is a boss.

Their hiring - before Obama has even chosen his running mate - underscores the Obama campaign's highly disciplined, tightly controlled approach to message. (And this way, the Obama campaign hopes to stave off the kind of tension that developed between the Kerry and Edwards staffs in 2004, when Edwards brought most of his key aides with him to the campaign.)

And it sounds as if the Mystery No. 2's staff-in-waiting really has no clue yet who they'll be working for. [...]

Wade tells the Sleuth this cart-before-the-horse arrangement really isn't as weird as it may seem. "For eight years we've had a vice president who stayed in undisclosed locations. Trust me, it's already change we can believe in -- it's just the next vice president's identity that's undisclosed."

Snicker. I love ending on a joke.

Late night/early morning body surfing eye candy: Obama edition

By GottaLaff

I'm sure Jerome Corsi would try his scummy best to morph these pictures from ts-s-s-s-s! to pffft! Not possible. They're strictly ts-s-s-s!

It would be an insurmountable challenge, even for a Swiftboat liar like Corsi, to convince anyone that J Sid could compete with zero body fat and body surfing eye candy like this:

Mahalo, and aloha until tomorrow.

Clinton May Push for Convention Vote

ARGGGGHHH.

Sen. Hillary Clinton "told a gathering of supporters last week that she's looking for a 'strategy' for her delegates to have their voices heard and 'respected' at the Democratic National Convention -- and did not rule out the possibility of having her name placed into nomination at the convention alongside Sen. Barack Obama's," according to ABC News.

Said Clinton: "I happen to believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views were respected. I think that is a very big part of how we actually come out unified."

RNC Accidentally Mocks Messianic Lutherans

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted about the Facebook parody, Barack Book, and all that "fun" the commenters were having over there. Seems like that site can't stay out of trouble:

The RNC has modified a page from their "Barack Book" mock social networking site because the church they associated Obama with -- the Messiah Lutheran Church -- turned out to be a real denomination affiliated with the Missouri Synod.

The site, styled after Facebook, included a link to a real Facebook page, and next to an entry for "employer," the RNC wrote in "Messiah Lutheran Church."

No subtlety there.

Here comes the "oops". The Republicans are "oopsing" a lot these days:

But there really are Messianic Lutherans. Most of them live in Missouri. The church has branches in California and Nebraska.

Oh dear. Those states are what you might call "important" in this election. We mustn't alienate voters there, musn't we:

Since disaffiliating from the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, McCain Obama has not formally affiliated with any other denomination.

This is a small point and a small mistake, but it's something that will make some McCain allies cringe. Here in Missouri, the political climate is poor for Republicans and McCain can't afford to alienate any evangelical group. His campaign can't afford the perception that they use evangelicals to mock Obama.

No, they'd never use evangelicals to mock Obama. They'd use racism, but not the evangelicals. That might be offensive.