The Loon Rangers ride again- Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann Photo Op: $10,000

By GottaLaff

The Loon Rangers ride again:



photoop -

Put your eyes back into your head, the price includes dinner. See? Worth every very red cent:

According to the invitation, attendees at the April 7 event in Minneapolis are asked to spend $500 per person for attendance at the General Reception and Dinner; $5,000 for a table of ten; and $10,000 per couple for a "Private Reception with Photo Opportunity. (Included in the latter is a table for ten as well).

A bargain at twice the price! After all, who wouldn't want to lose their appetite at a very special fancy schmancy Minnesota-Bachmann Victory Committee gala while feasting their eyes on Batty McCrazyEyes and Corrupta McWTF? Bonus photo included!

All for a measly ten grand!

Hey Tea Tantrumers and Palin/Bachmann fans, imagine all the people without health insurance dying... dying because they can't afford to buy their way to a higher life expectancy, wishing they too had scads of spare cash to blow on pricey photo ops.

Those would be the very same people who the Loon Rangers care nothing about, which Batty proved today at the "Code Red Kill the Bill Rally".



Kill. Nice choice of words.

That's right, attendees, as you pose with Batty and Corrupta, think of this person:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Enjoy your private reception! Eat up! Smile for the camera!

Video- President Obama Strikes A Pose... And Stays There

Barack Obama's amazingly consistent smile from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

Holy crap his face must hurt after this shit. Kudos to Eric Spiegelman for catching this.

Ladies and gentlemen, your President is a robot. Or a wax sculpture. Maybe a cardboard cutout. All I know is no human being has a photo smile this amazingly consistent.

On Wednesday, the Obamas hosted a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, during which they stood for 130 photographs with visiting foreign dignitaries in town for the UN meeting. The President has exactly the same smile in every single shot. See for yourself — the pictures are up on the State Department’s flickr. And, of course, compressed above into 20 seconds for your viewing pleasure.

NOTE- The audio started very loud on this for me.

Obama official resigns over photo flap

By GottaLaff

There's always a "flap", which, when you think about it, is better than a flop.:

Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office who authorized the controversial Air Force One photo-op over New York City last week has resigned, the White House announced Thursday.

The White House has also released a photograph taken during the unannounced flyover that caused a brief panic in the city.

Alrighty then. Are we done now?

Drek-sploitation: GOP's Big Obama Photo Op

By GottaLaff

Here's video of President Obama's remarks following the meeting.

Drek-sploitation:

A Republican source tells Time magazine that "nearly as many House Republicans sought to get their photos taken with Obama as questioned him about the stimulus during their meeting."

How reassuring to know that the G.O.P. is using America's disastrous Bush economy as a photo op with a popular president upon whom (along with a struggling nation) they enjoy defecating.

Reporters Ignore Bush, Wait For Obama To End Photo Op

Just leave already George.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – When President Bush says "Thank you all," at the end of an Oval Office photo-op, that's usually the signal for White House press aides to usher journalists out — and fast.

But during Wednesday's historic gathering of five U.S. presidents — past, present and future — Bush's customary signal didn't have the desired effect. President Bush said “Thank you all” while shaking hands with President-elect Barack Obama, aides demanded the camera lights go off and started herding reporters and technicians towards the door…

But Obama launched into remarks of his own. Video of the event shows the television lights getting turned back on and quickly repositioning as the cameras continued rolling.

The official White House transcript does not reflect Mr. Bush's "Thank you all" at the end of his comments — but those cameras were rolling, and “thank you all” is on the tape. For the record, President-elect Obama ended the Oval Office photo opportunity thanking the President (according to the White House transcript):

“But, again, thank you, Mr. President, for hosting us.”

Surprise! Cindy McCain and Rudy gave away the surprise

By GottaLaff

Hey, gang! Let's have a surprise party! You tell Birthday Person, I'll gather his/her friends! Then, let Birthday Person know just before we all jump out and yell "surprise!" so that they don't look too silly. 'K? 'K.

Moments ago, the McCain campaign press office sent out the following press release:

MEDIA ADVISORY
Mrs. Cindy McCain to Make Surprise Visit to Volunteers at Orlando Victory Office in Orlando, Florida

For Immediate Release
Friday, October 24, 2008

ARLINGTON, VA – The McCain-Palin presidential campaign today announced Mrs. Cindy McCain and Mayor Rudy Giuliani will make a surprise visit to volunteers at the Orlando Victory Office on Saturday, October 25^th in Orlando, FL.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

WHO: Mrs. Cindy McCain

Mayor Rudy Giuliani

WHAT: Surprise Visit to Volunteers at Orlando Victory Office

WHEN: Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 6:50 p.m. EDT

WHERE: Orlando Victory Office
234 S. Semoran Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32807

The obvious question is: If it’s supposed to be a surprise, wouldn’t it make sense to just show up at the Orlando office? How surprised do you suppose the volunteers would be now?

Of course, you wouldn’t want Cindy McCain and Rudy Giuliani to show their gratitude to all the hard-working volunteers without any TV cameras present.

Okay, ready gang? Ready Birthday Person? 1. 2. 3. SURPRISE!

Hey, why didn't Birthday Person look startled?

Paraguay President turned down IWRC* Palin photo op

By GottaLaff

IWRC* has been rejected:

Apparently not everyone wants to have their photograph taken with Sarah Palin.

Paraguay President Fernando Lugo, while attending both the UN General Assembly meetings and the Clinton Global Initiative, shared with friends over dinner some of the other meetings he had been having in New York.

After enumerating the various heads of state he'd met with, the room went silent and then laughed a bit when he confided that he was approached about meeting with GOP Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

President Lugo said he turned the meeting down.

Why, he must be a terrorist! Who would be so bold as to decline a face-to-face with that paragon of foreign policy, Lady IWRC Louise Palin?

The 57-year-old left-leaning former Catholic bishop known locally as "bishop of the poor," was elected to office in April. His swearing in marked the first time in Paraguay's history since the country gained independence that an opposition party turned over power peacefully to a candidate elected from the other party.

Lugo has also refused his presidential salary, saying it "belongs to more humble people." He joined the priesthood in 1977 and was ordained a bishop in 1994 before resigning in 2006 to run for office.

I'm sure if she stands close enough to a map of Paraguay, she can claim expertise.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

World Leaders Who Met With IWRC* Palin Praise Joe Biden

By GottaLaff

Remember all those photo ops IWRC* Palin had with Big World Leaders who praised her good looks? Well, they also praised Joe Biden's good judgment:

But they also sought to show they weren't taking sides in the American election contest, going out of their way to tell reporters how much they think of Sen. Joseph Biden.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili showered praise on Biden, saying he played a little known role in advising the government on how it should respond to Russian intervention last month. [...]

Saakashvili said Biden called him two days after Russian troops entered Georgia and proposed a series of "very concrete things we should do."

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari praised IWRC, but...

At that stage, a senior aide interrupted the Pakistani leader. "The president also spoke to Joseph Biden," he said. Zardari said that Biden has been instrumental in steering hundred of millions of US dollars to Pakistan to shore up democracy. "He has been a great friend of democracy from the first day," Zardari added.

Joe Biden is a friend of democracy. IWRC is a friend of Karl Rove's.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

Laura Bush says IWRC* Palin lacks foreign policy experience

By GottaLaff

Pickles, Pickles, Pickles, what will the hubby say?

First Lady Laura Bush told CNN Wednesday Sarah Palin lacks experience in foreign policy, but quickly added the Alaska governor is "a very quick study."

Asked by CNN's Zain Verjee if she thought Palin's resume included sufficient foreign policy experience, Bush said, "Of course she doesn't have that."

Of course she doesn't. Unless you include IWRC* Palin's handshakes with those many upon many Fancy Schmancy Dignitaries. I'm sure they transmitted Experience Germs when their hands made contact... unless. Unless! Unless IWRC used Purel post-meet-'n'-greet.

Foreign policy experience: Poof! Gone in a disinfected flash.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

IWRC* Palin's Big U.N. Photo Op: Media Blackout Excuse Edition

By GottaLaff

--PHOTO WOULD GO HERE--

I will not include the Big Major Photo-Op photo. That would be hypocritical of me, although I could come up with a metaphor instead.

Nah.

This entire IWRC* Photo Op Moment is so laughable that my sides hurt and my eyes are watering. Oh wait. No. That was from the IWRC* campaign's rationalization at the end of this piece.

I'm not exactly sure why we needed to know what IWRC did with her legs:

As the pool entered, the Afghan president appeared to be telling Palin about his young son, who was born in January 2007.

Palin, her legs crossed and at one point patting her heart, was leaning in eagerly and smiling. Karzai, wearing his traditional clothes but without his trademark karakul hat, was also grinning while discussing the child. His remarks were mostly unintelligible as the noise from the clicking cameras drowned them out.

“What is his name?,” Palin asked.

“Mirwais,” Karzai responded. “Mirwais, which means, ‘The Light of the House.’”

“Oh nice,” Palin responded.

“He is the only one we have,” remarked Karzai.

After 29 seconds observing the meeting, CNN and other photographers covering the meeting were escorted out of the room.

Later, McCain-Palin press representatives chalked up the restrictions to a “mix-up, a miscommunication among staff.” The full pool — a print and wires reporter, along with a television producer — was then allowed in to observe Palin’s meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for 15-20 seconds.

If 29 seconds/20 seconds is what the IWRC team is telling us she's worth, that's quite an admission.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

No-Talk Express: ABlog reader gets nowhere with McCain/Palin

By GottaLaff

The author of the letter, Jim Corrales, snapped these photos

An AMERICABlog reader had a chance encounter at a McCain/Palin campaign photo-op in New Mexico. He tried to get some quick answers from John Sidney and Sarah Louise, but wouldn't you know it? They weren't as forthcoming as you'd expect for two people who promise change from those non-communicators in Washington. How mavericky of them.

A few excerpts:

McCain worked his way up to me and Cat and as I shook his hand, I asked, "Sir, I respect your service but, why were you against the GI bill?" Senator McCain, paused, he looked a bit surprised at the question and then he said, "Nice to meet you." I repeated the question and he repeated his non-answer. He quickly worked his way down the line. So much for straight-talk! [...]

Also, I was surprised at myself as I as I almost involuntarily prefaced my question with, "Sir, I respect your service but..." No wonder he's gotten a free ride by the press, I think this reaction is not unique and the press must feel the same pressure that I felt. Perhaps that explains why his poor support for veteran issues isn't well known. [...]

Sarah first looked at [my wife] said hello, and I shook her hand. I asked, "Are supporting Ted Stevens this year?" She replied, "He's under indictment you know...his trial is in September." I replied, "But are you voting for him?" She walked away without answering.

I don't think this question will be answered until after Senator Stevens' trial in September and perhaps never. After all, Ted Stevens is still running for the Senate this year and a Republican vote, corrupt or not, is still a Republican vote. I was amazed that she offered up, "He's under indictment you know." She's going to need some serious handling before they let her into the wild!

Revealing, to say the least. Or should I say the opposite, considering their unwillingness to answer his questions. Great stuff, Jim/ABlog. More than we'll ever see on the Television Machine.