This could very well be the greatest stunt ever pulled on the media in modern times.
It was among the juicier post-election recriminations: Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.
Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said.
Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.
And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months. MSNBC, which quickly corrected the mistake, has plenty of company in being taken in by an Eisenstadt hoax, including The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times.
I don’t know what’s sadder, that Sarah Palin set the bar so low with her gaffes that people believed this to be true, or that the media ran with it without checking his bona fides. Remember the famous line from Ronald Reagan: “Trust but verify.”
And for those of you looking for jobs in the federal government, the 2008 edition of the Plum Book is now available.
Update: Politico says Klain has accepted the VP Chief of Staff job.
Update II: Al Gore not interested in any jobs in the new administration.
Update III: Competition for jobs in the new administration is pretty fierce. Check out this graph from a recent article in TIME Magazine.
The most labor-intensive phase is about to begin, as teams of Obama aides descend on more than 100 federal departments and agencies to begin poring over their operations. Meanwhile, the new Administration is looking for more than 300 Cabinet secretaries, deputies and assistant secretaries, plus upwards of 2,500 political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation. Not that there will be any lack of candidates: in the first five days after Obama’s team set up its Change.gov website, 144,000 applications poured in.
A sad day… the last surviving member of one of rock’s great power trios has passed on.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s drummer Mitch Mitchell was found dead in a downtown Portland hotel Wednesday.
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s office said 61-year-old Mitch Mitchell likely died of natural causes. His body was found just after 3 a.m. at the Benson Hotel.
An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.
Mitchell had been playing with the Experience Hendrix tour that just made a stop in Portland at the Schnitz last Friday.
Mitchell might not be one of the greatest drummers in rock history, but his style of playing suited the Experience perfectly. In order for a band to be successful, it’s not about how proficient or creative they are as individual musicians (although that certainly helps), but rather it’s about how their chemistry makes them work as a cohesive unit. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Room Full of Mirrors, Charles R. Cross’s definitive biography of Jimi Hendrix.
I included the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as one of my winners from the 2008 election because of their successful role in getting Proposition 8 passed in California in a year that for the most part was a political disaster for social conservatives. Marc Ambinder makes an interesting observation:
By bankrolling opposition to same-sex marriage in California, the LDS church has earned some serious cred in social conservative circles.
And the Prop 8 protesters — those who are now protesting the church — are only fueling the impression that when it comes to standing up for “traditional marriage,” the Mormon Church is where it’s at.
This development has fascinating implications for 2012.
Utah (where LDS is based) is one of the most solidly Republican states in the country. It may not replace the religious right which is largely based in southern states, but it could tip the scales in favor of one candidate or another. Who benefits most from the LDS’s new political muscle? Mitt Romney.
You might want to bring an umbrella…
A drunken Jersey City councilman was arrested for urinating on a crowd of concertgoers from the balcony of a Washington nightclub, police and club sources said Saturday.
Councilman Steven Lipski was caught relieving himself onto several revelers at the 9:30 Club during a concert by a Grateful Dead tribute band Friday night, club sources said.
“He was very drunk,” the source said, noting that it wasn’t the first time Lipski had caused a ruckus at the popular concert venue.
“We’ve dealt with this man before,” the source added. “He’s never peed on anybody, but he gets really belligerent and drunk.”
I’ve been to many shows at the 9:30 Club – it’s my favorite concert venue. I’ve also seen some pretty strange crowds there and other shows, but this guy is on a whole other level.
This is the first time in 40 years that the most famous black man in America is not an actor, musician, or professional athlete.
Icepicks and Nukes 