Talking Points Memo

Cory Booker: I'm Loving This!

2012-05-22T02:08:42Z

Corey Booker says it's all good on Maddow.

Presented By:

2012-05-22T02:08:42Z

High Comedy

2012-05-21T21:28:39Z

Remember Arizona's birther Secretary State who wants to boot President Obama from the state ballot? Here are his hilarious emails with Hawaii state officials. If nothing else, the folks in Hawaii seem not to have lost their sense of humor.

To The Moon, Claire!

2012-05-21T21:22:46Z

Vying for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate from Missouri, Sarah Steelman says she is "ready to punch Claire McCaskill out."

The Brittle Grip

2012-05-21T21:11:22Z

Republicans often say that the business community feels threatened by President Obama -- that he's hostile to money, hostile to business, etc. You've heard this before. And much of it is campaign chatter. But not all. I don't think we can understand the dynamics of this campaign without getting that a lot of it is actually true -- not the reality necessarily (in my mind not the reality at all) but the perception of it in key parts of the financial sector like Wall Street, venture capital and the dread world of private equity.

The case of Wall Street is in many ways the hardest nut to crack. President Obama took a huge political hit for massive amounts of public money that went to bailing out the major banks. By most measures, along with his predecessor, he more or less saved US and global capitalism. And yet, when you talk to people in finance, this is entirely forgotten. What you most often hear about are two or three statements from the President that are still potently remembered.

Most often it's a late 2009 quote when he said "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street. They're still puzzled why it is that people are mad at the banks. Well, let's see. You guys are drawing down 10, 20 million dollar bonuses after America went through the worst economic year in decades and you guys caused the problem."

That's not something you'd expect folks in finance to like particularly. But it did come after about a year of the President getting grief from Wall Street while simultaneously taking the political hit for bailing the same folks out with tax payer dollars.

I've heard similar things talking to folks in the business community in DC. And what strikes me again and again is how much it comes back to a handful of statements and anecdotes, things people remember the President saying over the last three plus years.

Some of this shouldn't surprise us, I suppose. President Obama has pushed more regulation of business than his predecessor. (It's certainly a change after eight years of George W. Bush; and it's an eight years over which quite a lot has changed in the country.) He's supported -- though as yet not acted on -- his call to roll back the Bush tax cuts. But Bill Clinton did all of this and more. Clinton after all is the guy whose tax hikes the Bush tax cuts in large part repealed. By most objective standards the President is actually more solicitous of the business community than most or all Democratic presidents over the last half century.

So what's the explanation? Over recent weeks I've come to think that something else is in play: namely, the dramatic run up in wealth at the top of the income scale, not just over the last 35 years but particularly over the last 15 years. More or less since the beginning of the Clinton years. In a sense it's the other side of the 99% vs 1% meme that has been the most successful legacy of the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

This is less an argument than a theory in progress. So I'd like your input. But I think the very wealthy and those who work in the most advanced and aggressive parts of finance are more defensive about their wealth than in the past -- at least in terms of the political expression of it. There's really no time in the last century in which you'd expect that a candidate running for a major political office who'd been responsible for shutting down a lot of factories wouldn't have that come up in a major way in a campaign. Simply no way. Agree or not, it would be entirely par for the course. And yet now it's treated as a possibly unexpected or unacceptable development.

That's weird.

At the same time, the most important voices in the media are much, much wealthier than in earlier eras. The very wealthy are their friends and peers. Concentrated wealth simply has a stronger hold over mass communications than in the past -- not necessarily in venal or corrupt terms but often simply by owning minds and mentalities. What all that amounts to is that people on Wall Street and the financial sector aren't accustomed to a lot of criticism.

All of it goes to explaining a basic conundrum -- President Obama is, when compared to Democrats over the last half century, objectively quite middle of the road. And yet the reaction from Wall Street and the halls of finance is one you'd think meant he was trying to bring capitalism to its knees. The President's policies and tenure in office simply don't explain the reaction. And I don't think political spin does either. We need to look deeper into the political economy of the nation at large to understand it.

Amazing Numbers

2012-05-21T18:21:34Z

Last week we got a lot of great feedback about this article about TPM at Nieman Lab, which focused on the way we're rethinking the site in light of the rapid growth of mobile readership. With that in mind, let me show you some data which is simply amazing to anyone who has been tracking the evolution of the Internet over the last 15 years.

First, as you can see in this pie chart, the Windows operating system now accounts for barely 50% of the visits to the site. (Perspective: January 2011, Windows had a 61% share; January 2010, 64% share; January 2009, 70% share.) That's a measure of the generally Mac-centric nature of our audience demographic but it's also hugely tied to the growth of mobile, and particularly Apple's iOS operating system (iPhone and iPad). (Another point of comparison: in January 2009, 28% of our audience came from Operating Systems owned by Apple; today that number is 42%.)

Next, browsers. We just reported that by one closely watched measure, Google's chrome operating system is now the most used browser in the world. Among our readers it's actually still third. But look at Internet Explorer! It comes in last among the major browsers, in fourth place.

No Turning Back on Bain

2012-05-21T17:09:10Z

Damn the Bookers, Obama camp presses on with Bain attacks.

Notre Dame to Obama: See You In Court

2012-05-21T16:06:29Z

Notre Dame files suit against Obama administration over contraception mandate.

What's Up With Cory Booker?

2012-05-21T15:19:58Z

Here's my take on what that Cory Booker thing was about. (Hint: 1) Class divide in the Democratic party. 2) Cory Booker is mainly a surrogate for Cory Booker.)

To view this video full size, click here.

Conservatives Say Leave Saverin Alone!

2012-05-21T13:45:53Z

Top conservatives compare Saverin tax dodging law to Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and South Africa.

Presented By:

2012-05-21T13:45:53Z

Vintage anti-JFK GOP Coloring Book from Early 60s

2012-05-21T13:25:16Z

Amazing note and photos from TPM Reader MM ...

My mother, rest in peace, recently passed away. She was a life long democrat, her mother, however, was a life long republican. While going through things at my mother's house in preparation for an estate sale I found an anti JFK coloring book my grandmother had saved along with some other republican memorabilia.

JFK has been so mythologized that for myself, growing up in 80s and 90s, it was surprising to see such harsh attacks leveled against him. Of course this was before his death, but, despite knowing that politics is a brutal sport, I was still taken aback. Most telling though is how similar many of the attacks in this comic book are to the charges being leveled against Obama and democrats now. The more thing change, I guess...
I've included some pictures. I have had no luck finding any information on this. If the readers of your site have any information I'd be interested. I don't think Antique's Roadshow is coming to Portland anytime soon.

This is actually pretty tame compared to the vitriolic attacks on Kennedy that were commonplace in much of the South and especially Texas by 1963. But it's a nice illustration of the consistency of the messaging.

Unforced Error Alert

2012-05-21T11:48:30Z

How Republicans have gained the advantage in the congressional fight over the Violence Against Women Act.

A Reader's Take on the Booker Gambit

2012-05-21T02:20:16Z

TPM Reader TS thinks he has a bead on Cory Booker's MTP gambit ...

Mitt Romney has made Bain Captial the rationale for his candidacy, the sole reason why he should be president, he almost never talks about his tenure as governor of Massachusetts. I think Mayor Cory Booker had no other choice but to clarify the remarks he made on Meet the Press this morning.

Twitter, Facebook, and the blogs were ablaze with blistering criticism of Mr. Booker - Obama supporters were the harshest, I'm sure he heard from the White House too. Many felt, myself included, that there is no equivalency between Bain and Reverend Wright. the fact is Bain Capital is fair game, because Romney has made Pres. Obama's record fair game. However, i live across the hudson from Newark, I can tell you, Cory Booker is well regarded by the NY media elites. He's no fool either, his comments were calculated; he's a darling among the political ruling class in NY and DC. Republicans and Wall Street has been key to Cory's rise. However, there isn't much love for Cory's policies at the grassroots level in Newark. But Cory always had ambitions beyond Newark. Cory Booker went on the MTP to help Cory Booker and advance his political prospects. I also think Booker's new clarification represents the powerful influence of Obamaland.

We'd be remiss not to note that 2007-2008 Barack Obama had a lot of friends on Wall Street too -- especially in the most highflying parts of the hedge fund and VC worlds. But I think TS has pretty much got this right.

State Polls May Be Late ... Or Not

2012-05-21T01:13:12Z

There's little question that Mitt Romney has made up ground in recent weeks in the national head to head poll match ups. The PollTracker Average currently gives Romney a minuscule .1% advantage over President Obama. But that comes after months of the President having a small but consistent lead.

A lot of readers I talk to say, 'Well, we don't have national elections. We have an electoral college. And Obama is still way ahead there.'

That's definitely true. But here's the 'yes, but'.

We're about to launch our own electoral college map, powered by PollTracker state averages. And it does show Obama with a big lead over Romney. But here's the catch. State polls always lag because they're not taken anywhere near as often as the national numbers.

So if you look at this chart you'll see that Romney has made progress since early April. And his move has accelerated since the beginning of May.

One reason Obama is doing so well in the electoral college is that he's got pretty solid leads in a number of what are normally swing states. So for example the PollTracker Average has Obama with a 7.7% margin over Romney in Pennsylvania. But the most recent polls was on May 1st, before Romney's uptick. And the one before that was in March.

I'm not sure this recent move for Romney is going to affect the electoral college numbers that much. After all, it's just a few points, even if it holds. And there's some evidence that President Obama -- and maybe the Democrats generally -- just have an electoral college advantage in the current political configuration. (Healthy or narrow leads in blue states and blow outs in red states, leading to net wasted votes for the GOP.) My point, though, is simply to remember that the national polls tend to be leading indicators. It takes a while for the state numbers to catch up. So we just don't know yet.

No, No That's Not What I Meant!

2012-05-20T23:05:26Z

Mayor Cory Booker takes to Youtube to get ahead of Bain/Obama furor. Video after the jump ...

Thought Bubble?

2012-05-20T03:00:40Z

Check out the range of expressions in this photo -- especially those of Cameron and Obama (upper left) versus France's new President, Francois Hollande at the lower right.

G8 Summit

2012-05-20T00:53:23Z

Pictures from today's G8 huddle at Camp David.

Always thought discussions about avoiding the dissolution of the euro would look less cheerful.

Presented By:

2012-05-20T00:53:23Z

Picture Of The Day

2012-05-20T00:19:08Z

President Obama and fellow G8 leaders take in a thrilling Champions League final.

Dept. Of Things You Can't Make Up

2012-05-18T21:37:54Z

If you're trying to access the "GOP Solutions" tab on House Speaker John Boehner's website, you won't find any policy initiatives or grand ideas. But you will get a poetic take on why Congress has a hard time getting anything done:

"ERROR 404
Page Not Found

We apologize, but the page you are looking for could not be found.
Please examine the spelling of the URL you are trying to access or use
the search bar in the upper-right corner of the site."

For a screenshot, click here.

All Facebook, All The Time

2012-05-18T21:00:54Z

The Facebook IPO gave CNBC a chance today to relive the good ol' days of dotcom hysteria. We condense all of it into 100 sober, calm, reflective seconds ... PANIC!

Missing The Plate

2012-05-18T18:11:14Z

Famed former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling in recent years became a very public champion of conservative "small-government" politics.

He also launched a video game production company that two years ago set up shop in Rhode Island thanks to $75 million in state guaranteed loans.

Well, business isn't going so well, and this month Schilling's company 38 Studios missed a $1.1 million payment to the state. He's now asking for more taxpayer help.

Rest Easy, Plutocrats

2012-05-18T16:23:16Z

You a big banker worried that Jamie Dimon's JP Morgan debacle is going to blow open the dam holding back the floodwaters of reform? One of the top reformers in DC says there's little chance of that.

Unleash The Dragon

2012-05-18T15:24:55Z

The first-ever mission to send a private commercial spacecraft to the International Space Station launches Saturday. Check out the Dragon.

Could Filibuster Reform Happen?

2012-05-18T13:24:05Z

Is Filibuster Reform finally going to happen?

Who is Joe Ricketts?

2012-05-18T11:40:58Z

Who is Joe Ricketts? The latest mogul fixin' to go to war against President Obama?

Presented By:

2012-05-18T11:40:58Z

Big News on Trayvon Martin Case

2012-05-18T01:17:17Z

Documents released Thursday show police investigators initially concluded that Martin's killing was 'ultimately avoidable' and recommended charges of manslaughter.

Not Just Greece Having Hard Times

2012-05-17T22:09:42Z

The George Zimmerman legal defense fund has fallen on hard times.

Books Update

2012-05-17T22:06:18Z

We got so many great emails of book recommendations, I haven't been able to get through all of them yet. Please keep them coming and I'll report back on the great finds soon.

The Holy Grail of Smackdowns

2012-05-17T20:12:15Z

Most of today's news has been occupied by the Times story, which reported that a gaggle of Romney supporters were prepping a big ad campaign to toss Reverend Wright and everything but the kitchen sink at President Obama. Since then virtually everyone involved has either denied involvement or is insisting that it was just an idea and not one that they'd ever planned to go ahead with.

But there's a bigger story here. And the key is the strategist's claim, quoted in the Times, that the plan would "do exactly what John McCain would not let us do."

This is an old saw that's been going around for almost four years now. And I cannot tell you how many GOP operatives I've heard it from.

The idea is that John McCain either could have won or had a much better shot at it if he'd really released the hounds on then-candidate Obama. The idea being that McCain was just too honorable a guy or perhaps too much of a fuddy duddy to really do what had to be done to win. If only the campaign or the RNC had prepped a few dozen commercials featuring Obama in a foot-wide-brim pink fur hat, maxing around with Jeremiah Wright and Weather Underground terrorists about to send his race army of ill-tempered rappers to shake down a few good white folk, the thinking goes, he would have just come apart at the seams.

That's most of what is behind the continued, and, in some ways, really passionately believed mantra on the right that Obama was never really 'vetted.' If we'd only said Kenya a few more times we could have done this thing!

But here's the key: McCain -- or more likely his senior advisors -- weren't doing Obama any favors. There's a calculus in all of these decisions. Yes, going full race, terrorist pal Crazy on Obama probably would have gotten some voters more suspicious of Obama or more ginned up to vote against him. But it also would have repelled a lot of loosely affiliated voters in the middle. The McCain camp realized that. At least the more seasoned folks. And the Romney team gets it just as much.

The whole thing amounts to a fantasy of the right-wing id, not altogether unlike some of the hits on President Bush that the general public just didn't take to. Everybody heard about Jeremiah Wright. Everybody found out the president is black. It didn't turn the public against Obama when he was a relative unknown back in 2008. And it's far less likely to today.

Best. Mitt. Quote. Evah.

2012-05-17T19:52:59Z

"I'm not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said whatever it was."

Romney today on the campaign trail: Watch.

Saverin to USA: Catchya, Suckas

2012-05-17T19:37:12Z

Eduardo Saverin just released a statement which was first interpreted as pledging to pay the taxes he had renounced his citizenship to avoid. But it actually means just the opposite and amount to pushback and goodbye to the USA.