Slate’s chart of presidents, based on the number of portrayals they’ve had in movies. Lincoln is obviously in first place, but strangely, Ulysses S. Grant is in third, likely thanks to the number of westerns that rely on Grant’s presence. Also, where is our James Buchanan biopic, anyway?
ivixxciii says: that does not qualify him to be a president. only a fireman, a courage award recipient, a nice guy.
» SFB says: We weren’t saying that this incident qualified him to be president. Rather, everything else he’s done would. He’s had an air of presidential speculation about him for years. In fact, Time Magazine wrote an article with just this premise back in 2009, before he saved any women from burning buildings. But, thus far, he’s been content with being mayor of Newark. Just because he saved a woman from a burning building doesn’t mean that this speculation is null and void. Either way, Cory Booker is awesome. — Ernie @ SFB
(Source: joshsternberg)
(via Yes, That Was Mitt Romney Bodyboarding In La Jolla, CA Yesterday | Mediaite)
I want to go back and find every snarky wing nut blog post about John Kerry and his windsurfing about now.
His son looks like the dude from Party Down. Unfortunately, we know Mitt’s not cool enough to actually hang with Adam Scott. Anyway, we hope that one of the presidential debates is actually an excuse for a session of bodyboarding basketball, so we can see the collective skills of both candidates at the same time.
What’s your presidential candidate’s sign? Depends on who you’re looking at. In the case of Rick Perry, it’s a calm, confident and collected signature, befitting of a longtime governor. In Barack Obama’s case, it’s showy, with giant letters for emphasis. In other cases (Herman Cain, ex-candidate Tim Pawlenty), the candidates sign it like a doctor might — ironic, considering the actual doctor in the campaign, Ron Paul, has a clean signature himself. Check out the signatures that Buzzfeed gathered. They’re pretty interesting.
I think our family was really concerned about the lack of privacy. And that it’s not just for four years or eight years, but for the rest of your life. Mitch has given 12 years to public service. And, you know, now it was our turn to get him back.Mitch Daniels’ wife, Cheri • Discussing why the Indiana governor’s family vetoed their father’s potential run for president in 2012. When Daniels made the decision back in May, the key tell sign for us was his open dismissal of questions related to foreign policy, a perceived weak point for the governor. But that point isn’t nearly as weak as his love of his family. “I’m not complaining about a thing. I’m the luckiest guy I know of,” he told CBS Sunday Morning. “And, you know, you can’t have everything in life. And sometimes you have to choose.” source (via • follow)
There is a fundamental strategic difference between the traditional consulting community and the kind of campaign I want to run. Now we’ll find out over the next year who’s right.Newt Gingrich • Explaining why his staff left him en masse yesterday. He says that despite the setback, he plans to stay in the race. One of the reasons his staffers left was due to what they claimed was the overpowering nature of Newt’s wife, Callista, to which he said, “We make decisions as a couple, I think most couples would find that refreshing, not a problem.” We’re not voting for your wife, Newt. We’re voting for you. Newt’s apparent campaign implosion means that some key staffers are now available for Rick Perry should he choose to run, which it sounds like he’s leaning towards. Newt’s loss? Perry’s gain. source (via • follow)
That’s what I think connects with people, Herman being Herman. And you notice, Herman enjoys life — I can smile, I can have a sense of humor, I’m being Herman.Herman Cain • Speaking about himself in first-person and third-person in the same sentence as part of a fawning New York Times piece on his rise as a 2012 GOP candidate. The crux of the piece: His voter recognition is still low, but the Republicans who know him absolutely adore him. He’s a dark-horse candidate, kids — the Howard Dean of this election cycle. Speaking of Howard Dean, did you hear this crap he said about Sarah Palin having a chance at beating Obama? *facepalm* source (via • follow)
Tim Pawlenty’s hometown newspaper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, ran the story of his presidential campaign announcement on the Obituary page this morning, City Pages reports.
Pawlenty’s campaign RIP.
In his defense, he did announce on a day when a pretty big tornado ripped through Minneapolis. (Come on, look at their front page.) There are many reasons to joke about Pawlenty’s campaign, but this isn’t one of them. Not fair.
Herman Cain doesn’t want to talk national security. At least not until after he’s elected. “The right approach is that the day I’m elected, I would start on that plan. I think it is disingenuous to tell the American people what I would do,” he told Fox News Sunday this morning. OK … so, we understand that he might not be privy to the documents that Obama has at his disposal, but seriously? National security isn’t something you, as a presidential candidate, are allowed to ignore. This is one of the reasons people will want to vote for you. Waiting to explain your national security plan until after people have put you into office — forcing people to go in blind on one of the key things a president does — is a dangerous stance that will not fly with mainstream voters, Herman. source
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
“I once ate a pizza, and it was this big. That’s why they called me the Godfather.” (OK, he didn’t say that; we just love the photo.) Herman Cain, who we’ve covered before on numerous occasions, is the latest guy to drop his hat into the presidential ring. “Let me tell you some of the reasons why I’m running for president of the United States.We have become a nation of crises,” he said when making his announcement today. He’s a bit of a wildcard — he doesn’t have strong name recognition, but he does have the kind of business acumen which makes him pretty desirable. His polling shows a pretty interesting trend — not many people know him, but those who do freaking love him. More:
» Can he make a run? As we noted in a Webdoc we made a couple weeks back, he kinda killed it at the Fox News presidential debate — which didn’t feature any major candidates, to Cain’s benefit. With big-name establishment Republicans failing to wow the field and loaded with reasons to nick their reputation (looking at you Newt), folks like Cain and Ron Paul have a good chance of doing well this time around. We expect his name recognition to go way up. (photo from Gage Skidmore’s Flickr page)
I have a great relationship with the blacks, I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.Donald Trump, while announcing his candidacy for president. Read more at The Atlantic Wire. (via theatlantic) … This story has an amazing lede: “Is there a phrase more exciting to the politics junkie than “Newsmax Exclusive”? That’s the means by which the latest bit of Donald Trump news comes to us.”
You know, the last few years, I’ve certainly done better than I’ve ever done in my life. You know, if I have the choice of being, let’s say, better off or abjectly poor, I kind of like better off better.Presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee • Pointing out that, were he to walk way from his Fox News and public speaking income and run for president again, it would probably make him broke. The former Arkansas governor has been mulling a presidential run for ages, but seems kinda unsure of whether or not he should. “In order to run for president the last time, I cashed in my life insurance, my annuities,” he noted. “You know, I pretty much went through everything that I ever had as an asset that I thought I might one day live on.” Dude should just run in 2016 and ensure he has so much in the bank that he doesn’t go broke in the process. source (via • follow)
From the standpoint of our conservative beliefs and values, Sarah Palin and I are probably identical.Wannabe 2012 nominee Herman Cain (better known as “The Hermanator”) • Emphasizing his desire to become the GOP nominee. Cain, who is black, first drew the attention of political crowds while the CEO of Godfather Pizza, when he successfully got a blow on Bill Clinton’s health-care plan. Since then, he’s done much more in business (he sits on many corporate boards) and entered politics as a late-life hobby. If Cain can get some name recognition out there – he’s trying pretty darn hard – he might just have a shot. He might have a little of that Howard Dean voodoo power, he’s charismatic like Samuel L. Jackson (Joshua Green’s words, not ours), he survived cancer, and that anti-health-care calling card might win over some people. source (via • follow)
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