Obama Talks Policy, Family... and Football

President-elect and Mrs. Obama were on "60 Minutes" this past Sunday. Barack talked a lot of policy, mostly about the economy but a smidge about Iraq. He was then joined by his wife as they recounted their recent visit to the White House, how the Presidency has changed their family (Best quote ever: "I don't tell my mother-in-law what to do. I'm not stupid. That's why I got elected President, man"), and the important topic of what kind of dog will be terrorizing the White House Press Corps next. Oh, and for all those wondering, he is in favor of establishing a college football playoff system. The interview is a bit long at 40 minutes, but totally worth it:

Watch CBS Videos Online

*UPDATE* This interview drew 24.5 million viewers... the highest ratings for "60 Minutes" since 1999. Damn.

Sunday Screening: Super Bowl Edition

Well, normally football-blogging here falls under the purview of the estimable Eva Lam; but I understand she's still mourning her Packers (my position, for the record, is that any enemy of the Patriots is a friend of mine), so I figure I should step in. Are you ready for some football?

That video will have been like nails on a chalkboard for many of you; it's Hank Williams Jr. performing his famed Monday Night Football intro, in a particularly tasteless 1995 cut. (There's no video of the 1989 original, which is probably just as well.) By any objective measure this is an AWFUL piece of music, especially in contrast to the great production Monday Night Football had in the 70s; the L.A. Times when this theme debuted called it "grating". But it stuck. And I can see why; for all its ostentatious stupidity, this song and its history capture so much of the gaudy, senseless exuberance that underlies American culture. Football has that effect; it brings out our wild side.

...Hank Williams Jr. actually had a number of other hits in the 1970s and 80s, though he never came close to his father's enormous impact. The most interesting thing he recorded was the 1981 single "A Country Boy Can Survive", a rather creepy survivalist anthem:

There was a mini-boom of this sort of stripped-down, angry country music in the 1980s; another good example is Charlie Daniels (of "Devil Went Down to Georgia" fame), whose proto-fascist ode to vigilantism "Simple Man" still sends chills down my spine whenever I hear it:

I should note that "Simple Man" went certified-platinum in 1989; it prompted a small storm of consternation among the usual suspects (talk shows, etc). But this strain of country-xenophobia (which came back with a vengeance after 9/11, most obviously in the form of Toby Keith) doesn't amount to anything real; it's a fantasy, just gangsta rap for farmboys. There are very few actual survivalists or vigilantes out there. At most it taps into a bit of cultural anxiety around political radicalism -- which brings me to a video I've wanted to use for some time.

This is Red Rider, the Canadian band which spawned Tom "Life Is A Highway" Cochrane; 1981's "Lunatic Fringe" was their biggest hit. Cochrane wrote it as an angry response to anti-Semitism, and you can hear that it has those same subtly gothic elements that underly the extremism of Williams and Daniels. (It also, from a pure music perspective, demonstrates in both its sound and video the precarious position of serious rock in the early 80s -- this is half prog and half new-wave, which is a hell of an awkward combination. Consequently the band just looks like they're afraid of their own song.) Watch:

...I seem to have drifted away from the football topic. Hell. Let me close, then, with the ultimate football video -- this is a 1994 high school match from Texas, and it's the kind of ridiculous phenomenon you only see in video games. (Plus, the announcers, who really deserve a gig on ESPN. "I done wet my britches!") You absolutely MUST watch this:

That's all. Enjoy the game, everybody -- and to the Giants, well, if you're not going to beat the Patriots, then at least try to beat the spread, eh? For me...

Post-caucus analysis

You've all suffered through enough of my own 'analysis' that I won't subject you to any more of it, but some interesting insights on last night's caucus victories for Obama and Huckabee.

Tom Bevan at Real Clear Politics calls it a victory for "authenticity," on the grounds that Romney and Clinton's respective rebrandings as a lifelong conservative and a change agent simply didn't fly with Iowa voters. Bevan points out that this could be especially tough for Romney since John McCain stands in for Mike Huckabee as the 'authentic' candidate in New Hampshire.

Bevan also draws probably the most conclusive lesson, which is that Ann Selzer knows what she's doing. Selzer polls Iowa for the Des Moines Register, and she took a lot of flak for the latest Iowa poll, which had Obama at 32%, Clinton at 25, and Edwards at 24. The Clinton and Edwards campaigns had both slammed Selzer's poll for its turnout model: the poll's sampling proportions were based on the assumption that a large number of independents and first-time caucusers would turn out. Both of those campaigns argued that such a level of turnout was totally unprecedented, which it was, and that it wouldn't happen, which it did - as Rob pointed out, over 220,000 people turned out for the Democratic caucuses, an improvement of about a hundred thousand people over the 2004 caucus. Moral of the story: Ann Selzer knows Iowa.

Patrick Healey at the New York Times calls it a rebellion against the party establishments and suggests that the "inevitability" narrative cultivated by Clinton and (perhaps to a lesser extent, given his mediocre showing in national polls) Romney simply didn't work out. In the Democratic race, Healey also suggests that Obama's victory in Iowa, whose population is 95% white and largely rural, and where women supported him in greater numbers than they supported the female candidate, could show good things about his electability.

The Times' Matt Bai on Bill Richardson's spin of the final results:

Until last night, I thought the most creative spin I’d ever heard from a losing candidate came from Joe Lieberman, who declared, after finishing fifth in New Hampshire: “We’re in a three-way tie for third!” But then I got the e-mail from Bill Richardson in which he exulted, after garnering 2 percent of the vote: “We made it to the Final Four.”

Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense, if the Final Four consisted of Duke, North Carolina, Florida and the Maharishi University of Management. Sometimes it’s just better to say you lost and move on.

On a yay-Democrats note, Group News Blog (via Blue Hampshire) points out that each of the top three Democratic candidates did an awful lot better than Mike Huckabee:

Percentage of total vote 24.5% Obama 20.5% Edwards 19.8% Clinton 11.4% Huckabee

In less-publicized election night news, David Schraub covers the special election for the Minnesota State Senate, in which the eight precincts in Northfield, home of Carleton College (great school), St. Olaf College (great choirs), and a Malt-O-Meal factory (great Marshmallow Mateys), collectively made it a landslide for the Democratic candidate.

Finally, my earlier prediction was totally off-base: Kansas beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl last night, 24-21. Incidentally, let me just express my utter amazement that on the night of a major bowl game, only one television in the entirety of Uno's bar area was showing the Orange Bowl; the rest were showing caucus results.

As promised, none of my own analysis - but I am quite curious for comments on Iowa, especially from those of you in non-Obama camps. Does Hillary need New Hampshire to take the nomination? Will Mike Huckabee go anywhere, or will Romney come back in New Hampshire, or will McCain play Romney's weakness to his advantage? And what cabinet positions are Chris Dodd and Joe Biden going to get?

Have at it, and for those of you involved in the various campaigns, I'll see you in New Hampshire.

The Politics of the Pats/Colts Game

Usually the football references on DemApples belong to my fellow Cabotian blogger, but I couldn't let this one slip by. Freshly inaugurated Lt. Gov Tim Murray has bet the LG of Indiana an assortment of Massachusetts' finest brews and seafood if the Pats lose, matched to a reward of the select meats from the Indy LG, Becky Skillman.

But wagering consumables wasn't enough for these two superfans. No, Skillman felt the need to take a shot by saying: "The Colts have been an exciting team to follow all year, especially considering their perfect 9-0 record at home. I look forward to feasting on some fresh seafood as the Colts take their talent all the way to New Orleans next month."

Classy as ever, Tim Murray had this soundbyte about the Midwestern AFC rivals "The Patriots and Tom Brady have proven time and again that they play their best with their backs against the wall in their opponent’s territory. I’m confident that they will do the same this Sunday and secure a Super Bowl berth by defeating the Indianapolis Colts."

And because there apparently can never be a football post on DemApples without a picture of Tom Brady, here he is, in case y'all have forgotten: