May 10, 2007
Inbox, Outbox, 5/10
1. Poor advance work: did an aide to Rudy Giuliani really tell an Iowa family that they weren't rich enough to host a campaign event?
Last weekend Deb and Jerry VonSprecken of Olin received a call from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign office asking them if they would be interested in holding a campaign rally on May 4, after she had donated to his campaign....[they agreed].... .... On Tuesday Deb received a call from Giuliani's Des Monies office and was asked to call New York....."They wanted to know our assets," she revealed, and added that she and Jerry have a modest 80 acre farm and raise cattle. ..... Later she received a call from Tony Delgado at the Des Monies location. "Tony said, 'I'm sorry, you aren't worth a million dollars and he is campaigning on the Death Tax right now.' then he said they weren't going to be able to come," Deb continued.
2. Toyota fact checks Barack Obama on emissions.
"While our fuel standards haven't moved from 27.5 miles per gallon in two decades, both China and Japan have surpassed us, with Japanese cars now getting an average of 45 miles to the gallon," Obama said."I'm not sure where he got that figure," Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said. "No carmaker gets 45 m.p.g. Ours is closer to 30 m.p.g."
3. Those Bill Richardson ads are cute, but might they be too cute? Doesn't he want voters to take him more seriously? Also: resumes are for veep candidates. The ad kinda screams "Pick Me!"
4. Erick Erickson may not like Tom Cole's strategy for recapturing House seats, but Rahm Emanuel did pretty much the same thing in '06 and it didn't turn out so bad...
5. Sounds like Joe Biden endorses John Edwards's strategy for the Senate Iraq bill.
Posted at 02:52 PM
Comments
I believe "Japanese cars" should be interpreted as "cars sold in Japan". Google is being very unhelpful, but Japan recently passed laws to raise their fuel economy by 20% over 1995 levels.
Page 14 of this Pew report shows that currently subcompact cars in Japan have to get almost 50mpg, which will rise to 60mpg by 2010. So, it is a stretch, but considering one cannot buy a 50mpg car in the USA besides the Prius, it's just a question of degree.
Nicholas Beaudrot | 05.10.07 03:56 PM
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There's a big difference between Emanuel recruiting moderates and Cole doing so. Democrats do well when they run as moderates, a la Bill Clinton. Republicans do well when they run as conservatives, as did the last three Republican Presidents. (Whether all three actually governed as conservatives is another story.)
Sean | 05.10.07 03:59 PM
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The 45 MPG statement is obviously talking about "Japanese Cars" in Japan, not cars that happen to be made by a Japanese car maker. You can't do a true 1:1 comparison, because other countries don't use the CAFE standard, but the the recent Pew Report crunched the numbers and came up with...wait for it...over 45 MPG in Japan! Google is your friend! BTW: it took approximately 10 seconds to figure this out...and you wonder why people don't trust the media.
http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/Fuel%20Economy%20and%20GHG%20Standards_010605_110719.pdf
rashomon | 05.10.07 04:22 PM
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why you would trust toyota in the US to be truthful on this matter is beyond me:
http://www.iges.or.jp/APEIS/RISPO/spo/pdf/bgp/4301_BGP_III1_Vehicle_emission_GP.pdf
Japan 45; China 36 fuel economy standards for cars.
Obama is right | 05.10.07 04:34 PM
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If Edwards or Obama or Clinton had snubbed the farmer and his disabled wife for not being millionaires, we'd be hearing about it nonstop on cable news, talk radio, and op-ed pieces for weeks. I'm not holding my breath for coverage like that for Giuliani's classless, elitist ineptitude.
KCinDC | 05.10.07 05:12 PM
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He said Japanese cars, not Japanese car makers. As in cars driven in Japan. Toyota makes monster SUVs for US customers.
goethean | 05.10.07 05:16 PM
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The domestics certainly haven't flooded showrooms with gas/electric hybrids like the Japanese. But in fairness, the newest Japanese assembly plant in the U.S. produces 14-m.p.g. Toyota Tundra pickups, not Prius hybrids rated at 60 m.p.g.
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Toyota Tundra pickups rated at 60 miles per gallon?
Lorraine | 05.11.07 12:13 AM
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How many obviously incorrect statements can Obama make before he starts to look a little goofy?
Jim O'Sullivan | 05.11.07 08:41 AM
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>> If Edwards or Obama or Clinton had snubbed
>> the farmer and his disabled wife for not
>> being millionaires, we'd be hearing about it
>> nonstop on cable news, talk radio, and op-ed
>> pieces for weeks. I'm not holding my breath
>> for coverage like that for Giuliani's
>> classless, elitist ineptitude.
Totally agree. Don't expect media to cover any GOP controversies. They are the "poodles" or "sycophants" of the 'Grand Old courrPt Party'. Did you see any coverage by Hotline about Romney's statement about how French'd marriage is a contract of 7 years? No! But Hotline was on the heels of "bigot" story because they wanted to paint Romney as a victim. LOL.
awayne | 05.11.07 08:59 AM
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Richardson has run humorous ads before (the "cowboy" ad from his 2006 re-elect). They work for him because he's that kind of guy. While the Beltway crowd doesn't like it, it does get him to stand out and makes him memorable. Additionally, he is running on his resume at this point. He wants to position himself as the most qualified person in the field. Its a great distinction to be drawn between himself (and the entire "second tier") and the "first tier". Come election day 2008 Joe Biden, for instance, will have more experience in the Senate than the three members of the "first tier" combined. There's an experience gap and Richardson has calculated he needs to exploit it. To do so with humor really isn't a bad idea. (Remember that Russ Feingold used humor, and the nastiness of the "top" candidates, to win the nomination for Senate his first time out.)
Mitch Jones | 05.11.07 09:09 AM
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Rudy is coming to my farm instead.
RUDY! RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!
Cadbury G. Moneyfeathers | 05.11.07 11:35 AM
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Obama DID say "Japanese cars getting an average of 45 mpg".
I don't he's referring "All Japanese car manufacturers" or "All models in a fleet".
I think he's saying "There exist cars getting an average of 45 mpg." And this statement is a fact.
Unless you're in the business of twisting words. Then you guys hit this one on the head.
Disco | 05.11.07 10:27 PM
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