D-Trip, Schumer Play Hardball

The DCCC is pretty agressively hitting back on House Republicans' "Drill Only" pose, in particular using the fact that John Boehner was out golfing while his colleagues were whipping it up playing model Congress on the House floor.

The Washington Post reported this morning that Minority Leader John Boehner has spent the first week of the congressional recess doing a series of golf outings while a small band of House Republicans remain in Washington to call for "drill only" legislation that does nothing to bring immediate relief to Americans paying high gas prices.

Big Oil tax breaks and subsidies supported by Republicans ... $14 Billion
Political contributions made to Republicans by Big Oil this cycle ... $13.5 Million
Profit earned by the top five Big Oil Companies last quarter ... $44 Billion
Cost of John Boehner's green fees while a small band of House Republicans' express faux outrage about gas prices * ... $240
The Grand Oil Party's hypocrisy about the cost of gas ... Priceless

("Drill only" is a great way to flip the frame. That's what it should always be called.)

They're apparently headed out to Capitol Hill today in golfing outfits (also known as "Republican casual").

Another guy hitting back hard in unexpected ways is Chuck Schumer.

"I thought the Britney Spears commercial was powerful," Schumer said, referring to McCain's television ad casting Obama as a vapid "celebrity."

"They're trying to say, 'He's not one of us,'" Schumer said.

"I would answer back hard. What do you mean he's not one of us? It's John McCain who wears $500 shoes, has six houses and comes from one of the richest families in his state," Schumer said. "It's Barack Obama who climbed up the hard way, and that's why he wants middle-class tax cuts and better schools for our kids."

Makes me feel relieved about the D-Trip and the D-Stick, not necessarily about the Obama campaign that Schumer has to go over their heads to contrast with them in public. Of course, the campaign committees are attack dog organizations, sort of different from a Presidential candidate campaign. This comes down to why it was so stupid to drain the swamp of 527s and control message solely from the top. Obama would have benefited greatly from some attack dog ads right about now.

Rocco Made The Birdie At 15!

I have to say I've been somewhat captivated by the US Open golf this weekend. You're only supposed to have one of these two storylines available in any major tournament - either you get the old pro who comes out of nowhere to win it, or the warrior who fights through injury to win it. This time we have both, and they're the only two left on the course today in an 18-hole playoff. Right now Rocco Mediate has a one-shot lead on Tiger Woods with 3 holes 2 holes to play. Jason Sobel is liveblogging for ESPN here.

18 is a birdie or even an eagle hole, so it'll come to that.

This is the obligatory monthly sports post. Just to fit all things sports into one, the Lakers can't play defense and Paul Pierce will win Game 6 on his own.

...two pars on 17. It's coming down to the last hole, a par-5, with Rocco in front by 1. No doubt Tiger will try to put it on in 2.

...Tiger birdies, Rocco pars, they both make classic choke putts, and we're tied after 90 holes. Now it goes to the sudden-death playoff we could have seen on Sunday.

...and it was too much to ask of Rocco to go toe-to-toe that long. He blew the 1st playoff hole and Tiger collects another major. OK, I'm done with golf for another few months.

THWACK! F*!k You Al Qaeda

Swing 'em home.



I think McCain's already taking up the challenge. On the front page of his website today is the item "golf gear." For the swinging, able-bodied, prime-fighting-age conservative at the country club instead of Iraq.

This Soldier Gave Up The Use of His Legs, I Gave Up Golf. Even Trade

The President of the United States knows from sacrifice. While sending off thousands of soldiers to die for his mistake, he didn't just keep on his daily routine and remove those men and women from his thoughts. He stopped golfing.

For the first time, Bush revealed a personal way in which he has tried to acknowledge the sacrifice of soldiers and their families: He has given up golf.

“I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”

If anything says "solidarity with men and women who are dying for your ego," it's giving up occasional leisure activities - while keeping up with other leisure activities like farting around Crawford on vacation so many times he set a record for Presidents.

Maybe it was this cringe-worthy moment from Fahrenheit 9/11 that led him to quit cold turkey.



Or maybe it was that he couldn't come up with anything that suggested he gave a second thought for the sacrifice of the military, and so he made up the whole thing, considering that his renouncing of golf times perfectly with a well-documented knee injury he incurred in 2003.

(Incidentally, Mike Allen from the Politico brought up Bush's giving up golf first in the interview, so he was fed it by some PR lackey on the Bush team and he thought it was so powerful and insightful that he had to highlight it. And people wonder why we consider some media members stenographers.)

It's an unbelievable statement, but considering that the President is making just the kind of moves that allow Democrats to win House races in the whitest parts of Mississippi, I say - keep talkin'!

UPDATE: It also happens to be untrue - the claim was that he gave up golf in August '03, yet there's documentary evidence of a golf game in October.