McCain Lapel Watch Day, Like, 200 and Something. Still No Flag Pin

(AFP/File/Robyn Beck)

Blustery blowhard Jim Inhofe today:

"Let me be clear," he said.

"I am not questioning Sen. Obama's patriotism, but you have to question why at times he seems so obviously opposed to public displays of patriotism and national pride, like wearing an American flag lapel pin."

Emphasis mine. How do they keep getting away with that line? McCain never wears one of those stupid things. Why does he hate America?

I'm also not seeing a flag pin on noteworthy Muslim jihadist Sarah Palin.

McCain Lapel Watch Day 1!

(AP Photo/Willis Glassgow) 10-03-07

I wrote a stupid item over a year ago about how Walnuts McCain is obviously an America-hater who would destroy the World Trade towers all over again if he could because --OMG-- he doesn't wear one of those stupid flag lapel pins. As you can see from the above picture, shot Wednesday, he still doesn't and, therefore, is a Communist.

I was being silly, of course. But now, all sorts of people are writing real articles in real newspapers (and dumb blogs) about how Obama doesn't wear one, either!

I'm assuming the Coulters and Limbaughs of this once-proud nation with be using this ridiculous observation as a springboard to question Obama's patriotism over the next couple of days (Michelle Malkin already has!), but here's my question: will McCain come to Obama's defense? Probably not. Better yet, will Walnuts quietly start wearing one of the unfashionable accessories in the next couple of days? Would his gay sweaters allow it?

Stay tuned!

Ayn Would Have Been Proud

So what do you do when your boutique Conservative™ movie flops hard at the box office? Well, obviously you release it on DVD as quickly as possible. But what if you're afraid that won't go over so well either? Simple! Just convince the few people interested to buy it four times! And that is what the Atlas Shrugged people have done: they've released four slightly different DVDs of the film, but they really want you to buy them all. The four versions are the Special Edition, the Atlas Society Edition, the FreedomWorks edition, and the Reason (Magazine) Edition. All four editions contain the same version of the movie, but with ever-so-slightly different bonus features which don't seem terribly substantial to begin with, and could all probably fit on one DVD. Lucky Randites, however, are definitely going to want to buy the Collector's Box Set, which features all four DVDs of the same movie four times with their slightly different bonus features, or the Galt Collection, which features the same movie four times plus geegaws, or the Deluxe Galt Collection, which features the same movie four times plus slightly different geegaws.

This is textbook core-audience soaking, like when Marvel cynically puts out the same comic book with five different front covers. It's just free enterprise at work, people! You may also wish to purchase actual frames from the release prints (or "Cels" as they incorrectly call them), which are certain to be in pristine condition. There's also an overpriced aluminum bracelet (?) which is actually attractive, and a lapel pin of the film's ugly logo which I only like because it reminds me of the old K-tel logo. Oddly enough, trucker hats are not available, so they obviously don't know their audience very well.

I hope fans of the movie and/or Ayn Rand really do buy and wear those lapel pins, because it's hard to imagine a better warning sign (other than a Gadsden Flag draped over the shoulders).

Cognitive Dissonance

Here's how John McCain was introduced in Pennsylvania yesterday:

[Lehigh County GOP Chairman Bill] Platt had more information to disclose. "Barack Obama refused to wear an American flag on his lapel," he said of the man who, at the presidential debate the night before, was wearing a flag pin on his lapel. The audience booed. "Barack Obama, a man who wants to be president of the United States of America, removed the American flag from his chest because it was a symbol of patriotism. Perhaps Barack Obama doesn't put country first, but he puts fashion first."

And then out comes John McCain:

And, of course, here's Obama from the night before:

These people seriously need to coordinate their scripts.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, the GOP constituency simply wants to "keep the nigger out of office."

Also! It sounds like the McCain campaign may be throwing their latest Hail Mary this morning. What will it be? Update: it's just a web site about... Bill Ayers. OMG, surely this will win the election for McCain.

McCain Lapel Watch Day 5! Still Gallantly Pinless!

Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,speaks during the GOP Presidential candidates debate at Ford Community and Performing Arts Center Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007 in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Up-to-the-minute news! John McCain is still bravely sporting his naked lapels for all to see at tonight's debate, seen above. I'll hand it to him: he didn't cave!

But! He's aware of it, because when he feels a little insecure about his pinlessness, out come the bracelets:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talks about the bracelet he now wears in memory of SPC Matthew J. Stanley, of the U.S. Army, from New Hampshire, who recently died in Iraq, during a news conference at his local office Friday, Oct. 5, 2007 in Phoenix. McCain met Stanley's mother on the campaign trail while in New Hampshire where he was given the bracelet. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Pony Pals may recall that we've seen this wrist accessory as protagonist act before here at PSP:

(Reuters 04-08-06)

The band has changed, but the song remains the same! Hooray for Walnuts!

Contest Roundup! We Have Winners! Kind Of!

OK, so! As I mentioned earlier, we don't really have a true winner, because nobody stated correctly exactly what is shown in the photos below.

The two winners, however, are impressive, because both of them, within a half-hour, guessed that the object is connected to the head of Daniel Chester French's plaster study of his Abraham Lincoln sculpture for the Lincoln Memorial, currently on display at my work in the midst of a welcome national burst of Abe worship. Please note the helpful suggestions on the lid of the box, highlighted in the detail above.

I don't know what it is about that box, but I just cracked up when I saw it. I was totally, all, like, "Fancy!" There's something so wonderfully unpretentious about this box... you could almost say it's log-cabiny in its humbleness.

Technically, Pony Pals Ian Quigley and David Forbes (who has known me since I was a teenager, but lives in Arizona) were both wrong, because the photos don't show Lincoln's head but, rather, the box it comes in. Zing! But, you know, close enough! And, wow, fast! A day later, Pony Pal Liquid also made this same guess.

Several others came very close; many thought the box held a bust of Lincoln. So near, and yet so far away!

Nobody puzzled out the clue, and I guess I'm not surprised because my coworkers told me it was impossible. OK, so here's what the clue (7 x .01 = ?) means: What do you get when you cross SE7EN (the movie) with a penny? Abraham Lincoln's head in a box! Get it? Um, look, I did admit it was a hard clue, OK? Seriously, get it?

So congrats to long-time Pony Pals Ian and David. Your tour bus photos and Win buttons will be mailed shortly! Pony Pal Liquid will also get a Win button, because let's face it, Gerald Ford's embarrassing lapel shame is a great piece of Americana, just like Lincoln's head.

Let's do this again sometime! With easier clues!

McCain Still Not Wearing Lapel Pin, Is Therefore a Muslim Extremist

Republican presidential front runner Sen. John McCain, speaks at CPAC 2008 in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008. McCain's rival for the Republican nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, pulled out of the race Thursday during an earlier speech at CPAC. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

It's hard for me to say what I like more about the above photo: the maniacal look on WALNUTS' face, or his big, bloated hands, or that long time Pony Pals™ know full well what's coming next...

McCain Lapel Checkup: Still Pinless, Still Unmentioned

US Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks during a visit in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 5, 2008. (Chris Keane/Reuters)

OK, so I was just reading Richard Cohen's latest brain-damaged reflections on scary black man Obama. It turns out Richard's OK with Obama's pinlessness! Neat! Late to the party but eager to please! I'm relieved a thinker of Cohen's caliber has weighed in on this crucially important issue.

So I thought that I'd check again to see if McCain is still pinless himself. And he is! But it's OK! Because it only matters when Democrats don't wear pins! Yay!

GOP Debate Lapel Scorecard

(PSP flashback to September 7, 2008, AFP photo)

Flag pin: Bachmann, Huntsman, Cain.
Eagle Scout pin: Perry.
No pin: Paul, Gingrich, Romney, Santorum.

Condishop Roundup

I love Pony Pals™ who send lovingly Photoshopped visions of our Princess-in-Chief. The above image of Condi behind the wheel of Steven King's Christine comes courtesy of formiddable image mangler Barrump. Have a near-beer on me, Froggy!

And next up, Uncle Splatty offers a dual-purpose image, one which not only shows our heroine displaying her patriotism in a way John McCain never would, as displayed in my post last night, but also offers an example of the fabled, longed-for "Severe" Hairdo Alert™ level. Whoah:

Uncle Splatty explains:

And who can beat Condi in the carefully staged, micro-managed world of symbol politics? No one! She has bested the lapel wearing crowd by a country mile, and check out those dreads, too. Support Our Troops, indeed!

Awesome, Uncle Splatty 'n' Barrump!

John McCain: Patriotic Accessory Provocateur

OMG, it's been driving me bonkers, that whole thing about how everyone thinks John McCain is a moderate when, like, he's so not. Kids say he's a maverick and I'm all, WTF? But I finally figured it out when I was reviewing the most recent wire photos of the Silver Fox. I kept getting the eerie feeling that something was... different. Look at the above picture from Tuesday. Notice anything missing? Here, look at him earlier today in Iowa stumping for Rep. Jim Nussle:

Don't get it yet? OK, here's another shot. Ask yourself what Jim Nussle has that McCain lacks (other than Christian fundamentalist support):

Still don't get it? OK, it's a thing most Republican politicians rarely leave home without. Bill Frist's got one:

Tom DeLay never makes a public appearance without one:

The President even makes sure his outerwear has one:

That's right! John McCain doesn't wear flag-themed lapel pins! This is HUGE! And that's what's doing it, that's why people look at him on Face the Press, or whatever, and say, "There's something different about that there Republican." But there isn't!

Of course I was tremendously relieved to discover that McCain doesn't totally eschew patriotic accessories. Oh, no, he might be a maverick, but he isn't stupid. Regard:

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), wearing a bracelet reading 'Support Our Troops,' shakes hands at a booksigning in Lebanon, New Hampshire April 8, 2006. Senator McCain, who is considered a possible Republican presidential candidate, visited the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire to sign copies of his new book and participate in a town hall style meeting with U.S. congressman Charlie Bass (R-NH). REUTERS/Brian Snyder

He's totally unstoppable.

EDIT: Hello, New Republic readers! Yes, yes... one of you pointed out that Frist and Nussle are wearing their congressional pin thingees. And thus, tragically, the entire oh-so-clever post pretty much collapses like a house of cards, proving that I should stick with what I know best (Condi, natch). But what does it all mean? Are flag pins on their way out? Please advise.

Extreme Makeover: Karen Hughes Edition

Two especially glittery hooves up for Pony Pal™ krimpet for these two extraordinary visions of Karen Hughes. Krimpet's right: if Karen wants to improve the United States' image, maybe she should start with her own.

The "Kiss Me I'm French" lapel button is an especially inspired touch.

Annnnnnd My Server Goes Down Again

It looks like my web host is down again, perhaps as a result of the LA power outages (EDIT: This was, indeed, the case). Meanwhile, here are some pictures of Condi linked directly (for now) from Yahoo news:

That's Condi earlier today with the President of Pakistan. And here she is yesterday with Mayor Bloomberg at the 911 anniversary ceremony:

Check out her mighty lapel pin! But are you thinking what I'm thinking? Condi hasn't had an "updo" day in a long time. I might have to actually lower the Condoleezza Hairdo Alert System™ soon if she doesn't do something. Also... same strand of pearls two days in a row? Oh, Condi, how could you?

UPDATE: Server back up at about 8pm. Also, a commenter pointed out, correctly, that there are most certainly some hairdo malfunctions going on in yesterday's pic... just enough to keep the CHAS™ status where it is.

In All Seriousness...

I've seen a couple of criticisms concerning this blog's obsession with Condi's hair at the expense of her other attributes. I'm shallow, they imply, because I write about Secretary Rice's coiffure rather than topics more befitting the mightiest female in the United States. And you know what? On reflection, those critics are right: I hardly ever mention Condi's clothing and accessories!

So here she is with her friends in Crawford, and I declare her outfit totally cute! I guess you'd call that a blazer set, kinda the big sister of the sweater set, and it's in a lovely light pink, and check out the up-to-the-minute length on those seasonally-correct white pants.* Take a bow, Condi! She really stands out against the guys. There's Cheney, for instance, a symphony in brown, in his usual Land's End shlubwear. The guy all the way on the left, though, makes me laugh, what with his khaki 'n' navy city ensemble. Get with the Texas program, buddy!

Look at him. That's National Security Advisor Steven Hadley. Can't you imagine him grudgingly removing the tie at his master's command to "lighten up a little, Stevie!"? I'm sure he stammered something like, "But I've never appeared in public without my lapel pin!" No, you'll take away his navy blue blazer when you pry it from his cold, dead hands.

*Sadly, shoe details are not available at this time, but if you look closely above, you can just make out Condi's favorite earrings. I'm kinda getting sick of those.

Keyes Pops Out of the Sewer Again

Today's Washington Post had a hilarious article about Alan Keyes and his wacko buddies at the Conservative Caucus. They got together to rant 'n' rave about the Judiciary, of course, and to suggest that "Ten Commandments Judge" Ray Moore is really the only sensible choice for the Supreme Court. Pardon me for saying, "God, help us!" What really got my attention, though, was this:

Members of a group called the Conservative Caucus sat around an oval table wearing Ten Commandments pins on their lapels and declining to speak in the polite tones favored by Bush in this "dignified debate" over judicial nominations.

Ten Commandments lapel pins!? I've GOT to get me one of those. So I searched around the internets, and here they are! And are they tacky?

Yes, they are very, very cheap and tacky.

EDIT: I almost forgot about my favorite part! Although former Judge Moore couldn't attend the meeting, he was there in spirit, represented by his portrait from the cover of his book... a graven image, if you will.

DeLay Hopes Larger Lapel Accessories Will Distract from Ethics Woes

Unaltered photo via Reuters.