November 28, 2007

New Scandal: Obama Can’t Decide on a Favorite TV Show

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obama-maaah.jpg According to TV Guide, which did a survey of the presidential candidates to identify their favorite TV shows, Barack Obama prefers M*A*S*H* and The Wire.

Except on Facebook (login required), Obama lists his favorite show as Sportscenter.

This is a HUGE issue. Stop the presses.

Actually, don’t. Some junior staffers screwed up, no biggie. But let’s try to get it straight, guys.

More seriously, though, Obama messed up in a recent speech when he claimed (1) Bush never traveled abroad prior to being elected, and (2) the deficit will be twice as high upon Bush’s exit as it was upon his entrance. Both are false, according to the WaPo‘s very good FactChecker feature.

This post was basically an excuse to use this sentence from TV Guide, which obviously doesn’t try to hide its priorities: “The complete “Presidential Candidate Edition” column is in the Dec. 3 issue of TV Guide (Desperate Housewives’ Dana Delany is on the cover).”

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

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