The Blue State

Cheney's NASCAR photo-op

Even though a majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of Vice President Dick Cheney, he is popular among male voters -- just the demographic he pandered to during his stop at NASCAR's Pepsi 400 on Saturday:

After Air Force Two buzzed the crowd, sweeping as low as 1,000 feetover the racetrack, Cheney's black SUV took a lap around the Daytonaspeedway at a sedate 65 mph (105 kph).

Infield spectators perchedatop behemoth recreational vehicles waved American flags and bannersproclaiming devotion to their favorite drivers and the beer companiesthat sponsor them.

 

"On Independence Day, we're reminded how fortunate we are tolive in freedom and call this nation home," Cheney told more than100,000 assembled to watch the Pepsi 400 at Daytona Internationalspeedway, the mecca of stock-car racing.

"We're are grateful above all to the men and women who defend us," he said to whoops and cheers.

"NASCARdads," a U.S. political term coined in recent years, refers toblue-collar, overwhelmingly white, mostly Southern men. Staunchsupporters of the military and sometimes avid hunters, they like to seecars hurtle around an asphalt track at speeds of up to 200 mph (320kph).

They also are an important part of the Republican politicalbase and the party will need to get them to the polls in November if itwants to retain control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Many of my friends enjoy NASCAR.  Personally, I don't see the point of watching a bunch of advertisements travel in a loop for two hours.  It makes for great partnerships between NASCAR and other corporations, which brings in a lot of money.  But does is it a great sport?  Could a NASCAR driver like Jeff Gordon even be compared to Babe Ruth, Bill Russell, Wayne Gretzky or Joe Montana?  I'd say not.  That's just me though.

Here is some footage of Dick Cheney's photo-op, or should I say his desperate attempt to court the conservative base just four months before the election:
 
Still, the question is whether this did anything to fire up the conservative base?  Most political experts agree that the progressive base is much more excited about November than the other side -- thanks to new-found energy supplied by the progressive blogosphere, Jon Stewart and John Murtha.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Other blogs writing about this issue: I Love Fox News, Coffee and Comedy, The Outside Groove, News Flash Blog.

Photo-op with Flight 93 families scheduled for tonight

This evening, President Bush is scheduled to conduct his first major policy-related photo-op since last year's staged video conference with troops, which did not play so well publicly.  The White House is hosting a selected group of families, who lost loved ones on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania, for a private screening of the movie "Flight 93":

President Bush invited relatives of some of the 40 passengers and crewmembers who are portrayed in United 93 to join him for a screening of the film at the White House Tuesday night.

Bush and his wife, Laura, planned to watch thefilm about the attacks in the family theater. The film focuses on thetragic drama aboard United Flight 93, the plane that crashed in ruralPennsylvania after passengers fought back against their hijackers.

"The president has always said that those whowere on the flight, that the passengers and crewmembers of the flight,were heroes," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Even the dumbest political strategist would admit that this private screening photo-op is part of a sustained effort by the Administration to regain the trust of the public on the issue of terrorism.  According to the latest CBS News Poll, only 46% support the President's handling of "the campaign against terrorism."