Electoral Gems

Sex and Politics Again

John Edwards, one of the Democratic presidential candidate hopefuls, confessed in an interview with ABC News –after denying it repeatedly– that he did have extra-marital relations with a campaign adviser. He blamed “an egoism, a narcissism that leads you to believe that you can do whatever you feel like.” Afterward in a press conference he recognized that “being 99 percent honest is still not enough.” Edwards met Rielle Hunter in 2006 in a New York bar and contracted her to document his activities and use the images in videos for his campaign. Even though the woman had no experience in making documentary films, he paid her $114,000 for the job. These images appeared on, and then later disappeared, from Edwards’ website. A month ago, a visit to his ex-lover in a Beverly Hills hotel was revealed; it seems if that one percent of dishonesty reached one of the more honest politicians in the world.

The Rich for Democracy

It is predicted that Democratic candidate Barack Obama and his rival Republican John McCain, will altogether collect and spend billions of dollars in this electoral cycle, an unprecedented figure (the record is $675 million, by John Kerry and George W. Bush in 2004), reports the Wall Street Journal. In order to look for this money, they need rich people. In this election, there is a new type of “mega money collector”, people who make contributions of over $500,000. Each candidate has his team: Obama has the very influencial and rich Hollywood producers David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, and an executive of the Garlyle Group. McCain has Robert Wood Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, Jerrod Perenchio, ex-CEO of Univision, and the ex-Secretary of Commerce and oil tycoon Robert Mosbacher. Speaking of oil, McCain has seen a great consistent support from the oil industry after declaring himself in favor of increased drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.

Paris’ Revenge

After John McCain spread campaign videos comparing Obama to fake celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, recognizing his status as superstar but questioning if he was “ready to lead.” Hilton, heiress of the hotel fortune and one of the most famous public figures despite having no talent, responded with her own video. Resting in a lounge chair in front of a swimming pool in a revealing baithing suit, she called the Republican, “the oldest celebrity in the world.” She continued, “Hey, America, I’m Paris Hilton and I’m a celebrity, too. Only I’m not from the olden days and I’m not promising change like that other guy, I’m just hot.” Meanwhile, images were shown of Colonel Sanders, Yoda of Star Wars and other images of famous old people. Hilton referred to McCain as “that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad. Which I guess means I’m running for President, so thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude. And I want America to know that, I’m like, totally ready to lead.” She even offers recommendations to resolve the energy crisis, while at the same time recommending to look for places to get a better tan. The spot was produced by veterans of the comedic TV show, Saturday Night Live.

Wal-Mart Worried for Democracy

Wal-Mart, the largest employer in the United States, is participating in democracy. Thousands of their managers and supervisors have been mobilized in the company to warn their employees that if the Democrats win, there will be adverse consequences for the workers. Organizing mandatory assemblies, the managers made it very clear that a victory for Obama would permit a change in the federal law making the unionization of business easier, including Wal-Mart. “The leader of the assembly said ‘I’m not telling you all how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this law will be approved and we won’t have a vote about whether or not we want a union’. I’m not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote,” said one of the workers of a Wal-Mart store who attended one of the assemblies to the Wall Street Journal.

Don’t Help Me

Former President Bill Clinton, when asked if Obama was ready to lead, responded, “One could argue that no one is prepared to be President. One could argue that even if one has been Vice President for eight years, no one can be sufficiently prepared for the stresses of the job.” Not exactly the answer the Obama campaign was looking for.

Breaking Away From Bush?

Everyone knows that McCain needs to distance himself from one of the least popular U.S. presidents of all time. The most recent campaign spot of the Republican emphasizes this by affirming that “we are worse off than we were four years ago,” which was the second term of President Bush.