There is your Barack Obama’s Variety Funtime Half Hour, which ran last night before the World Series. This was the first time in 16 years that a presidential candidate had aired a pro-longed campaign commercial in primetime. It ran on seven networks and was estimated to cost the Obama campaign between $3.5 million and $5 million. I haven’t seen any word on ratings and you will have to judge for yourself whether or not the ad itself is effective. My take: he appears to have gotten the guy from Lord of the Rings to do the score, but I still may have teared up a little.
Congrats to all Phillies fans out there! After the campaign commercial, the Phillies and the Rays finally played the second half of Game 5. It was an action-packed 3 and a half innings that saw the lead change hands several times, but in the end Philadelphia pulled it out and won their first World Series in 28 years.
As expected, the Federal Reserve cut its interest rate by half a point yesterday. The move is designed to get banks to lend money to each other and the market was buoyed by the news. However, many experts are beginning to say that Fed cuts and the bank bailout will not be enough to keep the country out of recession.
The New York Times leads with a story about early voting, which has surged in popularity this year. Among some of the 32 states that allow their residents to vote early without an excuse, either by mail or in person, the verdict is already in from a full quarter of registered voters — well into the millions. The best part is that the article sort of points to annoyance as the reason so many people are voting – they think that if they vote, they can finally stop paying attention to the election.
Finally, because I am a huge nerd, David Tennant is going to be leaving Dr. Who after this season. Tennant has been playing the iconic science fiction character for 3 years and is one of the most popular actors to play the role in the show’s 48 year history.
Yes, I am recommending a rerun of the Colbert Report. No, Jeff won’t help you. Last night, Colbert kicked off a week of live shows from Philadelphia in advance of next week’s Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Last night Chris Matthews was on and during his interview leaked the fact that Colbert will have Senator Clinton on this Thursday. So watch last night’s to be prepared for tonight.
8:00 – Magnificent Seven (AMC)
Great movie about a town full of farmers who hire seven gunslingers to defend them from an army of bandits.
[Calvera has just captured the Seven] Calvera: What I don’t understand is why a man like you took the job in the first place, hmm? Why, huh? Chris: I wonder myself. Calvera: No, come on, come on, tell me why. Vin: It’s like a fellow I once knew in El Paso. One day, he just took all his clothes off and jumped in a mess of cactus. I asked him that same question, “Why?” Calvera: And? Vin: He said, “It seemed to be a good idea at the time.”
9:00 – Deadliest Catch (Discovery)
Tonight is the fourth season premiere of The Deadliest Catch, which follows Alaskan crab fisherman through their season on the water. Though the money is good, the work is hard and dangerous. Percentage-wise, it is the most dangerous job in the world. The big drama this season ss rumored to come from the new crew composed entirely of people who used to work at Bear Stearns.
Late Night
Letterman’s got Kelsey Grammer and Kristen Bell (Raising money for her charity). Leno’s got Brad Garrett. Conan has Josh Hartnett. Stewart has some author and Colbert cotinues his Philadelphia series by having on Michelle Obama and The Roots.
People on the East Coast are STILL talking about yesterday’s weather. The key for chatter today will be having a story about that bitchen walk you took yesterday. However, there are some stories kicking around.
BREAKING — The Associated Press is reporting that Senator Hillary Clinton and senator Barack Obama are… kinda the same!! The article details how the two have very few differences in most major policy areas. This might be a fun one to e-mail to your friends who are hardcore partisans for either candidate.
American Airlines cut flights yesterday, are cutting more flights today, and will probably cut more flights over the weekend. If this comes up at the office make loud noises of sympathy for anyone you know who has to travel at any point in the next month.
Bush administration conflict, naked pictures, and political shakedowns after the jump
