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THIS sounds like must-see TV.
Ben Smith of Politico.com reports that Barack Obama has agreed to sit down with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News on Thursday evening -- the same night John McCain delivers his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
The two events won't go head-to-head, of course. But Obama's appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor" will give him a chance to make his case to an audience that presumably will also watch McCain en masse. It's hard to imagine many of O'Reilly's viewers will be swayed by Obama, but his campaign obviously figures it's worth the effort to try to pick up a few strays.
The NFL season also opens Thursday at 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT) with a game between the defending Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants, and one of their longstanding rivals, the Washington Redskins. But even committed football fans might be tempted to check out the action on the O'Reilly set, especially if the matchup they're watching isn't producing fireworks.
-- Don Frederick
DENVER -- As is his wont, Barack Obama blew off some steam today before his long-awaited speech tonight before a multitude of adoring Democrats by engaging in his favorite athletic endeavor -- a game of b-ball.
The now-official Democratic presidential nominee arrived at the Denver Athletic Club about 8:15 a.m. MDT with a couple of friends -- Reggie Love and Dr. Eric Whitaker.
According to pool reporter Matthew Mosk of the Washington Post, their game lasted about an hour. No word on whether he was on target with his shots or not.
-- Don Frederick
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Wow, here's a political stunner for a Friday morning.
It seems there's a new political survey out. 
It seems there's one of them every few minutes in these presidential election years. Who would you rather hear at the Kiwanis Club? Who would you like to attend your PTA meeting? Whom would you prefer to braise ribs for?
Anyway, this new survey shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the former naval attack pilot who actually landed jet planes on a moving aircraft carrier after getting shot at, the guy who lives in the West and hikes the Grand Canyon with his two sons in the military, the one who has three dogs among assorted pets and likes to wear flannel shirts around the house with his wife, the blond who drives race cars, is considerably more popular am ong the nation's 40 million hunters and fisherpersons than the other presidential candidate who went to Harvard Law School, married another lawyer, pals around with Oprah in Chicago knowing about arugula and has promised to get his children a dog after the election.
Hard to believe, but it's true. The numbers don't lie.
Our co-blogger Pete Thomas has the full details over on the Outposts blog right here.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credits: (top) Stephan Savoia / Associated Press; (bottom) Associated Press
President George W. Bush, who played baseball, coached Little League, owned a big league team and watches the Texas Rangers at every opportunity, can't stay away from the U.S. teams at the Beijing Olympic games.
Today, as the busy crowd over at our Olympics blog notes, after an hour's brisk bit of mountain-biking himself, Bush paid another visit to the American athletes, watching the women warm up for softball, regretting the disappearance of that sport from the next Olympics ("It's good for the world to have girls playing softball and these women are going to show young girls how to win") and trying his hand, so to speak, at volleyball.
Bush knuckled off a couple of lobs, but defending gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh gave the chief executive some pointers. Then after a good play, in the tradition of female volleyballers, May-Treanor turned, bent over slightly and offered her bikinied rear-end for the 43rd president to slap.
"Mr. President," she said, "want to?"
Want to has nothing to do with it in public life.
As the son of a president, a husband of nearly 37 years, the father of two daughters, the subject of some attempted tabloid exposes and a seasoned political veteran, who is not a female athlete but knows that every camera for a half-mile is trained on him, Bush wisely chose instead to brush his hand across the small of May-Treanor's back. (See photo.)
Darn!
That did, however, lead to a hilarious Reuters photo caption and immediate correction (hat tip to Mike Allen's Saturday Playbook).
Original photo caption: “U.S. President George W. Bush playfully pats the backside of U.S. Women's Beach Volleyball team player Misty May-Treanor (L) at her invitation while visiting the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Grounds at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, August 9, 2008. Team mate Kerri Walsh (R) watches.”
Corrected caption, eight minutes later: “ATTENTION EDITORS - CAPTION CLARIFICATION U.S. President George W. Bush playfully pats the back of U.S. Women's Beach Volleyball team player Misty May-Treanor (L) at her invitation while visiting the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Grounds at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, August 9, 2008. Teammate Kerri Walsh (R) watches.”
That English language can be tricky, can't it? "Back" and "backside" are so similar but seem to have completely different connotations.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press
Sen. John McCain thinks it's a swell idea that his Democratic opponent Barack Obama is taking a week off now with his family in Hawaii. And not just because it leaves the publicity all to the continuously campaigning underdog Republican candidate.
In another one of his chats with a few reporters traveling with him last night, according to The Times' Bob Drogin, McCain admitted an eagerness to watch as much of the Olympics as possible without the imminent threat of some incoming political shells. Although he still plans a full week of campaigning.
All McCain's got to do like the rest of us is figure out how this bizarre tape-delayed NBC time fits in with the standard time zones that humans are accustomed to.
"You've got the Olympics," McCain said. "You've got vacation. You got people on the beach. If you were going to take a week off, this is probably an intelligent time to do it. I'll be watching the Olympics. I'll be watching the Olympics as much as possible."
Like millions of American armchair sports enthusiasts, McCain will focus on the world's highest-paid "amateur" athletes, the NBA stars on the U.S. Olympic team.
"I'll be interested in seeing the basketball team," McCain added. "It's sort of the standard ones. I'll be interested in seeing how the basketball team does. How the baseball team does. You know. I like it all.
"We're all caught up in the excitement of it, especially us mediocre high school junior varsity athletes."
Now, there's something that many voters can identify with.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo: Sen. John McCain with his daughter Meghan; credit: Getty Images
Forget all this presidency, politician and White House stuff. You're never going to convince Judith Bonesky that Barack Obama isn't a No. 1 all-star, world-scale, international ever-loving hunk of a celebrity.
And now, with a hat tip to loyal Ticket reader Kate, we have Bonesky's own account of her own encounter with fame from the German magazine Bild. It's really quite exciting! We can discern that by all the exclamation marks she uses. Like this!
The headline: "I worked out with Obama!
He curled 32 kilo dumbbells next to me +++ Barack is top fit"
The story is breathless too, which is appropriate for a workout. According to Bonesky, she was exercising in the gym of Berlin's Ritz-Carlton hotel while thousands of other excited Germans gathered in a platz to hear Obama speak during his recent European campaign trip.
It was 4:02 p.m., she remembers, when a guard told her, "Barack Obama is about to come and train." We can only imagine the excitement!
Twenty-eight minutes later, in case you're counting, He shows up and in his deep voice says to her, "Hi, how's it going?" His actual words.
Bonesky picks up the story: "My heart beats. 'Very good, and you?' I say. Obama replies: 'Very good, thank you!'
"Obama (with toned arms and a strong back) puts on his headphones for his iPod to listen to pop music. He hums quietly. Then he jumps on a fitness bike. He pushes three times on the pedals –- but then can’t be bothered with it.
"He goes and picks up a pair of 16 kilo weights and starts curling them with his left and right arms, 30 repetitions on each side. Then, amazingly, he picks up the 32 kilo weights! Very slowly he lifts them, first 10 curls with his right, then 10 with his left. He breathes deeply in and out and takes a sip of water from his 0.5 litre Evian bottle."
Didn't we tell you how exciting this was? And you'll never guess what Obama did next: 10 situps. Judith was counting.
Then he was done. But Bonesky mustered all of her courage to ask for a photo with him. Even though he's American, he was very nice about it. Judith continued:
“'My name’s Judith,' I reply. 'I’m Barack Obama, nice to meet you!' he says, and puts his arm across my shoulder. I put my arm around his hip –- wow, he didn’t even sweat! WHAT A MAN!"
The Ticket would never lie to you! But in case you don't believe us, here's the English translation of the breathtaking Bild article to see for yourself! There's also a nice photo of the two new BFFs!
--Andrew Malcolm!
Photo credit: BarackObama.com!
Not sure how we missed him the other day in another one of Dan Morain's comprehensive campaign finance roundups. After all, the guy is about two feet taller than our garage door.
But LeBron Raymone James, the 6-8 "small" forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has endorsed Barack Obama for president.
If by endorsing, you mean donating $20G's to a committee devoted to electing the freshman Illinois Democratic senator as president on Nov. 4.
James, an Akron native, was the No. 1 NBA draft choice in 2003 out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. He got $90 million for a shoe-endorsing contract with Nike before playing one minute in the NBA. So he sure must have pretty feet.
Presumably James can afford the political donation. Maybe he'll also throw in a pair of running shoes for Obama to finish the race.
As you can easily see from the video highlights below, the much-touted James has turned out to be a pretty mediocre pro player, actually. He managed to be elected league Rookie of the Year only once. He's been on the All-NBA team only four times and was league scoring champion this past season.
Sure, as you can see, he's large (250 pounds), but he's quick, jumps high and makes baskets from great distances.
Other than that, not much to show.
--Andrew Malcolm
Andrew Giuliani, who sometimes hasn't really been talking with his father, Rudy Giuliani, now isn't talking to Duke University, where he's been kicked off the varsity golf team.
The career goal of Andrew, the 22-year-old only son of the former mayor and his former wife, Donna Hanover, is to walk a lot while repeatedly hitting a little white ball into holes in the ground as a pro.
But according to our about-to-be-former colleagues over at Newsday, Andrew's slipped into the rough and is now suing Duke, alleging "unfounded accusations" and "a bizarre 'Lord of the Flies' scheme."
It's a familiar story in college athletics: Athlete gets recruited by one coach, who moves on or, in this case, dies, and the replacement doesn't have the same regard for the kid left behind.
According to the suit, Andrew, who will be a senior this year, was kicked off the team in February by new coach O.D. Vincent, late of UCLA. Andrew claims the reasons given were bogus, including breaking a driver, flipping a golf club toward his bag one day and speeding out of the school parking lot. The suit claims they were "fabricated and an insufficient excuse" for booting him.
When he confronted the coach, Andrew's suit says, Vincent said he'd allow the ex-mayor's son to return if all 12 of the other team members wrote the coach adequate letters appealing for Andrew's reinstatement.
A university spokesman declined to comment until officials had received and read a copy of the suit (available here--hat tip Wall Street Journal Law Blog).
Andrew does not seek team reinstatement but unspecified monetary damages and restoration of training privileges. As for his father, Andrew told Newsday, "I love my father very much. I just decided not to ask him to get involved in this situation."
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo credit: Diana Bondareff / Associated Press
Last year's surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is widely credited with reducing violence in the country.
But Barack Obama says he still isn't persuaded that the troop-increase plan -- which he opposed, and John McCain supported -- deserves the credit. So why did violence subside?
In an interview Monday with Terry Moran of ABC's "Nightline," Obama attributed the improvement to "a combination of political factors inside of Iraq that then came right at the same time as terrific work by our troops." Those political factors included Sunni tribal leaders rising up against Al Queda, he said, and the "standing down" of Shiite militias "to some degree."
Obama also dashed the hopes of any optimistic peace activists that, as president, he would disengage the United States from overseas conflicts. One of the reasons he has set a goal of withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq in 16 months is that he wants to put more forces in Afghanistan where, he said, "we need at least a couple more brigades and right now we don't know where to get them from."
Yet disagreements with military commanders over managing warfare are inevitable for presidents, he said. "This is not a science," Obama said, "it's an art."
(UPDATE: Obama, at his news conference today in Jordan, said there has been “security progress” in Iraq over the past year, and now it’s time to work toward “a political solution.”)
-- Stuart Silverstein
Here's a little chuckle for a Tuesday morning.
The funny folks over at Comedy Central have apparently become loyal Ticket readers too. Especially the ones on that website's wonderfully insightful Indecision 2008 News Desk -- "Something Approximating Election News with Something Approximating Honesty."
Last night the website's blogger took one of our recent items -- "Barack Obama may campaign at a NASCAR event" -- and had a little more fun with it. (See the headline on this morning's Ticket item.)
The Ticket had reported Thursday that Obama was considering attending a NASCAR event in coming months because, well, that's where white working-class votes are.
And the Democrat can use some. A whole bunch, in fact. We noted that Bill Clinton went to a NASCAR event in 1992 and got booed and boycotted, while George W. Bush received a friendlier reception in more recent years.
Comedy Central's CubbyChaser linked to our item about Obama's plans with the comment: "Why does this not surprise me in the least?"
And he provides a doctored photo of the Democratic nominee that should become a poster. We're not going to ruin his sight gag. You can click here to see it for yourself.
And be sure to note Obama's sponsor.
--Andrew Malcolm
Barack Obama frequently bemoans that the biggest downside for him about running for the world's most important job is the amount of time he's away from his two young daughters, but lately he's worked more family time into his schedule.
 He spent much of last weekend on the home front in Chicago -- foregoing, somewhat surprisingly, a nearby meeting of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. And Tuesday night, he got to watch his eldest daugther, Malia, play soccer (working it in after delivering a speech in Ohio on how he would operate the faith-based initiative started by President Bush and before traveling today to Colorado to talk about how he would run a national service program).
The Times' Peter Nicholas was near Obama as the candidate and his wife, Michelle, sauntered onto the athletic field at the University of Illinois at Chicago, well prepared with matching bags containing fold-up chairs.
Nicholas reports that when the Obamas arrived, some friends and acquaintances came over to shake hands or hug them. But after that, they were largely left alone -- there was a game to watch, after all.
Before the action began, Obama playfully kicked a ball around with a small boy. And, Nicholas relates, he showed far more dexterity than he exhibited in that Altoona, Pa., bowling alley a few months back.
During a break in Malia’s game, she wandered over to the sidelines and Obama offered some pointers on proper kicking form. And as play proceeded, his younger daughter, Sasha, sat in his lap for awhile.
Obama's night was not completely given over to recreation, however. About 9 p.m. (CDT), he arrived at his campaign headquarters for a confab that lasted a more than two hours. Presumably, the kids were in bed when he returned home.
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Associated Press
Yes, allright the Lakers are in something of a hole here against those other guys.
But there's Hope. For Sunday. And beyond. Thanks to political history.
Yes, fans, in the last nearly six decades of professional bouncing basketballs, the Lakers have played in the league Finals eight times during presidential election years.
This year is No. 9.
The good news is they've won five of those eight times.
The bad news is they've lost three times -- to Detroit 4-1 during the most recent presidential election and to these same Mas sachusetts guys 4-3 in 1984 and 4-2 exactly 40 years ago.
The Lakers beat the Pacers 4-2 in 2000, the Pistons 4-3 in 1988, the 76ers 4-2 in 1980 with Magic at the MVP podium, the Knicks 4-1 in 1972 with Wilt Chamberlin as MVP and the Knicks again 4-3 as the Minneapolis Lakers in 1952.
Interestingly, win or lose, every time L.A. plays in the Finals during presidential leap years, the Republican candidate wins -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon twice, Ronald Reagan twice, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush twice.
So it's safe to say that instead of the predictable Navy baseball cap, Sen. John McCain, who is a real basketball fan (he did his own NCAA brackets online this March) who doesn't like to lose. As anyone can see from his game face here.
So McCain really oughta be wearing a Lakers cap and two Lakers shirts, plus a Lakers jacket and several pennants on his cars.
Until he returns home to Arizona.
Now you can see the take of our two Lakers bloggers -- Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky -- on our take on their team by going here. But please come back.
(UPDATE: Obviously, totally due to this blog item the Lakers came storming back Sunday. A belated thanks to loyal Ticket reader John and K.C. for their help with this. Now, if you're a Lakers fan, you must click dozens of times on this item for ongoing good luck. :-) )
--Andrew Malcolm
On this, the first anniversary of our Top of the Ticket blog, we are reminded of the mercurial, unpredictable nature of U.S. politics -- part of what makes what we do so fascinating.
Our goal -- one of us on the East Coast and the other on the far more important or at least less humid West Coast -- was to write about Campaign '08 virtually around the clock.
Our second-ever posting, 12 months ago today, previewed an upcoming L.A. Times/Bloomberg Poll; later in the day, we detailed the results of the nationwide survey. The findings were in line with other polls of the time.
In the Republican presidential race, which then seemed the most likely to last deep into the primary season, Rudy Giuliani was perched in first place. His lead wasn't overwhelming, but it was strong enough that he appeared certain to remain a major contender.
His liberal record on social issues loomed as an obvious liability within his party, but his tough-on-terrorism message was attracting substantial support from moderates and GOP-leaning independents.
His major headache among rivals last June was an as-yet-undeclared candidate who was riding a wave as the great conservative hope -- Fred Thompson. He ran a strong second in the poll.
Lagging far behind were John McCain and Mitt Romney, each barely with double-digit support. In our preview posting, we were especially scornful of McCain, noting sarcastically (and foolishly, as it turned out) that in the poll, he found himself "in heated competition with the 'Don't Know' category."
Meriting no mention from us was Mike Huckabee, one of several back-of-the-pack candidates barely earning any support across the country.
The Democratic race, at that point, seemed so much more cut-and-dried.
Hillary Clinton was the clear front-runner; Barack Obama was just as clearly ...
Read more Top of the Ticket, the start of Year Two »
The debate is on: The widely circulated photograph of Barack Obama on a bicycle this last weekend either did the presidential candidate no favors, or actually helped his cause.
In an article in today's New York Daily News, writer David Saltonstall shows no mercy, declaring: "It wasn't a pretty picture: ill-fitting jeans, a tucked-in golf shirt, black-and-white socks and a helmet that could make Michael Dukakis blush."
 Yet in comments to Saltonstall, some Big Apple fashionistas cut Obama major slack. Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York, says: "I like seeing my politicians in goofy weekend attire. It means they're thinking about more important stuff."
Newsweek's Andrew Romano notes today that when the shot of Obama on the bike as part of an excursion with his family in Chicago "hit the wires, the heavily trafficked right-wing message boards of Free Republic went wild."
Those postings, as you can imagine, weren't complimentary toward Obama (but several were creative).
Romano, though, argues that the "bike moment" will be a plus for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee because it "makes him look like a normal, nerdy American dad."
Boston Herald columnist Margery Eagan also sees a political upside for Obama, and in doing so she directly confronts the race issue. She writes: "It’s hard to get Willie Hortoned -- turned into the radical black guy who gives white America the heebie jeebies -- when you look as suburban, as unchic, as let’s-hop-in-the-Explorer-and-head-to-Costco wonky as Obama looks in this oh-no! photo."
The rest of her piece can be read here.
On one point, we think all can agree: As Obama took some time to relax along Lake Michigan, it's wise that, unlike Democrat John Kerry during the 2004 campaign, he avoided windsurfing.
-- Don Frederick
Top photo: Barack Obama rides a bicycle built for one over the weekend in Chicago. Credit: Associated Press
Bottom photo: Former presidential candidate John Kerry gives windsurfing a whirl during his push for the White House in 2004. Credit: Agence France-Presse
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty went fishing a few days ago and, in the process, raised at least some question about whether he's ready for the national prime time that some have been predicting could await him.
He may be an unknown to most folks outside his home state, but Pawlenty has figured prominently in  the increasing speculation about running mates for presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain. On Sunday, in fact, he earned the No. 1 ranking from the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza and Shailagh Murray in their list of the five "most logical veeps" for each party's ticket.
The governor, they wrote, "best fits what McCain wants and needs in a VP. Pawlenty has been elected twice in a Democratic-leaning state that is almost certain to be a battleground in the fall. He is liked and respected by both conservatives and moderates, and he gets rave reviews for his political instincts. He has also known McCain for nearly three decades and, at 47, could allay some concerns about McCain's age."
Who he beat out for the top spot (and who made the Democratic list) can be read here. But little did the Post journalists know that on Friday, on the eve of an annual angling event at Big Pelican Lake in Breezy Point, Minn., Pawlenty had provided this sound bite to a Minneapolis radio show: "I have a wife who genuinely loves to fish. I mean, she will take the lead and ask me to go out fishing, and joyfully comes here. She loves football, she'll go to hockey games and, I jokingly say, 'Now, if I could only get her to have sex with me.'"
His radio host howls but, as can be ...
Read more Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Ready or not to be John McCain's vice presidential pick? »
ABC's George Stephanopoulos summed up the prevailing pundit opinion on “Good Morning America” today when he predicted that undeclared Democratic superdelegates would start flocking to Barack Obama. Yet the first party honcho to tip his after Tuesday's primaries that boosted  Obama signed up with ... Hillary Clinton.
A cynic might note that in announcing his support for Clinton, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina was aping his ill-fated pro football career -- joining the roster of a losing team.
But after washing out as a quarterback in the mid-to-late '90s with the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders, Shuler succeeded as a politician by making clear to the constituents of the western tip of the Tar Heel state that although he was a Democrat, he shared their moderate-to-conservative opinions on most issues. That enabled him, in 2006, to knock off an eight-term Republican incumbent.
In endorsing Clinton, Shuler was hewing to the views of those who sent him to Washington. Although Clinton lost North Carolina to Obama by 14 percentage points, the results in Shuler's district were almost exactly the reverse: she won by 13 points.
He had said he would back the candidate who carried his home turf, and so he had, a spokesman for Shuler announced.
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Allsport
Perhaps it was a coincidence. Or perhaps Barack Obama's campaign wanted to provide a quick reminder that they've got Kennedys too.
Two emails relating to the Democratic dynasty landed in reporter in-boxes Saturday afternoon. First came news from the Clinton campaign that Maryland's Democratic Central Committee had elected former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and a Hillary Clinton  supporter, as an automatic delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
Just 96 minutes later, another Kennedy was heard from: Townsend's cousin Caroline, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, writing on behalf of Obama.
Now it's not exactly news that she's an Obama backer; she announced that to the world, via a New York Times column, back in late January. The excuse for her new email was the Obama Organizing Fellowship, for which the campaign is seeking students and recent graduates who "will be trained on the basics of organizing and campaign fundamentals and then placed in a community to carry out grassroots activities."
She also was busy on another front Saturday -- attending the Kentucky Derby to help carry Obama's banner. (The state's primary is May 20.)
In Democratic circles, Caroline Kennedy, the sole surviving heir to Camelot, might be the more influential of the two cousins. Kennedy Townsend, however, is the one who gets to vote at the convention.
-- Matthew Hay Brown and Don Frederick
Matthew Hay Brown, of the Baltimore Sun, writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau.
Roy Williams, for years one of the most successful coaches in college basketball, has taken a shot at political prognostication.
“You've got the future president of the United States wide open,” he shouted at one point to present and past University of North Carolina basketball players who were part of a pickup game Tuesday that  included Barack Obama (and who apparently weren't as willing as they should have been to pass to him).
The coaching tip from Williams, who won the national championship at UNC a few years back and led the Tar Heels to the Final Four earlier this spring, earned him "quote of the day" honors from ABC's daily political note (no small achievement, given the plethora of sound bites Obama provided later at his news conference denouncing the Rev. Jeremiah Wright).
If ever a politician needed to work off some nervous energy with a game of hoops, we imagine it was Obama as he grappled ...
Read more Barack Obama gets in some exercise »
Add one of the first families of professional football -- the Rooneys of Pittsburgh -- to the list of clans (most obviously, the Kennedys) riven by this year's presidential campaign.
Dan Rooney (pictured at right), owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and son of the team's founder, Art Rooney, today came  out foursquare for Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential race. The endorsement no doubt was in the works before clamor broke out over Obama's small-town America remarks but, given the extra problems those words seem to have created for him as Pennsylvania's April 22 primary nears, the nod from Rooney is well-timed.
“True sports fans know that you support your team even when they are the underdogs,” Rooney, 75, said in a statement that now may resonate more than ever for the Obama forces in Pennsylvania. “Barack Obama is the underdog here but it is with great pride that I join his team.”
Rooney, like others who have lined up behind him, cited his influence on youth. "As a grandfather and a citizen of this community, I think Barack Obama’s thoughtful, strategic approach is important to America," Rooney said. "When I hear how excited young people seem to be when they talk about this man, I believe he will do what is best for them, which is to inspire them to be great Americans."
But don't look for one of Rooney's sons to follow his lead. Tom Rooney, a lawyer, is among the Republican candidates vying for the chance to oppose Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney in Florida's 16th District.
That's the once-safe GOP seat that its longtime incumbent, Mark Foley, was forced to give up just before the 2006 midterm election when it was discovered that his interest in congressional pages was a wee bit over the top.
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Associated Press
The power of suggestion combined with the power of the Internet is an awesome phenomenon to behold, as illustrated most vividly over the last couple of days by the saga of the reflection in Dick Cheney's sunglasses.
The Ticket, foolishly preoccupied with other matters, comes late to this, but as virtually every Web-surfer knows, a photo that had been posted on the White House Web of the vice president fly-fishing on the Snake River in Idaho, apparently a few years ago, has become a sensation. And it's not because we've become a nation of avid anglers.
No, the reason is that a blog posting earlier this week postulated that upon intense inspection, the reflection in Cheney's trademark sunglasses revealed (pardon us) a NAKED LADY. And that was all it took to generate an extraordinary buzz.
As of a few minutes ago, a Google search of "Dick Cheney" and "sunglasses" came back with more than 87,000 hits. The 100,000 mark is sure to be breached soon.
Times reporter James Hohmann this afternoon tracked down Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride, traveling with the vice president on fundraising stops he's making in Colorado and California. She reiterated what other White House staffers have had to spend time explaining -- upon close examination, it's clear the reflection simply caught the vice president in the act of casting a rod.
"He’s fly fishing," she said, understandably a bit exasperated. "That’s what he’s doing."
And no, she added, there were no naked ladies in the vicinity.
Readers, as always, are invited to comment -- give us your reflections on the reflection.
-- Don Frederick
Photo: David Bohrer / The White House via Associated Press
Barack Obama's skills as an orator already have left enraptured audiences in his wake from coast to coast. Now comes word that if he's willing to expand his circle of collaborators, the act he takes on the road could forever redefine the boundaries of political speech.
We gush, of course. But it's hard not to be agog when contemplating the final product that could result if Obama's rhetorical talents get teamed up with those of John Cleese.
 Cleese -- of Monty Python, "A Fish Called Wanda" and "Fawlty Towers" fame (the latter is our personal fave) -- let this drop in an interview with the Western Daily Press (a newspaper that circulates in Gloucestershire, Somerset, Bath and other parts of England):
"I am due to come to Europe in November, but I may be tied up until then because if Barack Obama gets the nomination I'm going to offer my services to him as a speechwriter because I think he is a brilliant man."
Cleese, who now lives most of the year in California, already is on record contributing $2,300 to Obama (the maximum for the primary campaign).
Word of Cleese's interest in becoming a wordsmith for Obama surfaced on this side of the pond in a New York Daily News story. Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki is quoted ...
Read more John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, wants to team up with Barack Obama »
Just in time to help out in the walkup to Oregon's May 20 primary, Barack Obama has a strong supporter moving to the state -- brother-in-law Craig Robinson.
Robinson, whose sister is Obama's wife, Michelle, has been named head basketball coach at Oregon State University, located in Corvallis. At the least, he gets points for being willing to take on a challenge -- the Associated Press begins its story on Robinson's hiring with this phrase: "Taking a job that others turned down..."
Why was the job not so popular? Well, it seems Oregon State has had all of one winning season since 1990 -- and finished at 6-25 this year. So Robinson has his work cut out for him (and we imagine the myriad of NCAA rules include a ban on dangling overnights at the White House as a recruiting tool).
Robinson had been coaching the last couple of seasons at Brown University in Rhode Island. His record there -- in terms of politics -- wasn't so hot; Obama lost the state's March 4 primary by double digits to Hillary Clinton.
-- Don Frederick
It's Monday, just two weeks out from the crucial Pennsylvania primary. Everybody in politics is talking about you firing your chief strategist over the weekend and turmoil in your operation that's also lagging in fundraising, attracting half the funds of your opponent wh ile he outspends you up to five-to-one.
So what's a woman to do, other than go on "Ellen"?
You need to change the subject -- and quickly.
How about, demand that somebody else who nobody likes anyway do something he won't do but it'll grab some publicity and you'll look good saying he should and it won't cost you anything?
So today Sen. Hillary Clinton called on President Bush to boycott the opening of the Olympic games this summer in Beijing over the issue of, naturally, human rights. You know, Darfur, Tibet, that kind of thing that China has proven oblivious to. That'll get at least your left and maybe the media talking about something else.
"These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China," Clinton said.
So what if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has....
Read more Why Clinton calls on Bush to boycott Olympic opening and why he won't »
The two guys remaining in the presidential race gained a fair amount of press two weeks ago when they made a point of disclosing their picks in the NCAA college basketball tournament (Hillary Clinton did not fill out a bracket sheet -- at least not for public consumption).
 So now that the Final Four matchups are upon us, how did Barack Obama and John McCain fare? Pretty well.
Neither foresaw that each of the No. 1 seeds would advance, but both picked three of the top dogs to survive. And that includes their mutual selection to win it all -- the University of North Carolina.
Obama, though, has a chance to edge out McCain for best showing, at least in terms of the remaining games. Along with UNC, he tabbed another team still alive -- UCLA -- to square off in Monday's championship.
McCain chose UNC to play the ultimate game against a No. 4 seed that failed to make it to the final round -- the University of Connecticut (perhaps his thinking was influenced by Sen. Joe Lieberman, who has broken with his Democratic roots to actively promote the presumed Republican presidential nominee).
The one pick by Obama that got left in the dust also was a No. 4 seed -- the University of Pittsburgh (perhaps, in this case, he had an eye on how his choices would play in Pennsylvania as its April 22 primary approaches).
The one No.1 team that Obama disrespected, by the way, was Memphis. On McCain's card, it was UCLA (and here we thought McCain was that rare GOP White House contender with a fondness for California).
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times
Barack Obama's lack of prowess at bowling (to put it mildly) quickly has become part of the '08 presidential campaign's lore. And Hillary Clinton, ever quick to pounce, is not about to let voters forget.
Campaigning today in Philadelphia, Clinton challenged Obama to a "bowl-off'' (and displayed a preference for punning).
"I have a proposal," Clinton deadpanned. "Today, I am challenging Sen. Obama to a bowl-off, a bowling night, right here in Pennsylvania. Winner take all."
She continued, amid guffaws from her listeners: "I'll even spot him two frames. It's time for his campaign to get out of the gutter ... and allow all of the pins to be counted.
"And I am prepared to play this game all the way to the 10th frame. And when this game is over, the American people will know, when that phone rings at 3 a.m., they'll have a president who's ready to bowl on Day One.
"So let's strike a deal and go bowling for delegates," she said. "We don't have a moment to spare."
She added: "Happy April Fool's Day, everybody."
-- Mark Silva
Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau writes for the Swamp blog.
There are a lot of loud-mouths in Washington, but none with the large mouths of the trophy fish that Alton Jones and Judy Wong have caught.
Jones, an angler from Waco, Texas, who won the 2008 Bassmaster Classic -– and $500,000 -– and Wong, an angler from Many, La., who won the Women’s Bassmaster tour and $60,000 in prizes (a little problem with gender equity there), arrived at the Oval Office this morning for some recognition by the angler-in-chief.
"I've got the fishing champs of this year," President Bush said at the White House reception for the Bassmasters.
"And I thought it was important to welcome these champs here to the White House so that -- you know, to encourage people to fish," the president said. "There's nothing better than fishing.'' "This is a good, clean sport," Bush continued. "It's a sport that requires good conservation in order to make sure our fisheries are good, and I love to welcome the champs here. And so we're glad you're here. The people of Louisiana and Texas are proud of you."
Jones, who has fished with the president, said: "You know, fishing with you, I've got to say that President Bush is actually a very good fisherman and a great conservationist.
"And I'm really not sure who's working who here. I'm hoping to get an invite to fish on his lake in Crawford, and he's looking for a free fishing guide.''
"I'm a good fisherman," Bush said, "Sometimes I'm a good catcher-man."
-- Mark Silva
Silva writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau.
For sports junkies, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar saved the best for last in his L.A. Times blog posting earlier today featuring an e-mail exchange between the basketball great and a longtime hoop-aholic, Barack Obama.
The Democratic presidential contender answered a few serious questions that Abdul-Jabbar pitched him, which you can read here. But the end of the post contained this revelation: If Obama ends up moving into the White House early next year, some sort of b-ball setup will be added to the grounds (actually, given D.C.'s often wretched weather, we'd recommend an indoor court).
Obama's passion for the sport evolved into a bit of a superstition back in January.
He relaxed the day of the Iowa caucuses by playing some hoops and, of course, ended the night by celebrating his win in that contest. But he skipped a shoot-around on the days of the New Hampshire primary and the Nevada caucuses, both of which he lost to Hillary Clinton. So when the South Carolina primary -- an obvious must-win for him -- rolled around on Jan. 26, he made a point of playing (and later basked in an overwhelming victory in the Palmetto State).
-- Don Frederick
In an amazing coincidence just days before another crucial Democratic primary, Sen. Hillary Clinton, campaigning in Wisconsin -- where thousands build their annual vacations around deer-hunting season -- has let it slip that she went hunting once.
"I know you don't believe it," she told an enthusiastic audience at Kenosha's Brat Stop over the weekend, "but it's actually true. My father taught me to shoot 100 years ago."
According to The Times' Nicholas Riccardi, who was there, she then launched into an explanation of how school shootings can be stopped without infringing on gun owners' rights. She declined to elaborate on her hunting career later except to say that she had nailed a duck.
But anyway here's a photo of another Clinton holding a dead duck like the one his wife recalls shooting down.
But then today, on the eve of voting in the Badger State, the New York senator remembered more details about hunting once in Arkansas with male colleagues and standing in chilly water early one morning.
"They said, 'We won't shoot. You shoot,' " Clinton told reporters. "They wanted to embarrass me. So, OK, the pressure was on. So I shot, and I shot a banded duck. And I was as surprised as they were."
Not to mention how the unarmed duck felt.
-- Andrew Malcolm
Photo: Gary Hershorn / Reuters
Read more Hillary Clinton shot a duck once »
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---Andrew Malcolm
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It's tough being a celebrity in America today, especially, say, a pro wrestler because people don't ask you questions about how to do the Tornado Body Slam?
They ask you harder ones like, who do you like for president? And each of those candidates has all these complicated positions on sooo many issues. Who can figure it all out?
So Hulk Hogan got a little confused not too long ago. And the subject came up today on "The View," the ABC-TV show where males appear like zoo exhibits for the talkative panel to poke at and be amused. The panel of four women is not exactly divided evenly between Democrats and a Republican. Maybe you can figure out their affiliations.
The Times' Matea Gold uncovered this transcript of the exchange, which for some inexplicable reason our TiVo missed:
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: I KNOW YOU WANTED TO RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY A WHILE BACK.
JOY BEHAR: OF WHAT?....
Read more We can all feel Hulk Hogan's political pain »
We wanted to take just one minute today to welcome not one but two new bloggers to the LATimes.com team this week.
Veronique de Turenne launches the new LANow blog, well, now. Today. A genuine online veteran from another local website that makes some money off of writing about this institution a lot, she and her colleague Jesus Sanchez, will be -- well, actually, already are -- posting interesting items from all over the Southland.
LANow will cover breaking news, take feeds from Times correspondents wandering the region and also helpfully steer you to interesting stories in other publications, if there are any. And, to be honest, you'll discover Veronique's got a little attitude.
In the words of Veronique, a name that rolls off the keyboard as if it was French or somesing, "LA Now is where you come to find out what’s happening in Southern California, news and arts and gossip and crime and just the crazy only-in-LA stuff that happens every day. I’m like the hostess of a really fun cocktail party, making introductions, finding connections, making you glad you live in Southern California, or making you wish you did."
Or, for some of you elsewhere not enjoying the blessings of LA traffic, perhaps making you shake your head in wonder and happy to be elsewhere.
Also new on-site this week is a blog by the one and only Kareem Abdul Jabbar. You couldn't stop him on the court, you can't stop him here from writing about his life and thoughts exclusively on LATimes.com. Today, he's got some advice for conditioning by people over 50, present company excluded, in case there are any others out there. So, bookmark 'em both.
Not that you'd ever want to leave The Ticket.
Would you?
--Andrew Malcolm
Apparently several hundred thousand readers of this website have gotten lost online in recent days on their way to this politics blog and accidentally clicked instead on a long story item headlined, "Science of the orgasm." That's been the most e-mailed thing from LATimes.com for two days running now. No explanation why.
It's a perfectly fine professional story by our colleague Regina Nuzzo exploring how science is exploring the mysterious human orgasm, which is no doubt a good thing in terms of social and cultural progress and fecundity. No politician -- or political writer -- in their right mind would oppose such scientific exploration because orgasms are generally considered good things even by Republicans, although party policy strictly forbids talking about them.
And, so far anyway, orgasms have escaped government regulation, taxation and licensing, although you never know with the Democrats looking pretty strong this year.
That very popular orgasm story on this website -- no, wait, don't go there yet! -- has within....
Read more Orgasms and politics, the real choice »
Well, this may just push Mike Huckabee over the top for the Republican presidential nomination.
Today, he acquired the endorsement of Ray Scott.
THE Ray Scott. Not some phony pretender, but the real deal. And coming the day before the Michigan Republican primary and just days before the GOP primary vote in South Carolina, it could make a real difference for the former Arkansas governor's White House hopes.
"I am really pumped about Huckabee's candidacy," Scott said, adding, "I'm inspired by his message of hope and prosperity and strength. Like a friend of mine said, he's the 'real deal' and I think more and more people are seeing that. I look forward to doing my part to see to it that Mike Huckabee becomes the next President of the United States."
Getting the backing of such a well-known icon is a real...
Read more Endorsement shocker: Ray Scott goes for Huckabee »
Manchester, N.H. -- Sometimes, we despair over the inability of politicians to learn from their rivals' missteps. So it is today, with Mike Huckabee engaging in shameless pandering as the NFL playoffs heat up.
The former Arkansas governor is a major sports fan, for the St. Louis Cardinals and for the Dallas Cowboys. And, as he worked a crowd earlier today in Londonderry, N.H., he spotted a young man wearing a Cowboy cap. The Times' Joe Mathews was there, and he reports that Huckabee waved to the fellow and chirped: "We're going all the way this year."
One problem -- the presidential contender was surrounded by fans of the unbeaten New England Patriots, the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl this year, perhaps in a matchup with the Cowboys. So Huckabee's comment spurred a few hisses. And one man exclaimed, disgustedly, "Don't tell me you're a Cowboy fan?"
Here was a chance for Huckabee to show his grit, to distinguish himself from fellow Republican Rudy Giuliani -- the devoted New York Yankee fan who this fall elicited disbelief by saying he backed the team's archenemy, the Boston Red Sox, in the World Series -- and Democrat Hillary Clinton -- who never can choose between the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs.
But Huckabee whiffed. He indicated that the Patriots are on such a roll that he wouldn't mind if his favored squad lost to them in the ultimate game. "This year, I could live with just getting there," he said.
We don't believe that for a minute.
-- Don Frederick
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