Yes, we can.

[Gemini Cricket]

A couple of notes on last night's Obama infomercial:

1. Kinda boring
2. In an attempt to sway the religious to vote for him, I saw shots deliberately highlighting religion, faith etc. ie. Couple reading the Bible at the table, hugging the lady and saying "I'll pray for you" quote from Obama and the "God bless" twice at the end of his speech.
3. Obama wearing the flag pin during his speech at the end.

This ad was definitely aimed at appealing to conservatives.
I'm not saying that I agree with it. But it was shrewd.

In fact, he said "tree huggers" in his interview with John Stewart. I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not, but I also thought that it was a small jab at the Liberal Left for the benefit of appealing to the Right.

[Strangler Lewis]

I question the wisdom of doing anything that even you and your supporters call an "infomercial." I thought his "Daily Show" thing tanked. There was nothing substantive, he looked beat, and he repeated the two-day old joke about his daughter's TV needs, drawing no laughs.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

I question the wisdom of doing anything that even you and your supporters call an "infomercial." I thought his "Daily Show" thing tanked. There was nothing substantive, he looked beat, and he repeated the two-day old joke about his daughter's TV needs, drawing no laughs.

It may have been the lighting but Obama looked like he was sporting a few grey hairs already. Politicians age fast.

Another point that mousepod brought up that I agree with is that if a person is undecided at this point, they shouldn't vote. If ya don't know by now, it reeks of dinglecheesism.

[tracilicious]

I loved that he referred to the president as a public service position on Jon. I have a hard time envisioning McCain doing the same and pulling off any sort of sincerity.

[Alex]

It wasn't the lighting, he's got a lot of gray up there (in the Al Smith dinner comedy presentation he made a joke about Hillary being the one responsible for all the gray and I remember commenting on it to Lani during the first debate).

[SacTown Chronic]

Just look at what Hillary did to Bill's hair.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Sure he's appealing to the right. The left is already voting for him. Shrewd, sure. But to be expected at this point.

And he's been developing a lot of gray hair in the last year, actually. He's beginning to look older. There's a reason that presidents tend to die younger than most; the job involves a lot of stress, pressure, exhaustion. Even for candidates.

[Gemini Cricket]

26 mil watched the Obammercial!

[Alex]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

There's a reason that presidents tend to die younger than most; the job involves a lot of stress, pressure, exhaustion. Even for candidates.

Just sent me off on a silly research tangent. This is something I've heard many times and I've wondered it is true. Especially since we see to have produced a fair number of pretty old ex-presidents:

So, looking at the this table, here is how presidents have met the life expectancy for someone of their age in the year they were elected. Obviously, had to use some extrapolation since not all years and ages are covered.

Spoiler:

Green if exceeding expected lifespan at assumption of presidency
Red if fell short of expected lifespan at assumption of presidency

George W. Bush - 54 in 2000 - 78 expected lifespan - currently 62
Bill Clinton - 46 in 1992 - 78 expected lifespan - currently 62
George H.W. Bush - 64 in 1988 - 79 expected lifespan - currently 84
Ronald Reagan - 69 in 1980 - 80 expected lifespan - Died at 93
Jimmy Carter - 52 in 1976 - 76 expected lifespan - currently 84
Gerald Ford - 61 in 1974 - 78 expected lifespan - Died at 93
Richard Nixon - 53 in 1968 - 74 expected lifespan - Died at 81
Lyndon Johnson - 55 in 1963 - 75 expected lifespan - Died at 65
John Kennedy - DID NOT LIVE TO NATURAL DEATH
Dwight Eisenhower - 62 in 1962 - 77 expected lifespan - Died at 79
Harry Truman - 61 in 1945 - 76 expected lifespan - Died at 88
Franklin Roosevelt - 50 in 1932 - 72 expected lifespan - Died at 63
Herbert Hoover - 54 in 1928 - 72 expected lifespan - Died at 90
Calvin Coolidge - 51 in 1923 - 72 expected lifespan - Died at 61
Warren Harding - 55 in 1920 - 74 expected lifespan - Died at 57
Woodrow Wilson - 56 in 1912 - 73 expected lifespan - Died at 67
Howard Taft - 51 in 1908 - 71 expected lifespan - Died at 72
Theodore Roosevelt - 43 in 1901 - 68 expected lifespan - Died at 61
William McKinley - DID NOT LIVE TO NATURAL DEATH
Benjamin Harrison - 55 in 1888 - 73 expected lifespan - Died at 68
Grover Cleveland - 47 in 1884 (first term) - 68 expected lifespan - Died at 71
Chester Arthur - 52 in 1881 - 71 expected lifespan - Died at 57
James Garfield - DID NOT LIVE TO NATURAL DEATH

And this is where I got bored.

Conclusion of no particular value. While it may once have been true, there is nothing from the last 60 of presidents to suggest it is still true. I would suggest this is because while the presidency may be more stressful than ever, medical science is vastly superior to that of pre-WWII and presidents also get the best medical care of pretty much anybody in the world.

[innerSpaceman]

Doesn't matter how long they live. They age at 1.73 x the rate of regular humans, and we all see it on TV as they go along.


Barack is just a candidate for pete's sake, and his hair is going prematurely gray as we watch and wonder.