Big Fail: Target's "Mr. President" Halloween Mask is a White Guy with Helmet Hair

Hey Target shoppers, you want to dress up as "Mr. President" for Halloween? We've got a costume for you -- well, as long as "Mr. President" means playing a white guy that looks suspiciously like Mitt Romney. I suppose we could give Target the benefit of the doubt and say this is a leftover George W. Bush mask, but c'mon. He left office nearly four years ago. Maybe this is meant to be a generic "Mr. President" -- and in Target's eyes, a president is still supposed to look like a white guy with helmet hair. Um.

Regardless of who wins the upcoming election, as of October 31, 2012, Barack Obama is Mr. President. And he does not look like this. Target fail.

Osama Bin Laden's Death Dominates Front Pages

What a fascinating evening to watch unfold via TV and the Internet (particularly Twitter). The announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden came early enough on the West Coast to impact primetime out here -- yet, surprisingly, not for long. ABC continued with live coverage until 10 p.m. PT, but NBC and CBS returned to their reality series at 9.

I'm wondering whether the L.A. Times, which generally puts late-breaking news on its LATEXTRA section, had to completely toss out its earlier A1 run in order to have an updated front page out there (above).

A few more thoughts I had, via Twitter:

That's what you get for renting your mansion out to "The Bachelorette," Osama!

Crossing Bin Laden off the list of contenders to replace Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men."

Loving the shots on ABC News of the crowd outside the White House.

Folks who refuse to give Obama any credit are the same ones who would be first to trash the President had this mission failed.

Amazing Race pre-empted. But CBS News will go live to Phil Keoghan telling a pic of Bin Laden that "you've been eliminated from the race."

Above, the cover of this morning's New York Times.

How A Minor Story About Obama Turned Into a Controversial Internet Meme -- And Who's To Blame

Here's a story of Journalism circa 2011 -- and it's a depressing one.

My friend and colleague Joe Adalian took to Twitter yesterday to vent his frustration over one example of the modern distorted news cycle. In this case, it all started with a simple, innocent item about President Obama's iPad. By the time it was over, it had morphed into a made-up story about Obama cutting in line to grab an iPad -- and it had become an Internet meme thanks to NBC's Bay Area station, KNTV, which made a sloppy (and totally irrelevant) crack about Obama... which Fox News and the Drudge Report then ran with.

A blow-by-blow of how it went down, via Joe's Tweets (which are highlighted in yellow, with links added my me):



So yesterday, President Obama does a Univision town hall, reveals he has an iPad. Cute. Above, how CBSMarketWatch reported it (or read it here.)



All good so far. But CNN also reports. Says it's not sure if it's iPad 1 or 2. Notes iPad users are "selfish elites." (CNN piece above and here.)



A little wingnut bait, but OK. Here comes a Mac blog: It decides Obama has an iPad 2 & Steve Jobs gave it to him. (Above or here.)



Here's where things go south, fast: The NBC affiliate in San Francisco says it's an iPad and that Obama "cut in line" to get it. Really. (NBC Bay Area story above, or here.)



Sure enough, Drudge SLOBBERS all over that "Obama cuts in line" hed and posts a link (above).



I'm not sure if FoxNews.com saw Drudge or vice-versa, but FoxNews.com now has now ripped off first grafs of NBC report ( here).


So one innocent Obama remark about owning an iPad turns into "Obama gets special favors from Apple" meme-in-waiting. Really. This allows commenters on all sites to drool on about what a creep Obama is and make lame "there's an app for that" "jokes."


Obama may very well have called Jobs himself and gotten an iPad 2. Jobs might have sent him one, unrequested. But we don't know any of this. This is what happens when you lay off lots and lots of reporters, consolidate, and destroy local media. Among other things.

This is Mike again. I'll add that it's no secret that Apple hands out its product to movers and shakers (which is why folks like Disney/ABC's Anne Sweeney always have the latest gadgets) -- so should it really be any surprise that the Leader of the Free World was handed an iPad?

Another point: Presidents occasionally get little perks in the job. Movies are frequently screened at the White House -- a trend that dates back to Woodrow Wilson, who got an early look at "Birth of a Nation" in 1915. So... does that mean Wilson "cut in line" to see "Birth of a Nation" first? Ditto his successors? Sheesh.

Shame on NBC Bay Area (KNTV) for turning a non-story into a fake controversy that only fueled the flames. And for being so lazy about it to boot. Journalism 2011: Facts? Nah. Reporting? Who needs it. Responsibility? That won't generate web hits! Sigh.

UPDATE 3/31/11 6:33 pm: Just heard from NBC Bay Area/KNTV. They've corrected the story and taken down that headline. Perhaps a little too late, but at least there was some acknowledgement of their error.

License Plate of the Day: Election Day, One Year Later Edition

Yes, We Did!

(H/t to Tony for the timely pic!)

Fake Obama Wants Moms to Return to School

This is one of the more bizarre banner ads I've seen in a while, and even stranger, it was in the Los Angeles Times.

As you can see, this ad -- from some sketchy company called "ClassesUSA" -- is pitching mail-order degrees by suggesting that President Obama wants "moms to return to school."

To illustrate that point, they've included a photo of... a random well-dressed African American man.

Not Obama, mind you. And not even someone who looks like Obama. Apparently ClassesUSA is targeting people so uneducated that they figure people applying for an at-home diploma wouldn't know the difference. Hey, Obama's black, and the guy in this stock photo is black, so what's the difference, right?

Here's a closer look at the ad:

Little Barack's Big Adventure

My college senior year roommate Myra headed to D.C. with some friends to catch the inauguration... and thankfully they brought along Barack the action figure for some company.

Grading Today's Inauguration Front Pages

Wow, the L.A. Times really strains to make a pun with this two-line headline. I assume they're having a little fun with the chilly weather in D.C. with the idea of his "cold reality" -- but man, that's quite a stretch. The Times seems to forget that people plan to save this issue as a keepsake -- and to that end, a catchy, one-line headline might have made this issue much more valuable. (Short memory? Their election special, with the simple "It's Obama" hed, sold well and has been quite a little money maker for the paper. Why they didn't attempt to repeat that, I dunno.) B-.


But as much as the LAT missed an opportunity with today's paper, the Daily News' take is even worse. Yeah, it's neat to see the hundreds of thousands of people on the National Mall. But I can't even make out if that's Obama's back... and it doesn't matter, because it's still his back. That little inset picture of Obama above doesn't provide much of an emotional wollop either. C.


The Long Beach Press-Telegram's photo montage is kinda nice -- I like the "Brady Bunch" set up of Americans looking up at the new first couple. Not sure "hope over fear" is the most compelling headline; that's good for an election headline, but the inauguration is about looking ahead -- not looking back at a campaign that ended two months ago. But my biggest problem with the P-T lies with what it did to its own nameplate here. What a day to butcher your own name! Anyone saving this issue will one day look back at how the "Press-Telegra" covered the inauguration. B.


OK, Oakland Tribune, you got me. First... first what? African-American president? President named "Barack"? President from Hawai'i? First president after the George W. Bush disaster? First president elected in the Great Depression II? B.


The Orange County Register brings us the Era of responzzz... oops, sorry. But really? "Era of responsibility"? Way to sell a couple thousand few newspapers than you could have today, OC Reg! And c'mon, maybe for one day you could have knocked out those skyboxes to give the inauguration piece a bit more heft? C.


OK, the Ventura County Star gets it. They managed to get "hope" in the hed without then pissing all over it with the word "fear." They also emphasize a key passage in Obama's speech, have a nice, attractive shot of our new commander-in-chief and even de-emphasize their nameplate for the day. A-.


The Torrance Daily Breeze manages to trump its bigger Daily News cousin today. Nice shot of Obama taking the oath (nice action shot of Michelle watching her husband) and the simple -- albeit, generic -- "A new era" headline. Still don't love the "hope over fear" angle -- I'd actually go with the "responsibility" line as a subhed -- but at least it's the secondary headline. B.

For comparison's sake, Best Front Design said Newsday's cover was the best in the nation:

Hawai'i in the White House, Brah!

AP photo by way of the Honolulu Star Bulletin: President Barack Obama and wife Michelle flash a few shakas as the Punahou marching band march down the Inauguration parade.

Change Starts Today: President Barack Obama

(Flickr pic by Leafhound.)

Here it is -- the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. Will you be watching at home, listening on the drive to work, scarfing down free Krispy Kremes or attending a local event?

MetBlogs L.A. has a rundown of inauguration festivities in L.A.; the biggest one appears to be at L.A. Live downtown.

In case you'll be catching it at home -- or Tivo'ing it for later viewing, here's the rough schedule (PT), according to KABC/7:

7 a.m.: Obama meets with President Bush at White House
8:30 a.m. : Official inaugural ceremony begins
9 a.m.: Obama is sworn in as president and delivers inaugural address
10 a.m.: President Obama and Vice President Biden attend luncheon at Capitol
10:30 a.m.: President Bush Depart Washington D.C.
11:30 a.m.: Inaugural parade begins

Blogger Preschooler Sez The Darndest Things, One in a series

Blogger Preschooler and I were making pancakes on Sunday morning when "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" came on the air. Stephanopoulos was interviewing President-elect Barack Obama, and Evan noticed.

"That's Roback Obama," Evan said. "Who's that man he's with?"

"George Stephanopoulos," I replied.

"George Steph -- Steph -- Stephanuffagus," Evan said. "He's got a funny name!"

Lovin' it -- Obama's name isn't odd to him, but "Stephanapoulos" is.

Maria's Thursday Three: Fonts, Online Shops and an Atwater Boutique

1. Obamabats: Forget about Gotham, Obama's font of choice for his political campaign. Designer Jeff Domke created this collection of Obama dingbats in honor of the president-elect. Available for download and use free-of-charge. I like free.

2. Frecklewonder: I wish I can fit into this dress, featured in Frecklewonder's online shop. Seriously, this lady has an eye for fashion and vintage is her game. And the prices? Far too good to be true.

3. Amelia Fitzwater: I kinda want to keep this store to myself, tucked away among beauty salons and gallery spaces along Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village. The assortment of cards, jewelry, books, accessories and everything else is top notch.

How Obama's Alma Maters are Playing Up (or Down) His Big News

This cracked me up: I went to the Punahou School website to see if the school's most famous -- and now most powerful -- alum was mentioned. I love the nonchalant nature of the news brief... like it's just another mundane piece of news, along side "Guest Clinician Hits Right Note" and "November Service Opportunities."




In comparison, here's how Eagle Rock's own Occidental, where Obama spent the first two years of college, is playing him up:



Hold on there, Oxy -- Columbia (where the prexy-elect spent the second half of his undergrad days) is also claiming Obama as its 1983 alum:



Then there's the Harvard Law School, which puts the Obama news under its normal "Spotlight on Alumni Pursuits" column. Love it -- "Hey, guess what Barack Obama '91 is up to these days -- he's just hanging out, you know, as the PRESIDENT-ELECT!"

The Scene: Obama's Get Out the Vote Phone Bank in Hollywood

The scene over the weekend at the Obama campaign's Get Out the Vote phone bank, at the Sunset-Gower studios in Hollywood.

Primetime -- Sorta -- For Villaraigosa At the Democratic Convention

A lot has been made of the fact that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won't have a major presence at this week's Democratic Convention. (I suppose his whole separation and dalliance with ex-Telemundo reporter Mirthala Salinas wasn't the kind of image they wanted to portray in primetime -- particularly post-John Edwards.)

Still, da mayor got some primo primetime face time on Tuesday night thanks to his strategic seat -- behind President Clinton, who seemed to be having a good time watching Hillary go attack McCain. ("No way, no how, no McCain." Brilliant.)

Obamania: Casa Bianca Edition

Another reason to hop on the Barack Obama bandwagon: As an undergrad at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, Obama -- who went by the more informal "Barry" at school -- was a fan of one of Eagle Rock's culinary treasures, the L.A. Times reports:

Though some express surprise at his current prominence, classmates recall a slim, good-looking teen with a moderate Afro, a taste for Casa Bianca's Hawaiian-style pizza (pineapple and ham) and a role in protesting college investments in firms doing business in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Obama (above, in his student days, via the LAT) spent two years at Occidental before moving on to Columbia University.

So if you're keeping score: Obama's from Hawaii. And he loves Casa Bianca pizza. As someone else from Hawaii with a love for the Casa Bianca pies, so far so good.