I hate to rain on the parade, but when MSNBC has as its primary news anchor the most biased and ridiculous person in journalism, it ill behooves Left blogs, who fawn all over Olbermann, to complain when Ron Fournier, does what he always does, editorialize the news. ESPECIALLY when he does it in piece labelled as an opinion piece.

As Bob Somerby ably argues, Barack Obama is the Media's choice for this election, and thanks for that. I am happy about it. Indeed, I COUNTED ON IT when I supported him for the nomination. To play the victim now with the Media and Ron Fournier's OPINION piece proves once and for all, the Left blogs have become that which they purport to hate - mindless cheerleaders. Of course Fournier's behavior is reprehensible. But so is Keith Olbermann's and the entirety of NBC News. But no one demands Olbermann resign. It is silly to ask it of Ron Fournier now. But that is all we are now - hypocrites. Like, Paul Krugman, I see, understand and even applaud, the fact that Barack Obama played the silly games of politics regarding John McCain's houses. Politics is stupid. But I do not believe we need to play the same game with ourselves. At least I know I won't.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Yes, I've been brooding about our new VP candidate. The only people I've seen doing back flips over the Biden affair are Joe Biden and John McCain. A million unlikely voters got text messages at 3am with the "The VP Announcement!" Yeah!!! They opened their texts and saw...What? Joe Biden?  Oh. And went back to sleep.

If Joe Biden had his way all these years with the laws he's been writing, Hunter would have been in jail.[more...]

I've said all I can or want to say about the VP stuff.

I'm watching the Olympics now. And I can tell you what I am really thinking about - The Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii coming to The Swamp (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the home of the Florida Fighting Gators) a week from today to learn a little bit more (Georgia gave them a demonstration in the Sugar Bowl last year) what SEC football is all about.

This is an Open Thread.

Tommy Chong, a TalkLeft favorite, had this to say to the Washington Post about Joe Biden:

"Check out the people you're voting for.... "For instance, Joseph Biden comes off as a liberal Democrat, but he's the one who authored the bill that put me in jail. He wrote the law against shipping drug paraphernalia through the mail - which could be anything from a pipe to a clip or cigarette papers."

[Hat tip to Celeb Stoner.]

Conservative reporter Stacy McCain, recalls Hunter S. Thompsons's words on McGovern's selection of Tom Eagleton from Fear and Loathing:

I am not going to live blog it but I may add some thoughts if something interesting happens. Here is a thread for you to share your thoughts on the Springfield appearance.

This is a thread about the Springfield appearance only so keep it on topic please.

3:10 pm EDT -Pretty typical event. Not particularly interesting or exciting. The event seems flat to me. Obama's intro is kind of weak to boot. Not great so far. Maybe when Biden gets his chance to praise Obama the excitement level will go up.

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Personally, I am not a fan of Joe Biden's policies, especially on foreign policy. But, the most important function of a Vice Presidential pick is to help the Presidential nominee win. Under that standard, given the Obama Rules (no Clinton or Clark), Biden was his best option.

Below, I criticize the rollout of Biden. But I do not criticize the choice from a political standpoint, given Obama's stubborn refusal to pick the person who would have helped him the most politically, Hillary Clinton.

Once the Not Hillary decision was made (and once Obama ran for the hills on McCain's Hanoi Hilton defense to everything), Joe Biden made the most sense. He does not help much, but he helps. And that is better than hurting - as a Bayh, Kaine or Sebelius would have done.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

It's getting busy around here. Jane of Firedoglake is on her way over, I'm going to give her a tour of downtown.

Anita Thompson and photographer Lynn Goldsmith (photo here) will be arriving late this afternoon. Anita and Lynn are staying with me for the Convention. Lynn, whose amazing rock and roll photographs are available in this book, will be photographing the convention for Corbis. (More on Anita and Lynn here.)

Anita will blog a bit for TalkLeft and also at her Owl Farm blog and at Huffington Post. And yes, we'll be toasting and quoting her late husband, Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, frequently.

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I think these ads are generally pretty weak tea, but here is McCain's first ad using Biden's "previous statements" about Obama and McCain:

It is an obvious shot of course and there is more of that to come. But it really does not mean that much because Biden can make some new video now blasting McCain and praising Obama. Of course, that is why the Hillary Hating "she can't be VP because she said bad things about Obama" argument was so ridiculous. But logic never had anything to do with it.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Hillary's response:

In naming my colleague and friend Senator Joe Biden to be the Vice Presidential nominee, Senator Obama has continued in the best traditions for the Vice Presidency by selecting an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant. Senator Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic Vice President who will help Senator Obama both win the Presidency and govern this great country.

Kos says:

This has been the best veep rollout EVER. . . . [I]s there a better example than this that old media is getting left out in the cold?

Of course, CNN broke the story last night, so, so much for that. But let's stop for a second and think about this - the story breaks in the middle of the night Friday (I found out 30 minutes ago) and the news "frenzy," such at is, begins on a Saturday morning. Hell of a rollout. Not.

Think what you want about Biden, and I think that given Obama's stubborn and wrongheaded unwillingness to pick Hillary Clinton and put a lock on the election, Biden was the best choice politically that Obama was willing to make (imagine the political disaster if he had picked Sebelius). But the rollout of Biden was disastrously bad, unless the idea is to make sure as few people know as possible. Half of the country will not know until Monday when the Convention starts. Obama should have announced Biden last Monday. An F for the Obama campaign on the mechanics of the rollout.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The Associated Press' analysis of Sen. Barack Obama's pick of Joe Biden to be his VP: It shows a lack of confidence on Obama's part:

The candidate of change went with the status quo. In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.

The AP lists the non-status quo choices available to Obama, all of whom got glossed over. [More...]

CNN just read a statement from John McCain. Completely predictable. He points out that Joe Biden said Barack Obama is not qualified to be President. I guess we can expect that video to be replayed ad nauseum.