Media Miscarriage

Somebody forgot to prep Rudy, and DavidNYC at Kos is loving it:

"But when asked about more mundane matters -- like the price of some basic staples -- Giuliani had trouble with a reporter's question.

"'A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread about a $1.25, $1.30,' he said.

"A check of the Web site for D'Agostino supermarket on Manhattan's Upper East Side showed a gallon of milk priced at $4.19 and a loaf of white bread at $2.99 to $3.39. In Montgomery, Ala., a gallon of milk goes for about $3.39 and bread is about $2.

"And this isn't tucked away at the bottom of the story -- the headline is 'Republican candidate off the mark on cost of milk, bread.' Ouch . . .

"But considering how long this line of questioning has been around (at least twenty years), it seems surprising that Saint Rudy would flub it. The fact that he wasn't even briefed on supermarket receipts months ago just shows that Giuliani's surrounded by people who are very good at insulating him from the real world, but are utterly incapable of dealing with it - just like their boss."

The new CW on Barack Obama seems to be that he's putting audiences to sleep. The New Republic's Noam Scheiber says the problem may run deeper:

"Stylistic failings aside, the standard explanation for why Obama isn't exciting audiences is that he's too stingy with details. This creates the impression that he lacks the policy chops to be president. The problem is particularly evident alongside the preternatural wonkiness of a Hillary Clinton and the practiced incantations of a John Edwards . . .

"Of course, as Obama has pointed out in his own defense, his campaign is a mere two months old. In an ideal world, a candidate would have a binder full of intricate policy proposals before entering a race--collated, color-tabbed, and ready to go. But then, in an ideal world, the Democratic front-runner wouldn't have unfavorable ratings in excess of 40 percent.

"We knew Obama was going to be green just like we knew Hillary was going to be a tough sell among large chunks of voters. The bargain was that Obama's raw intellect and innate political skills would get him up to speed before long. This may not turn out to be the case, but it's much too early to conclude as much."

Josh Marshall says this WashPost report reads like a "joke piece":

"The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation.