Michelle Obama asks Democratic women to call the nephews they detest

Michelle Obama, Base-Rallier-in-Chief, made an impassioned speech Thursday morning in which she asked female Democrats for both their time and money.

"Make sure that every single person that you know - I mean everybody that you know - everybody within the length of your influence, the touch of your hand, the sound of your voice, your friends, your neighbours, that nephew you haven't seen in a while, that college roommate you haven't spoken to in decades: now is the time. Pick up the phone," she said to hundreds of women at a ballroom meeting of the party's Women's Caucus.

Here's how the women reacted when she was introduced with Joe Biden's wife Jill:

 

And here's the "Fired Up, Ready to Go" chant that immediately preceded those cheers:

 

"This one could come down to those last few thousand votes in a single battleground state," Obama said. She added later: "If you don't live in a battleground state: get to one!" And: "If you can afford it, write a cheque. And if you haven't maxed out: max out!"

Michelle is more popular than Barack. As per usual, her speech drew roars from the faithful. After she was done, dozens of people approached the stage to try to snap a photo of her. A few stood on chairs, holding iPads above their heads.

Michelle praised Bill Clinton's Wednesday convention speech and the convention itself. Employing the faux-stammer she also used in her own convention speech - do do do you hear me on this one? - she returned to the themes she emphasized on Tuesday, such as her husband's understanding of the value of hard work, her husband's non-sexism, and the general awesomeness of her husband.

She goofed once: "By taking part in the democratic process," she said, "that for more than 200 centuries has made America the greatest country on Earth..."

PHOTOS: Preparing for the big night

Actress Eva Longoria is interviewed on the floor of the Democratic National Convention. (Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)

Musican Dave Grohl (C) of the Foo Fighters performs for a soundcheck during the final day of the DNC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Vice President Joe Biden smiles during a soundcheck. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Singer James Tayler performs with his band during a soundcheck. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

Sheriff Michael Johnson of Clayton County, Georgia directs traffic near the Time Warner Cable Arena. Johnson and his fellow sheriffs use humour in their moves as they direct traffic and pedestrians. (Stan HONDASTAN/GettyImages)

Renee Watson of San Antonio, TX wears a cowboy hat decorated with campaign buttons during the final day of the DNC. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

 

America's best 'takeout bag'

There is a takeout chain here in Charlotte called Cook-Out that serves tasty and cheap food. It gives people this food in the following bag (this is the real actual bag):

 

DNC traffic cop shenanigans go global

We introduced you Tuesday to the Georgia cop who made everybody laugh while directing traffic near the convention site:

 

Well, he's not alone. Turns out the entire crew of Georgia cops is silly-fun, and they've gone semi-viral. Here's an NBC News photo gallery of the shenanigans.

Here's a video from England's Daily Telegraph. And here's a story from a South Carolina paper - which reports that the officers call their behaviour "traffic jammin.'"

When I went back on Wednesday, a couple dozen people were standing at the intersection gawking.

 

 

PHOTOS: Clinton's top 10 speech moves

1. The "aw shucks."

 

2. The incredulous.

 

3. The thumb-point.

 

4. The point-point.

 

5. He loves pointing.

 

6. And fist holding.

 

7. Bear hugging too.

 

8. The magician.

 

9. The Oscar acceptance speech.

 

10. Praying Hillary wins 2016.

No balloons at the DNC?!

There are not going to be any balloons at the DNC on account of the venue change, a convention official reportedly said to Jim Kuhnhenn, White House and politics reporter for the Washington Bureau of the Associated Press.

"Bad weather forecast, they say. Going indoors to the nearby basketball/hockey arena. But the ceiling there is filled with exactly none of the thousands of red, white and blue balloons that TV viewers expect to be dropping as a convention finale," writes Kuhnhenn.

"Nope. No balloons. Party officials say they're thinking about some other suitably celebratory finish."

Maybe it's just as well. As the Star's Daniel Dale reported last week, the RNC's balloon drop took a long, long time.

 
Unlike the Republicans, the Democrats will not be having balloon fun. (Rick Wilking/REUTERS)

Obama, Romney, Ryan get Secret Service code names

Before there was Katniss Everdeen, there was Paul "Bowhunter" Ryan.

The code name given to Ryan by the U.S. Secret Service is "Bowhunter," according to GQ Magazine.

The potential veep is an avid hunter and a skilled archer, gracing the cover of Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine. The interview is titled "I'm a Deer Hunter." His favourite hunting partners are "his children."

(SOURCE: http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com)

Other code names:

• Romney is "Javelin"
• Obama is "Renegade"
• George W. Bush is "Trailblazer"

Romney is the 'hottest' candidate, say political scientists

(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)

A new report released by a Harvard scientist says Romney is among the best-looking politicians in the United States. Mitt is more beautiful than Paul Ryan, even more beautiful than Sarah Palin. The mama grizzly ranked in the 95 percentile of politicians. Romney is above the 99th.

"And what a face it is! We gathered the ratings of 728 candidates for Senate and Governors’ seats and Romney outscored all but four of them. The only persons to win elections that beat him are Russ Feingold (the best looking Democrat) and John Thune (the best looking overall)," said Harvard researcher Ryan Enos to The Washington Monthly.

The study was conducted on undergraduate students in California. They were shown a politicians face for one second.

There is no score on Obama, but Biden ranks in the 64th percentile.

The Republicans' Ryan, who Jon Stewart has described as a "blue-eyed dreamboat," ranks 67th. But, as Enos points out, the students are not shown abs.

Extreme Eastwooding: Union leader talks to, savagely kicks empty chair

Only four days after Clint Eastood's instantly legendary dialogue with an empty chair, jokes about empty chairs are already getting old.

You know what isn't getting old? Union leaders attacking empty chairs.

Lee Saunders is president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 1.5 million workers. On Sunday, he gave a breakfast speech to the Ohio delegation to the Democratic National Convention, and he pretended Eastwood himself was sitting in the chair beside his lectern, and then...

Barack Obama to Clint Eastwood: 'This seat's taken'

President Barack Obama tweeted this picture after Clint Eastwood's conversation with an empty chair at the Republican National Convention Thursday night:

 

This seat's taken. OFA.BO/c2gbfi, twitter.com/BarackObama/st…

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 31, 2012