State Senator Kirk Watson, D-Austin, has inspired a t-shirt. Technically, his performance on MSNBC Tuesday night inspired the shirt, now available on cafepress, the same site where you can buy the Rick Perry Adios Mofo t-shirts (and mugs).

The black shirt features a logo of Watson's face (it looks like it's a screen grab of his expression during questioning the other night), with the text "Hardballed" written across it.

Posted by Elise Hu at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"A fantastically awkward mix of dead air, stuttering, laughter and repetition ensued." --Huffington Post

State Senator Kirk Watson, D-Austin, got stuck playing "hardball" with MSNBC's Chris Matthews tonight on live TV. Matthews pinned down Watson, asking him to name "specific legislative accomplishments" of Senator Barack Obama (who Watson supports).

Watson looked stunned and uncomfortable before responding with... nothing.

"I'm not gonna be able to do that tonight," said Watson. "What Obama is able to do is inspire," Watson said.

It played right into the woman spinning for Clinton, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who says that Clinton has a real record of accomplishments.

Then Matthews gave Watson another chance to list Senator Obama's accomplishments. Another awkward moment, and Watson is stumped again. But Matthews gives him the last word, to talk broadly.

After the pretty painful interview came to an end, Olbermann tried to deflect a little.

OLBERMANN: "In defense of Senator Obama, can you name one accomplishment of the US Senate within the last ten years?"
MATTHEWS: That's a broader question.
OLBERMANN: See, you can't name anything either.

"He's here to defend Barack Obama and he had nothing to say," said Matthews. "And that's a problem. We have to vet the guests occasionally."

Three thoughts:
1.) The takeaway from this is the Obama surrogates probably have to be a better trained before going live on national TV. To be fair, had it been a regular MSNBC anchor asking the questions instead of an overcompensating Chris Matthews, Watson would have been fine, he's a natural on television.

2.) Notice I said Chris Matthews was overcompensating. My takeaway on his pointed challenge to Watson is that it has more to do with Matthews than Obama. Matthews has been taking a lot of grief for his fawning comments about Obama on the evening of the Potomac Primaries:

That's right, Matthews called it an "objective" assessment when he said he "felt a thrill go up my leg" upon hearing Obama speak. Since then, he's taken a lot of grief for what appears to be a strong personal admiration of Barack Obama. He's probably trying to be harder on Obama as a result, which is what I'm gonna call overcompensation. Still, Watson could have been better prepared.

3.) It was awkard, but Watson has little to feel bad about. The viewership of MSNBC at this time of night is small, and Americans have short attention spans. I have already forgotten what I am writing about.

Other Takes on Watson v Matthews
The New Republic
Texas Observer
Ground Report
The Rhetorical Situation

Posted by Elise Hu at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Political media guru and proud Texan Mark McKinnon is counted among the John McCain inner circle that didn't jump ship during the campaign's darkest days. Now that McCain seems to be blazing a path toward the GOP nomination he's a happy guy. He talks to Time's Mark Halperin about how New Yawk ain't Tejas.

Halperin: What is the biggest difference between New York politics and Texas politics?

McKinnon: No Mexican food, no cactus discernibly nearby, and I can't understand what anybody says. And nobody's wearing hats like this.

Posted by Elise Hu at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Austin City Councilwoman Jennifer Kim revs up her campaigning in the face of a re-election challenge, I have been confused for her at least half a dozen times. We don't actually look much alike. Then again, we are both Asian-American, and you know what they say about all Asians...

Tonight, Kim and I finally met. And we BOTH happened to be wearing gray suits. So I HAD TO get a picture with her, for anyone who was still confused. Kim apologized for my recent run-ins with her fans, I said I didn't really mind, it provided excellent blog fodder.

"I'm going to start running campaign commercials soon so you're probably going to get it more," said Kim.

Posted by Elise Hu at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's State of the Union night! (As if you haven't already been reminded by The Place for Politics, The Best Political Team on Television, The Best Political Team in the World, The Best Political Team on Cable and every other crazy slogan on television.)

Tonight I'll get my standard liveblogging meal of KFC to liveblog for you starting at 8pm. The speech will be on KVUE, the spin will be on every "best political place" on television you can find.

As an added twist, I signed up for these crazy "lie detector" text messages that will be sending instant spin to my cell phone from the national Democratic party. I'm interested to see how that's going to go down, so I'll be sure to include some of those text messages in the liveblog.

Now, time for nostalgia.

Last year I watched the S of the U in the Doubletree Hotel bar with my friend, The Statesman's Jason Embry, where for the first time in what was to become many times, someone in the bar mistaked me for Austin City Councilmember Jennifer Kim.

The year before that I was working a night shift and I think I watched it with a group of college students at Furman to see what they thought of it.

Other State of the Union memories include the morning after the 2001 State of the Union, when running on Houston's Memorial Trail with my Team in Training coach Jack, who was outraged, OUTRAGED by how Hillary Clinton sat in the audience and didn't clap for President Bush when everyone else was. I think we talked about that for about two and a half miles.

Posted by Elise Hu at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Missed in all my caucus watching last night was another galactic meltdown by fallen pop princess Britney Spears, in which she reportedly locked herself in a bedroom with her toddler son before an ambulance and half a dozen police were called to haul her off to a hospital for a mental evaluation.

DTD/Buzz Photo

It looks like the drama started around 10pm CST last night, which is the same time Barack Obama was taking the stage to make his victory speech after a stunning win in Iowa. (See the speech here)
Then I realized, Britney Spears seems to have a knack for making news on major election nights! On the night of the 2006 gubernatorial election, I recall being at the Rick Perry campaign victory party when I received a text message saying that Britney Spears had suddenly decided to leave her husband, Kevin Federline.

What's up with Britney Spears making big news on election nights?

Posted by Elise Hu at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much has been made about Texas Governor Rick Perry's signature mane. The late Molly Ivins called him "Governor Good Hair" and Perry even faced questions about what he did to maintain his nice hair during the 2006 gubernatorial race.

"It's genetics, baby," he said to the Houston Chronice/SA Express News.

It seems Perry and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney share good hair genes, and the notoriety for it.

“Tensions are getting high and comments are being made that are really quite questionable. I just saw yesterday the chairman of Governor Huckabee’s campaign said he’d like to knock my teeth out,” Romney said, as reported by the New York Times.
Mr. Romney paused then deadpanned: “My only comment on that is, ‘Don’t touch the hair.’”

Posted by Elise Hu at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Texas Department of Transportation Commissioner and former state lawmaker Ric Williamson died suddenly of a heart attack last night. He was 55. Here's what the big three had to say:

Perry:
“Anita and I are heartbroken at this sudden loss of a confidant, trusted advisor and close personal friend of ours for more than 20 years. Ric’s passion to serve his beloved State of Texas was unmatched and his determination to help our state meets its future challenges was unparalleled. He will be missed beyond words. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Williamson family during this very difficult time.”

Dewhurst:
"Ric Williamson loved Texas and gave two decades of his life in the Legislature, and most recently as Chairman of the Texas Department of Transportation, to make Texas an even better place to live. My thoughts and prayers are with the Williamson family at this difficult time. Texas will miss him."

Craddick:
"Nadine and I were very sorry to hear about Commissioner Ric Williamson's death. He dedicated his life to public service, and I have fond memories of the time we served in the Legislature together. We wish his wife, Mary Ann, and his family peace and comfort during this difficult time."

Funeral services are pending.

Additional coverage, so far:
Associated Press
Star-Telegram

Posted by Elise Hu at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"File" photo. Get it?!?! I kill myself. Anyway, more than one candidate filed paperwork to get on the Texas ballot today, and the candidates kindly invited the cameras along for some free press. Or you could call this a photo essay of how I spent my day:

U.S. Reps John Carter and Kay Granger file on behalf of Mitt Romney

John Sharp, Gonzalo Barrientos and Sylvia Romo file for Bill Richardson

US Rep Lloyd Doggett files for himself and brings his fam along

Posted by Elise Hu at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You may recall I've had a recent problem with being mistaken for Austin City Councilmember Jennifer Kim. It's happened three times this fall, and tonight, it happened again.

Kim on the left

Former TV judge Larry Joe Doherty, now running for the congressional seat of US Rep Michael McCaul, said this to me in our third meeting tonight:

LJD: How's your campaign going?
Me: I'm not Jennifer Kim.

How about that for "Texas Justice"?

Posted by Elise Hu at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just for clarification, that is Kim on the left and myself on the right.

SCENE: Schlotzky's, Riverside and Lamar
TIME: 12:44pm

Here I am standing around waiting for my Turkey Original and bowl of Potato Bacon soup. Suddenly, a middle-aged man wearing glasses walks past me, turns around, and walks towards me once again.

HIM: Is your name Jennifer?
ME: No, I am not Jennifer Kim.

Kim took some lumps over what some saw as sense-of-entitlement, after demanding special security access at the Austin airport in early January. Then, we learned of an instance when she was pulled over and said those-six-words-nary-a-politician-should-utter, "Don't you know who I am?"

But these recent run-in's I've had with strangers make me wonder. Did Councilmember Kim ever need to ask that question? People already seem to know who she is very well. They recognize her, er, me, all the time.

RELATED: Look-a-not-likes, November 2nd

Posted by Elise Hu at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Team Bell responds to Team Perry, after Team Perry called Bell's lawsuit "sour grapes":

“What a load of hokum, hooey and balderdash. Is this the same Robert Black who said in February that Rick Perry ‘has always thought that Chris Bell was a very, very decent man’?" former Bell campaign manager Jason Stanford said.

"Obviously, they can’t explain this obvious violation of state elections law and have to resort to the same ‘shoot the messenger’ tactics that didn’t work for Tom DeLay and won’t work now. This is simple. You can’t play Hide & Seek with $1 million in Texas elections. All the king’s horses and all the king’s henchmen can’t defend it, so they have to attack.”

(This is almost getting to be as fun as Team Lauren versus Team Heidi on MTV's The Hills. But I have to say, if Robert Black and Jason Stanford "accidentally" bump into each other at a swank nightclub and start screaming at each other like that one episode, this will officially be better than reality TV.)

Posted by Elise Hu at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

2006 Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell is suing Governor Rick Perry's campaign and the Republican Governors Association for a total of $4 million in damages.

Bell's suit alleges that a total of $1 million in campaign money that the RGA gave Perry in the waning days of last year's election was in violation of Texas campaign regulations and financial reporting laws. It alleges RGA wasn't legally qualified to contribute to a Texas political campaign and has filed no reports with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Bell says the effect of what Perry's spokesman calls "a simple paperwork filing error" is that the real source of the $1 million was concealed. Bell says the nation's largest political donor, Houston homebuilder Bob Perry gave the money and it was simply funneled through RGA's 527.

"It appears that it takes suits like this one to disclose what is really going on to fund these Republican campaigns," Bell said in a statement. Perry's spokesman is firing back.

“This stunt is nothing but sour grapes because Chris Bell asked Gov. Perry for preferential treatment by giving him a state contract, and Gov. Perry refused to respond," said Perry spokesman Robert Black. "Chris Bell and his trial lawyer buddies must have been waiting for any opportunity to file a frivolous lawsuit in retaliation for not getting a state contract and they found it in a simple paperwork filing error."

Black even provided a January letter from Bell to Perry, offering his lobbying services, which apparently Perry didn't take him up on:
Download file

Posted by Elise Hu at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We visited a college and an elementary school in one morning, and the elementary school was marginally more fun because there were seven live meat goats there.*

I spoke at a freshman-level political science class St. Edwards University, the private hamlet of higher learning down on South Congress. The professor gave me fifty minutes (which is 48 and a half minutes longer than one of my typical television stories). EGAD!

I brought a few stories from the whirlwind final weekend of the 80th legislative session to show. The student reactions to Craddick's failure to recognize members were interesting -- there was always audible reaction when they saw/heard Craddick say "You are not recognized for that motion", and even more so when they saw parliamentarian Terry Keel feed Craddick lines to repeat. I'm just excited that 18 year olds found the Texas House somewhat engaging.

*About the goats. Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples had a dog-and-pony goat-and-chicken show at an East Austin Elementary school that's the beneficiary of an Ag Dept grant. The kids were awesome -- the chicks and goats were even better! Who knew? Seven meat goats in the middle of far East Austin.

Posted by Elise Hu at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I accidentally deleted the photo I got with Karen Hughes, but it wasn't very good anyway. All I found from debate night 2006 was this photo, where she's chatting with the reporters who used to tail her in Austin -- Wayne Slater, Christy Hoppe and Clay Robison.

Another newsmaker this week (and every week, nowadays) is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Here's a shot from her visit to City Hall Monday.

In the photo she's talking with Tom "Smitty" Smith of Public Citizen Texas and Karen Hadden of the SEED Coalition. Now, I didn't eavesdrop, but I'm pretty sure they were talking about environmental issues.

Posted by Elise Hu at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The AP and other outlets are reporting longtime Bush inner circle member/former communications guru/onetime TV reporter Karen Hughes is leaving her post as undersecretary of state before the end of the year. She joins Dan Barrett and Karl Rove in coming back to her homeland.

When I get home I will post a photo of Hughes towering over me. We (the press corps) ran into her after the 2006 gubernatorial debate in Dallas, in the Hyatt hotel bar.

Meanwhile, if I recall correctly, the Bell campaign was doing their post-debate drinks at a place called Perry's.

Posted by Elise Hu at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)