Inside the Beltway: Bedtime not for Bonzo

NEWS AND OPINION:

While the strategists duke it out on the campaign trail, consider that politically charged pajamas have emerged from the entrepreneurial wags at CafePress, and they are proving a Republican favorite. The cozy collection features both elephant- and donkey-adorned jammie bottoms and a series of cheeky, defiantly partisan T-shirts

“Merchandise sales so far show that 63 percent of political pajamas sold are the Republican print. Who knew the GOP was so eager to hop in bed with their presidential candidate nominees?” a spokesman asks. “No surprise here. Women are outbuying political pajamas 2-to-1, compared to men. If nothing else, the presidential candidates are surely ladies’ men.”

Yeah, well.

Among the selections: the “I Only Date Republicans” the “Keep Calm and Vote Romney” T-shirts. And this, sure to insult GOPers everywhere: the “Whoever Heard of a Nice Piece of Elephant?” shirt. There are multitudes more, plus a line of Republican or Democrat pillowcases, priced in the $18 to $30 range. A good beginning point of reference for this somewhat tacky but compelling phenomenon: https://shop.cafepress.com/politicalpjs.

(LAUGHTER)

“Today I’m announcing a handy little ’To-Do’ list that we’ve put together for Congress. (Laughter.) You can see it for yourselves at whitehouse.gov. It’s about the size of a Post-It note, so every member of Congress should have time to read it — (laughter) — and they can glance at it every so often. And hopefully we’ll just be checking off the list — just like when Michelle gives me a list, I check it off.”

And so reads the exact White House transcript of President Obama’s speech at the University of Albany on Tuesday. But inquiring minds want to know. What’s on this cryptic list? Clean out the sock drawer? Veto something? As Mr. Obama said, the five-item note is posted at the White House website, bulletin-board style:

“Congress To Do List: Reward American jobs, not outsourcing; refinancing for responsible homeowners, tax credits for small business jobs, clean energy manufacturing, veterans jobs corps.”

THE NOT-SO-GREAT DIVIDE

Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson may not be pleased with the news: 25 percent of likely U.S. voters think Rep. Ron Paul should run as a third-party candidate, says a Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted May 6-7.

That scenario would likely please Democratic strategists and vex Mitt Romney’s team, which would reasonably be concerned that Mr. Paul could divide the GOP vote and reward President Obama with a second term.

Or maybe not:

“Perhaps Democrats should be careful what they wish for. Even if Mitt Romney’s remaining GOP challenger should run as a third-party candidate, new Rasmussen Reports surveying finds Romney the winner of a three-way race,” the pollster says.

And the numbers: If the presidential election were held today, 44 percent of the respondents would vote for Mr. Romney, 39 percent for Mr. Obama and 13 percent for Mr. Paul.

FLIPPING THE FLOP

“Obama ’evolves,’ Romney ’flip-flops,’” notes Dartmouth College political scientist and Columbia Journalism Review contributor Brendan Nyhan.

“Are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney so different after all? Despite the media’s portrayal of Romney as a uniquely craven politician, the recent controversy over Obama’s views on gay marriage highlights the ways that both candidates — like nearly all politicians — have adjusted their positions over their careers for political reasons,” Mr. Nyhan says in an effort to deconstruct journalistic narratives.

He elaborates here: www.brendan-nyhan.com.

THE WARREN COMMISSION

From the uh-oh desk, it’s “Fauxcahontas,” a nickname bestowed upon Massachusetts Democratic senatorial hopeful Elizabeth Warren by syndicated columnist Mark Steyn a few days ago. It now boasts some 250 press mentions in, among many others, Human Events, Breitbart.com, the New York Times, the Nation and Twitter.

And there’s part deux, too. Pajamas Media (www.pjmedia.com) is now offering “Fauxcahontas: The Movie,” a little video put together by Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

TAMPA-TOPIA

There’s no doubt that Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart takes himself seriously as a political correspondent, and so does his network. Mr. Stewart will offer a week’s worth of coverage from both Republican and Democratic national conventions, which producers deem a “legacy” of sorts.

He’ll broadcast from the Republican National Convention in Tampa Aug. 28-31, and from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte Sept. 4-7.

“We are incredibly excited to spend a week in the beautiful city of Tampa … plus we assume this counts as a visit to our grandparents,” observes executive producer Rory Albanese, who adds that free tickets to “The Daily Show” tapings in Tampa may be requested at www.thedailyshow.com.

POLL DU JOUR

• 50 percent of Americans say marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid; 22 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of Democrats agree.

• 38 percent of Protestants, 51 percent of Catholics and 88 percent of those with “no religious identity” also agree.

• 31 percent of those who attend church weekly and 67 percent of those who “seldom or never” attend church agree.

• 48 percent of Americans overall say same-sex marriage should not be recognized by law; 74 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Democrats agree.

• 59 percent of Protestants, 47 percent of Catholics and 12 percent of those with “no religious identity” also agree.

• 67 percent of those who attend church weekly and 32 percent of those who “seldom or never” attend church agree.

Source: A Gallup poll of 1,024 U.S. adults conducted May 3-6.

• Churlish remarks, polite applause to jharper@washingtontimes.com.