Funny, yesterday I post about electoral pandering, and then I read an article about the 3 presidential candidates taping comments for the WWF's Monday night wrestling show. (I'm not even going to mention Shrub's appearance on Deal or No Deal..) I watched all 3 clips on Youtube, and here are my thoughts.

First specifics. They all 3 tried to work wrestling metaphors into their speech, with varying levels of success. Each was pre-taped, with Hillary and Barack on the campaign trail, and McCain from an undisclosed location (visiting Cheney perhaps?)

Up first Obama. For someone who is such a great speaker, he really mailed this one in. He read cue cards more obviously than Christopher Walken on SNL. The best part of his taped bit was the goofy smile he got at the end. I think he was more than a little embarrased. The worst part was the location. They apparently stopped Obama in a hallway of Hitler's bunker. I kept expecting to see Dharma Initiative logos behind him or something.

Hillary did a good job talking to the camera, and also integrated her references better than the others. She also had the good sense to put some production values into the video, and get it lit and be in front of a green screen. The worst part was the bizarre wild look in her eyes. Desperation is an ugly thing. I do give her points for limiting the wrestling references. I was expecting her to tell a story about how much her father liked "the matches" or something…

McCain went for the generic study location, and used by far the most wrestling references. His tone was a strange combination of playful and withdrawn. He does get points for working Obama's "bitter" remarks into his spiel. The best part of his was his delivery. He came off as natural, and almost believable, but went a little over the top with the wrestling references. The worst part was his content. I was once again struck by how far the Straight Talk Express is off the tracks.

I think it's nice that the WWF has a pro-voting program, and tries to get people interested in politics. I do think it sends the wrong message, however, if later in the program you have a massive tattooed Samoan beat up Hillary and Barack impersonators. Sort of a mixed message there.

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