Even Jon Huntsman's Daughters are Mocking Herman Cain's Ad

First it was their Twitter feed supporting their dad in his bid to win (or at least not embarrass himself) as he seeks the GOP presidential nomination.

Now three of the daughters of former Utah governor and former U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman have donned fake mustaches and glasses to not just promote their father, but to give the needle to the surging Republican rival Herman Cain and his wacky smoking/weird smile spot.

Unlike the late night comedians though, the Huntsman women didn't turn to booze or illicit drugs in their mockery and they came thisshort of completely going over the top with Groucho Marx glasses.

Notes on Politics: Cain's Odd Smoke-Filled Campaign Ad, Rich Getting Super-Rich & Gotta See 'Margin Call'

What are We to Make of This . . . Cain’s Campaign Blowin’ Smoke?

There has been a lot of buzz about GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain’s sudden rise in the polls, in at least one of them he has, shockingly, topped front runner Mitt Romney.

And while we’re trying to figure out when the Herman Cain 9-9-9 apples and oranges bubble is going to burst – I will be utterly astonished if it doesn’t – I’d like to know what in the heck is up with this latest Cain ad featuring his chief of staff literally blowing cigarette smoke at the camera. Seriously, anyone care to venture forth an explanation for the cigarette followed by Cain's Cheshire cat grin? It's baffling. I don't know what it means and it's been bugging me.

Top 1 Percent Saw 275 Percent Increase in Income, CBO Says

A new Congressional Budget Office report says that the top 1 percent of U.S. wage earners have seen their incomes increase by 275 percent over the past 30 years, Politico reported. Politico continued:

“The after-tax income for the highest-income households grew the most out of any group form 1979-2007, the CBO reported. The richest 1 percent of Americans saw a 275 percent growth in household income, while the poorest 20 percent experienced just 18 percent growth . . . The 60 percent in the middle of the income scale saw just under 40 percent growth in after-tax income.”

This provides the Occupy Wall Street/Occupy [Everywhere] protesters with fresh ammo in their objections to the widening gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

Go See ‘Margin Call’

Over the weekend I caught the new “inspired by a true story” film Margin Call, an insiders’ look at what happens when a Wall Street investment firm realizes it has taken on more financial risk than the total worth of the company and decides to sell off investments which they know have no value to unwitting customers in order for the firm to survive. It mixes a little bit of the aura from The Company Men and Up in the Air, as it starts off with mass layoffs at the firm, and also has the intelligent tension of the HBO drama Too Big To Fail.

It provides an unflinching look at the 2008 financial meltdown from the perspective of folks from inside one firm who are making decisions which they know will have a wide-reaching impact only most of them only care about what happens to themselves. While moral questions are raised, many immoral, greedy answers are provided, as some folks who aspire to do the “right” thing – which isn’t always clear – find themselves trapped within the confines of the framework of today’s financial world and believe they have no good choices. This whole financial mess, it’s complicated and ugly. But, then again, we already knew that.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: Savaging Sarah

All this jumpin' ugly on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is unseemly and in seriously poor taste.

On Tuesday night, after the networks declared that Illinois Senator Barack Obama had won the presidency, Arizona Senator John McCain gave an eloquent, patriotic speech in which he reached out to Obama and said he'd do what he could to help the new president-elect. Class, all the way.

Twenty-four hours later, cowardly unnamed McCain staffers started dumping all manner of gossipy, trashy stories about Palin, calling Palin and her husband Todd "Wasilla hillbillies" and blaming her for the downfall of the McCain campaign.

Whatever one might think of Palin, one thing's clear: This whole thing is the campaign's fault. Palin didn't lobby the McCain people for the vice presidential post, as far as has been reported. The McCain campaign came to her. If you were the governor of Alaska of whom precious few people had ever heard and your party's presidential nominee offers to elevate you to a household name by putting you on a national ticket, who's going to turn that down?

When I read the stories from these anonymous sources saying that she didn't understand African geography, I thought, "Why did you pick someone you didn't know in the 11th hour without thorough vetting? Why didn't you use all the time you had in early spring after winning the GOP nomination -- while Obama was still battling Hillary Clinton -- to research and interview potential VPs? Why didn't you go with someone who's known on the national scene? Why didn't your campaign prep her?"

When you reach into Alaska and select someone who's an expert in Alaska politics as a vice presidential running mate and know she's not conversant about foreign policy and the ways of Washington, and you don't give her enough time to learn what she needs to know, what the heck do you expect?

All of this vicious backbiting is simply a diversion. A red herring. And really uncool.

New Kids on the Pennsylvania Ave Block

I had a new column published on Mommy Track'd this afternoon about having very young First Kids in the White House.

References John-John and Caroline Kennedy during the Kennedy years, Amy Carter and Chelsea Clinton.

Image credit: Associated Press/New York Daily News.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: A New Day

Phew! Anyone else feel as though you've been through a marathon? Two years of watching every debate in both parties, of reading online and in newspapers and magazines about the campaign, of watching YouTube videos, of following every detail of the race can take a lot out of a person. And I wasn't even a candidate, the spouse of a candidate, working for the campaign or covering it as an embedded reporter. Those folks must feel as though they've been run over by a truck right about now.

At 11 p.m. last night, after the networks officially called the entire presidential election for Illinois Senator Barack Obama, I ran upstairs and woke up my kids to tell them the news. They weren't completely awake though and didn't remember that I'd woken them up when I spoke with them this morning. However after learning of the results, along with the fact that 10-year-old Malia Obama and 7-year-old Sasha Obama were promised a puppy by their dad, I saw that puppy-gleam in their eyes too. (Sorry kids, you're not getting a puppy. Your parents didn't just complete a presidential campaign.)

Kudos are due to Arizona Senator John McCain, who was eloquent and gracious in making his concession speech. I felt badly for him while watching him, a former POW, tearing up as he acknowledged the historic nature of Obama's win. He's an honorable man who was saddled with a bad campaign that made bad choices. Had he won and a woman ascended to the vice presidency for the first time in our nation's history, I would like to think that people would've been moved to see a woman succeed.

And Obama's acceptance speech, in my humble opinion, will be one children will later read about in history books.