The campaign ad that changed American politics
Long before Hillary Clinton answered that 3 a.m. phone call or Herman Cain's chief of staff puffed on a cigarette in a campaign advertisement, there was the young girl in a meadow of flowers, picking petals off a daisy.
Author Robert Mann calls it the "most famous and notorious ad in political history." In his new book "Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds: LBJ, Barry Goldwater, and the Ad That Changed American Politics," Mann takes readers back to the 1964 presidential contest.
"This was really the first campaign that relied almost solely on creative advertising principles," Mann told CBS News Chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. "This was the first time that politics had been treated creatively and advertised creatively as soap and soup and cereal."Continue »
Huntsman daughters: Their dad's "secret weapon"?
After Herman Cain's campaign released a bizarre online video of one of Cain's staffers smoking, Jon Huntsman's daughter Liddy saw an opportunity.
It occurred to her that she and two of her sisters - aka the @Jon2012girls, as Huntsman's three eldest daughters have come to be known on Twitter - could make their own, "age appropriate" version of the "smoking" video.
In the Huntsman daughters' version, Liddy, along with her sisters Abby and Mary Anne, blew bubbles instead of smoke - and they donned fake mustaches for the occasion.
Now, the spoof has over 300,000 YouTube hits - and it caught the eye of Bob Schieffer, who invited them to appear on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Continue »GOP freshman uses Facebook to talk to voters
Updated 12:35 p.m. ET
As members of Congress continue to fine-tune their Facebook-ing skills - advertising fundraisers, posting their press releases and hawking their latest cable news hit - Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., uses the social media site as an educational tool.
"I'd rather communicate about how I'm voting because that's really what's important here," Amash tells CBS News. "We're trying to educate people at home, trying to get them more involved and trying to have an influence on the rest of the Congress."
Continue »"Unplugged, Under 40": Mike Lee's Path to the Senate
Utah's junior Senator Mike Lee knew the wheels in Washington turned slow, but this slow?
"I've been in office for over a month and still don't have a permanent office," Lee, 39, tells CBS News in a "Unplugged Under 40" interview.
Lee's current workspace on the top floor of the Dirksen Senate Building may not be permanent -- he'll have to wait until April for that -- but it is operational and the d?cor is clearly inspired - jelly beans on the front counter are the first giveaway. A conference room covered in framed black and white photos of the Ronald Reagan, in Utah of course, is the second.
To Lee, Ronald Reagan isn't just the godfather of the Republican party, he was his father's boss. Rex Lee was Reagan's Solicitor General. A young Mike Lee first began his life-long study of the Constitution as he watched his father argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. The workday's arguments before the court often ended up at the Lee dinner table.
"I think I was about 30 before I realized that not every family talks about the presentment clause on a regular basis," Lee jokes.
Lee's fascination with the Constitution carried on beyond the family dinner table - on to law school and full circle to the U.S. Supreme Court as a clerk for Justice Alito.
He is an uncompromising constitutional conservative and proud of it. This ideology lined-up quite well with the Tea Party movement that just happened to gain momentum as Lee decided to leave his private law practice and run for public office.
Continue »The "Instrumental" Role of Social Media in Egypt
Internet access was fully restored in Egypt Wednesday after a one-week blackout attempted to thwart anti-government protesters.
Despite the blackout, Media Editor of Business Insider, Glynnis MacNicol, told CBSNews.com that one of the biggest players throughout this crisis has been social technology.
"It's phenomenal how [social media is] affecting how Egyptians are behaving with each other and how the world is processing this entire event," MacNicol told Washington Unplugged. "We're getting on-the-ground, live information 24-hours a day."
Innovation by Silicon Valley's brightest has kept people on the ground in Egypt connected to the outside world throughout the crisis. MacNicol points to a Google-Twitter partnership that set up international phone numbers people can call and leave a voicemail that will then automatically be tweeted. This meant when mobile networks were down, people could call from landlines and still reach their Internet audience.
Continue »Gibbs to Roll White House Trees if Auburn Wins
AP
In outgoing White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' hometown of Auburn, Ala., War Eagle fans have a long-standing tradition of rolling old oak trees at the entrance to Auburn's campus in toilet paper anytime there is reason to celebrate.
In an interview with CBS College Sports Network to air tonight, Gibbs says he will bring that tradition to the White House lawn if Auburn beats Oregon in Monday's BCS National Championship game.
"If Auburn wins, I will come back, I will get a little agreement with the Secret Service," Gibbs told CBS' Tony Barnhart. "We'll put a couple of rolls [of toilet paper] up there, and then I can help take it down so it doesn't look like we trashed the place."
The last time Gibbs threw a roll of toilet paper in a tree was after Auburn's victory in the Southeastern Conference championship game against South Carolina, but that tree was in his own front yard. Gibbs taught his 7-year-old son Ethan the Auburn tradition this season and said, "He thinks it's one of the coolest things he's learned in a long time."
When asked if the president understands how important this game is to him, Gibbs said he surely does. "During the LSU game, we were on the road," Gibbs explained. "A bunch of people were in suits and I was wearing the Auburn shirt that I've worn for every game that I've watched this year. He gets how big a deal this is for me. He enjoys and loves college football. I think there are so many fans including him that are excited about watching this game."
Continue »Mail Reaches US Troops For Holidays
A small remote combat outpost in Eastern Afghanistan received a large shipment of care packages earlier this year. All 46 boxes came from the same address in small town Georgia that no one had recognized.
"We still have fellows over there and we still have gals over there, and they need to know that we're still thinking about them and that they're not alone," said Dr. Tim Annis, a chiropractor in Dawsonville, Ga.
Dr. Annis' office, with the help of his patients, has been sending packages to troops overseas for five years. The latest shipment was intended for U.S. Army Pfc. Jim Hutchins, the nephew of one of Dr. Annis' co-workers. But when Hutchins received the shipment at Camp Clark, a large base in Eastern Afghanistan, he forwarded them along to an area that needed the supplies most.
CBS News was there when that remote combat outpost received the packages. Candy bars, baby wipes and coffee were among the most coveted items.
Constant rocket attacks force the men to live in bunkers. With a spotty Internet connection, the magazines and movies sent from Georgia are the troops' sole source of entertainment.
Dr. Annis' motivation is simple, "In an area that they get shelled, they get missiled, they have to watch out for their lives every day," he explained. "And now they can actually open a little candy bar at night and know that we're thinking about them."
Continue »Unplugged Under 40: Living the Sweet Life
Three years ago, Nate Ru, Jonathan Neman and Nic Jammet were sitting in their dorm rooms at Georgetown University looking for a quick, affordable and healthy place to eat.
"We decided let's just do it ourselves," explains Jammet in today's episode of "Washington Unplugged."
Today, they are leading 200 employees in six Sweetgreen shops around the Washington area.
"We're more than just a restaurant," Ru says, "we're a lifestyle brand. We like to call it the Sweet Life."
At Sweetgreen, you make your way down a quick and efficient assembly line, build a salad from a selection of local and organic ingredients or have one of their signature salads rolled into a wrap. Their deconstructed version of guacamole -- "Guacamole Greens" -- is the most popular item on the menu.
Jammet says they want customers "to feel good about their decision of eating here. We want them to kind of trust us and know that coming to Sweetgreen is a place where you can do no wrong and you can have a healthy meal and enjoy yourself."
Continue »Unplugged Under 40: The Battle to Change the BCS
CBS News' Kaylee Hartung and Arden Farhi profile Washington lawyer Matt Sanderson, who's brining together members of Congress to change the Bowl Championship Series rankings.
The first round of official college football rankings were released this week, and the old controversy surrounding how those rankings are determined was ignited once again. But this time, Washington is getting involved.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings determine who plays for the national title in January. Some say the way these rankings are determined is unfair - including members of Congress. So this week's "Unplugged Under 40" caught up with a young Washington lawyer who's trying to rally members of Congress to change the system.
Continue »
The first round of official college football rankings were released this week, and the old controversy surrounding how those rankings are determined was ignited once again. But this time, Washington is getting involved.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings determine who plays for the national title in January. Some say the way these rankings are determined is unfair - including members of Congress. So this week's "Unplugged Under 40" caught up with a young Washington lawyer who's trying to rally members of Congress to change the system.
Continue »
Unplugged Under 40: Va. Beauty Queen Shaves Her Head
Three months after the end of her reign as Miss Virginia, Tara Wheeler is missing more than a crown atop her head. Monday night she shaved her hair off to raise awareness and money to cure kids' cancer.
Amidst a media frenzy and a room full of supporters, Wheeler and four others shed their locks on Monday night at event sponsored by the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
St. Baldrick's raises money for pediatric cancer research as volunteers solicit donations by offering to shave their heads. Wheeler says the cause is one that's been close to her heart for years, but it was experiences during her time as Miss Virginia that brought her to this moment.
She first met four-year-old Jessie while serving as an ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network.
"When I saw how upset Jessie was about losing her hair, and I knew how she would feel when her hero, the former Miss Virginia was bald too, it really showed me that this was a way I could be worthy of all these children looking up to me. And hopefully I've made a step toward doing that," she said.
Since making the pledge to shave her head in March, Wheeler has raised close to $50,000 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
Watch Wednesday's "Washington Unplugged" above to see an interview with Wheeler, which follows a discussion of the Obama administration's use of "czars."
"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
Amidst a media frenzy and a room full of supporters, Wheeler and four others shed their locks on Monday night at event sponsored by the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
St. Baldrick's raises money for pediatric cancer research as volunteers solicit donations by offering to shave their heads. Wheeler says the cause is one that's been close to her heart for years, but it was experiences during her time as Miss Virginia that brought her to this moment.
She first met four-year-old Jessie while serving as an ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network.
"When I saw how upset Jessie was about losing her hair, and I knew how she would feel when her hero, the former Miss Virginia was bald too, it really showed me that this was a way I could be worthy of all these children looking up to me. And hopefully I've made a step toward doing that," she said.
Since making the pledge to shave her head in March, Wheeler has raised close to $50,000 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
Watch Wednesday's "Washington Unplugged" above to see an interview with Wheeler, which follows a discussion of the Obama administration's use of "czars."
"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
Unplugged Under 40: Author Nick McDonell
In a 24-hour trip to Washington this week Nick McDonell had a full agenda. The freelance journalist spent the day in meetings on Capitol Hill with staffers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – He's working on a story on the International Criminal Court he says he hopes to sell. And he spent the evening signing copies of his third novel at Politics and Prose.
Nick describes "An Expensive Education" as "a combination of campus novel and spy novel, so at its best it is sort of like Graham Greene goes to the frat house, but he also has to go to Somalia and Kenya and deal with all of the real trouble that happens there. But it's a conspiracy theory book."
But what does a 25-year-old know about the real trouble in Somalia and Kenya? Shortly after college graduation, Nick ventured to Sudan with a book idea in mind. He had heard wildly intriguing stories of the region from his Harvard Prof. Alex de Waal. He asked de Waal to connect him with a few sources, and he was off. But once he arrived in Sudan he realized de Waal was a story himself. He wrote 9,000 words on de Waal's work as a mediator between the Sudanese government and the West and sold it to Harper's Magazine. Along the way, in hotel rooms and on the road, he wrote "An Expensive Education."
Continue »
Nick describes "An Expensive Education" as "a combination of campus novel and spy novel, so at its best it is sort of like Graham Greene goes to the frat house, but he also has to go to Somalia and Kenya and deal with all of the real trouble that happens there. But it's a conspiracy theory book."
But what does a 25-year-old know about the real trouble in Somalia and Kenya? Shortly after college graduation, Nick ventured to Sudan with a book idea in mind. He had heard wildly intriguing stories of the region from his Harvard Prof. Alex de Waal. He asked de Waal to connect him with a few sources, and he was off. But once he arrived in Sudan he realized de Waal was a story himself. He wrote 9,000 words on de Waal's work as a mediator between the Sudanese government and the West and sold it to Harper's Magazine. Along the way, in hotel rooms and on the road, he wrote "An Expensive Education."
Continue »
Unplugged Under 40: Washington Post's Ezra Klein
At an age when most young people are still looking for their first big break, 25-year-old Ezra Klein has caught a few.
Hired by the Washington Post in May to blog about the economy and domestic policy, Klein estimates he's typing 3,000 words a day.
"What I do is pretty responsive to what is going on over on Capitol Hill," he says. "So as health care has come to occupy center stage now instead of 14 posts a day about Timothy Geithner's latest plan, I have 15 on whether or not Max Baucus is going to release a bill this week and what the new polling is."
Continue »
Hired by the Washington Post in May to blog about the economy and domestic policy, Klein estimates he's typing 3,000 words a day.
"What I do is pretty responsive to what is going on over on Capitol Hill," he says. "So as health care has come to occupy center stage now instead of 14 posts a day about Timothy Geithner's latest plan, I have 15 on whether or not Max Baucus is going to release a bill this week and what the new polling is."
Continue »
- no previous page
- Next
1 / 2
