Politics 2012: Etiquette, editing, etudes, elections and enthusiasm

Henry Higgins he ain't … Script-writing to chase away the primary blues … Someone should have checked the playlist … Outta sight but not outta mind … Tell us something new ...

No Eliza Doolittle makeover for you!

New York state Sen. Marty Goldman decided to cancel his "Posture, Deportment and the Feminine Presence" workshop for women, the Village Voice said.

Goldman caught a lot of flak for scheduling the July 24 event billed as a workshop where women could learn to "sit, stand and walk like a model," to walk "elegantly" on stairs, and the difference between "American and continental rules governing handshakes and introductions."

"Each year, Senator Golden holds several well received events to provide options to his constituents for personal and business development," the senator's office said in a statement. "Our upcoming event, which we have chosen not to hold, is similar to ones being organized by other elected officials, as well as classes conducted in local high schools. The senator's support of legislation and programs to help create jobs for all New Yorkers is a matter of public record, and we will be holding future events to assist them in finding and keeping a job."

Golden spokesman John Quaglione didn't comment, The Albany Times Union said. Senate Republican spokesman Scott Reif did say no taxpayer money was involved -- contrary to some media reports -- and that the hall and protocol consultant contributed their services.

Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) UPI/Alexis C. Glenn

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Rep. McCotter turns to script-writing for release

U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter, R-Mich., wasn't able to sell his pitch to be the Republican Party's presidential nominee and instead turned to pitching a comedy-variety show.

"Bumper Sticker: Made On Motown" starred McCotter as a host for a cast using the nicknames of his congressional staffers, his brother and a drunk, The Detroit News reported. Skits took shots at McCotter's short-lived presidential bid and offered up banter about drinking, sex, race, flatulence, puking and the female anatomy.

Its animated introduction and closing credits featured a double-finned Oldsmobile zipping along Detroit streets and bowling over city landmarks, the News said. The double-finned car has a Michigan vanity license plate: "Made on MoTown."

McCotter told the News the script was a work in progress and given to a reporter without his permission.

He said the show provided a "cathartic" creative outlet that helped him get over his near-non-existent campaign.

McCotter said the show was "deliberately designed to be a train wreck" that assaults the dignity of the central character, which would be McCotter.

"The very fact that people wouldn't find that funny and the suffering of the protagonist [from] having to be involved in it -- [that] was what was funny," McCotter told the News.

McCotter was a regular on Fox News' overnight Red Eye show, a commentator on Breitbart.com and a guest political insider on a Washington, D.C., local morning show. He also published a book in 2011 called "Seize Freedom! American Truths and Renewal in a Chaotic Age."

After his ill-fated presidential bid, McCotter failed to qualify for the 2012 Republican primary in his district after massive fraud resulted in nearly all of his petition signatures being tossed as invalid. He briefly mounted a write-in bid in the primary, announced June 2 he would retire at the end of his current term. On Friday, McCotter announced his resignation from Congress.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at an Independence Day barbeque for members of the armed services and White House staff and their families on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on July 4, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

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Awkward … or similar tastes in music

A unit of the U.S. Marine Corps band struck an awkward note when it struck up a song used by Mitt Romney while President Obama greeted visitors at the White House on Independence Day.

A White House pool report said the Marine musicians played Rodney Atkins' "It's America," used by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee when he walks onto a stage, and described it as an "awkward moment."

The president and first lady Michelle Obama were celebrating Independence Day by hosting military personnel and their families on the South Lawn of the White House, The Hill said. Guests were feted with a barbecue, fireworks and a concert featuring the Marine Corps band and country star Brad Paisley.

Phoning it in

Anchorage, Alaska, Mayor Dan Sullivan phoned home for his swearing-in ceremony, taking his oath of office via Skype with a judge in Anchorage and Sullivan in Hawaii.

Sullivan, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, held up his hand and took the oath in a ceremony projected on a screen back home, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Congratulations, Mayor Sullivan," District Judge Brian Clark said. "I wish you the best in your second term."

Then came the questions: Why are you in Hawaii? Why didn't you wait?

"What really matters is the words that you swear to and affirm to ... not so much where you are," Sullivan said, noting he was in the Aloha State for a family reunion.

But some indicated Alaskans wondered whether Sullivan was really sensitive to the state's peripheral perception, the Times reported.

"Wow. How tone deaf is this guy?" Sheila Toomey asked in an Anchorage Daily News editorial Sunday. "If the rumor mill is right, he's planning to run for governor. Maybe his staff should clue him in to the fact that Alaskans are kind of state-proud, as in, you should actually be in the state when you take the oath of office as mayor of the largest city in the state."

The mayor, who's supposed to be sworn in by July 1 or as soon as possible, said the ceremony was legal -- but he plans to take another oath in Anchorage.

Sullivan said it was easier to take the oath transoceanic than rearrange schedules, the Times said.

"It's an honor today to be able to share this experience with my Hawaiian family and friends," he said.

Poll: Voters think campaign is long, dull, negative

U.S. voters may be thinking it, but Pew Research Center documented that most voters think the 2012 presidential campaign will be long. And dull. And negative.

The expectation that this election cycle will be exhausting aligns with perceptions of the campaign so far, Pew said. Results indicate most Americans say the campaign has been too long and dull -- 56 percent each -- while 53 percent said it's been too negative.

Still, nearly four in five voters -- 79 percent -- said they consider the campaign important.

The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press also found that 49 percent said they expect the election to be exciting.

Comparable percentages of Republicans, Democrats and independents say the campaign has been too long and too negative, Pew said.

More than eight in 10 Republicans, about 85 percent, and Democrats, 83 percent, say the campaign is important, research indicated. Seventy-seven percent of independents expressed the same view.

Results are based on a nationwide telephone survey of 2,013 adults conducted June 7-17. The overall margin of error is 3.6 percentage points.