Versus the Media

That, and other news, in today's Political Panorama.

Hillary Clinton is taking on the media on the campaign trail and in an ad that was unveiled over the weekend, deploying a strategy designed to drum up voter anger and resentment over pundits' propensity to call the race over.

"There are some folks, you can see them on TV every night, who wanted it to be over for me after Iowa, and every time they say it, something funny happens, the voters don't agree," Clinton said in Kentucky yesterday, per ABC News. "And so what I'm hopin', what I am hoping is that on Tuesday you're going to send a real message to a lot of those folks who didn't want you to vote, who don't want me to keep fighting for you and fighting for our country."

While such a message can stir up enthusiasm, it hasn't seemed to work that well this campaign for other candidates. Rudy Giuliani cited the punditry in the waning days of his Florida campaign, and John Edwards last year took on Fox News. Barack Obama took aim at ABC News for its pre-Pennsylvania debate, then quickly dropped the approach after even some supporters acknowledged that it made him look whiny.

And this could just add more fuel to Clinton's fire: Tim Russert (who is featured in one of Clinton's ads) asked his "Meet the Press" panel about it on Sunday, and the consensus among them was that it was an oft-deployed last minute tactic of a candidate in the waning days of a campaign.

"Recount" Promo: HBO Films is offering Los Angeles residents the chance to experience what it was like to be a Florida resident, circa 2000. They are putting the "actual Votomatic Florida voting machines" used in the election on display at the Grove shopping complex on Tuesday, allowing people to judge for themselves whether they could have effectively cast a ballot whether it be butterfly or hanging chad.

Franken's Polling: Al Franken, who is in Los Angeles for a fund-raiser on Wednesday, trails incumbent Norm Coleman 51-44, according to the latest StarTribune poll.

Dual Signs: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Brentwood home includes lawn signs for both John McCain and Barack Obama. He has endorsed McCain, his wife Maria Shriver (as well as their daughter) have endorsed Obama. Via Laobserved.