Tom Scocca at Slate: “Politico: The President’s Next Chief of Staff Will Probably Be a Person With Political Connections“.
And it took three reporters to break that brilliant scoop, too: “The function of the country’s chief executive, according to Politico, is not to administer the country as effectively as he can, according to the goals and principles he subscribes to. The job of the president is to avoid the appearance of struggling, even if it means he accomplishes nothing.”
I’m beginning to wonder about the sponsorship of mainstream political reporting by the adult beverage industry.
cmorenc
A requisite qualification to become a political commentator is an advanced academic degree – you at least have to possess an M.O. degree – Master of the Obvious.
BR
Another argument for legalizing cannabis. An MSM on cannabis would think a lot more deeply about their reportage than when drinking adult beverages.
freelancer
@cmorenc:
I wonder how many Captains Obvious (Ret.) are currently on the Politico staff?
geg6
Seriously? For reals?
My dawg. The stupid. It’s expanding and will soon consume the universe.
Legalize
That’s how you win the cycle between 3:33 and 3:51. Duh.
Nellcote
I like how they hedge with “probably”.
Rick Massimo
Next thing you know, they’re going to break the scoop that Obama and the Democrats ROUTINELY spend MONTHS specifically asking people to vote for them!
This is in stark contrast to Republicans, who we all know are elected to office without ever actually asking for the job.
Legalize
Reporter: President Obama, is it true that you’ll seek someone with political connections to be your next chief of staff?
Obama: Probably!
WereBear
I can’t wait for the post which discovers the President has an “agenda.”
Culture of Truth
“Who Is He Who Is So Wise In the Ways of Political Science?”
Culture of Truth
@Legalize: he just threw __________ under the bus!
Zifnab
What are you talking about?
The statement was concise, it was correct, and it wasn’t based around a ludicrous conspiracy theory. These fellas are WAY ahead of the game.
Honestly, I was expecting something along the lines of “Bill Ayers maybe be traveling to Kenya this week to hand select a top Al Qaeda abortionist feminazi to infiltrate White House Chief of Staff position.”
Bob L
Does this means the office of the President of the United States of America has become politicized?
scav
so it’s become received wisdom that the whole oval office shebang is to be the head cheerleader that never breaks a visible sweat. excuse me, I’m off to go root for gravity in gravity v. coyote.
Chuck Butcher
Despite better ideas, I read the Politico article – I’ve now wasted time that could have been better spent picking my nose. It seems that if you’re paid to write at Politico you’d better write something … anything – but then that’s pretty much my opinion of Politco anyhow.
Nellcote
@Zifnab:
He could just go ahead and appoint Ayers CoS.
The Dangerman
If for no other reason, I want to see the Dems hold the House just to see these fuckers heads explode.
Legalize
Politico Reporter: “Even the liberal Balloon Juice blog is reporting that Obama will appoint Bill Ayers.” There. Is it happy hour yet?
Oscar Leroy
Why is there an enthusiasm gap?
Democrats propose cuts to Food Stamps
I just don’t understand.
Culture of Truth
Reporter: “Even the liberal Balloon Juice blog is reporting that Obama will appoint Bill Ayers.”
One week later:
“Obama Throws Ayers Under The Bus”
NonyNony
That is an actual quote from the actual Politico article.
This is about the stupidest piece of political punditry I think I have read today. At least.
Because we all know that it’s better to get nothing that you want at all because the other guy is blocking you than it is to get some of what you want because your own guys are blocking you. That’s just common sense! Nothing is always better than something!
Also it’s just common sense that when the House opens up investigation after investigation after investigation into everything from who really wrote Obama’s biography to who paid for the seeds that went into Michelle’s garden on the White House lawn, that would be a better outcome than no investigations into trivial bullshit! It’s just common sense!
Allison W.
@Oscar Leroy:
nope. that’s not it either.
Zifnab
@Oscar Leroy: Oh, but there’s just nothing the poor little large majorities in House and Senate Democrats can do, dontchaknow!
At what point does abolishing the Senate become a reasonable idea?
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle
I hope people here remember something. Drudgico is a Republican outfit. It is backed by a RWNJ family(Koch wanna bes).
Sad_Dem
Let’s play that game!
New International Investment Bank Has Lots of Money
When Seeking Romantic Partners, Physical Appearance Ranks High, Experts Say
Oceanographer Offers Insight into Pacific’s Wetness, Liquidity
Orbital Propulsion Design Difficult for Many Teens, Adults
Lawyer Claims Client Is Innocent
CIA Denies Keeping Secrets
Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)
You think that’s bad?
Check out this Ben Smith abomination at Politico.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0910/Talking_religion_in_New_Mexico.html?showall
Shorter Ben Smith: It’s Obama’s own fault that he gets accused of being a Muslim because he made his biracial identity part of his campaign.
Poopyman
Just for the record, the Politico headline is Insider likely to replace Rahm Emanuel. That’s the snark Slate headline that Annie Laurie put up there, along with the link to Slate. The Slate article has the link to Politico.
Not that that make it any less insipid. Here’s the opening sentence:
Another No Shit Sherlock moment brought to you by politico.
martha
Well, all I can say is the Prez is packing them in like sardines on the Library Mall at the University of Wisconsin campus right now. Wish I could be there, but I hate crowds like that…the line to get in is still a mile long. I wish wish wish for two things: 1) they play Jump Around when he takes the podium (all UW football fans will know what THAT will do to the crowd) and 2) he uses his humor to its best advantage about last night’s drubbing of the Packers by his Bears.
Oh, and Russ showed up too.
Poopyman
On the other hand, the Politico piece has a side link to a video titled “Jarrett for Rham job”.
Don’t tell me that wasn’t intentional.
Martin
What’s the alternative? That Obama would pick someone he’s never met or heard of before? Fuck, Joe the Plumber has political connections. Politico is holding out that Obama might pick someone even *more* removed from the WH than Joe the Plumber? Pretty bold.
I was once visiting a gf in Connecticut during college and we checked the weather at one point and the guy on TV said (with a straight face) we could expect 0-24 inches of snow. That’s the kind of quality prediction you can even make in August. I had no idea that weatherman would go on to work for Politico.
jl
Fin de siècle type decadence, if you ask me. The courtiers are so wrapped up in Kabuki prestige games and palace intrigue that they have no idea that most people in the country have to deal with something called reality. Or the connection between what politicians do and everyday realities that matter to ordinary people, like food shelter, healthcare and economic security.
As Cole has pointed out, in some GOP quarters, these people speak a private language that is difficult to translate.
The following anecdote is probably a repeat from something I typed long ago in a comment, but what the heck. In an old Chinese revolution, say, I dunno, fifteen hundred years ago or so, the revolutionists were combing through the palace looking for people who would be useful administrators in the new regime and, ahem, disposing of the superfluous bureaucracy. So they see some trembling legs poking out from behind a screen in one of the rooms, and drag the poor summabitch out, and ask him what he does.
Poor slob stammers out that he is The Master of the Horse.
Revolutionists are intrigued, since that might be something useful, but not sure. So they ask him what that means.
Poor slob starts to cry, and the revolutionists keep asking while poor courtier slob cries.
Poor slob finally blurts out that he doesn’t know what Master of the Horse means. The anecdote ends there probably for both us and the poor Master of the Horse.
One hopes that things in this country don’t go so far downhill that we see such a scene replayed. But it would be poetic justice.
ricky
This is not the change I hope I voted for. I was hoping for someone who was probably a transparent or transexual.
Poopyman
@martha: Two things:
I just got a spam mail from Jane Hamsher asking me to send Russ some money. That might happen.
I guess the administration is on a whirlwind college tour. Here’s an account of Biden’s visit to my alma mater.
(An earlier version had quotes from a couple of knucklehead students. They’ve been removed. The quotes, that is.)
Martin
@Poopyman: They’re playing the Facebook crowd. That works remarkably well as a GOTV effort.
martha
@Poopyman: If you’ve got the cash, send him some. Ron Johnson married a billionaire’s daughter, so he’s got it to burn. What a horror we face if he gets in.
JGabriel
Paul Krugman:
OT, but I just felt it was worth noting, because it’s a point I’ve wanted to see made for a long time. WWII is proof that governmental economic stimulus works, so why can’t we approve it to help our neighbors and country rather than needing to mask its benefits in war and destruction?
It’s almost like people are more willing to pay to protect their property from imaginary foreign hordes of equally poor and desperate people than they are to protect it from the very real rich domestic assholes that are actually ripping them off.
What does that say about us?
.
Rommie
Did the ActBlue meter really jump 10K today? That’s some spike.
WereBear
It’s not almost like; it IS like that.
My mentor in college put it well; Americans are all told they can be rich some day. They just can’t mess up their own potential future!
Martin
@JGabriel:
I think it clearly says we all strive to be rich domestic assholes ripping off our fellow citizens.
Bob L
@JGabriel: Because your advocating socialism as opposed to an apocalyptic War. Apocalyptic wars are something we can get behind.
Krugman is not telling all of the story. Rampaging protectionism was big part of the story of the Depression and WWII. Everyone slammed the tariffs on so hard the world economy was stopped dead in its tracks and to get things going again Germany and Japan felt they had to create their own economic trade zones at gun point. The world wide alliances need to stop the Axis did a lot to end that viscous circle of escalating tariffs while defense spending got people to work again. So yet again, cooperation instead of being a dick is a depression killer.
ruemara
Everytime I work hard on research for my articles, I wonder why. I want some of this sweet, sweet neocon nectar.
Quaker in a Basement
Oops! Did I say “president”? I should have said “a Washington reporter”!!
SiubhanDuinne
@Rommie #37:
I know, and only two or three more people. It’s like George Soros dropped by, or something!
4jkb4ia
Should be posted at Late Night to destroy any credibility I ever had over there, but Navy to purchase 124 F-18s. Spousal unit very pleased.
(Baseball season now officially over)
Luthe
Didn’t the Daily Caller just get a keg installed in their office? Your theory may not be far from the truth.