Via Dave Weigel at Slate, Michael Kinsley at… Politico:
Determined to be the website with the most and fastest coverage of presidential politics and in responding to reports, such as one in The New York Times on Sunday that said the 2012 election may be the most over-covered presidential contest yet, POLITICO announced that it has decided to skip the 2012 election cycle entirely and to concentrate its resources on 2016.
__
“The 2016 presidential race begins today,” POLITICO Executive Editor Jim VandeHei said in a webcast press conference from the company’s headquarters at a secret address — 1100 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, Va. Asked whether the lack of candidates would be a problem, VandeHei insisted that “candidates play a less and less significant role in American politics, especially at the presidential level. By the time we have finished covering the political consultants and advisers, then throw in a poll or two, there is really no need to talk to the candidates themselves. Our best scientific evidence is that, while the candidates may still have some vestigial role in 2012, by 2016 they will largely have disappeared, except for purely symbolic activities like posing for pictures [while] coming out of church with their families.” By 2020, VandeHei said, even those will be fabricated. “We project [that] the lack of any official candidates, while it may be a problem for media attempting to cover the 2012 election, will be an anachronistic worry by 2016 and a question on ‘Jeopardy!’ by 2020.” Even today, “Have you seen what you can do with Photoshop?” VandeHei asked. “It’s incredible.”
[…] __
Jeff Jarvis, associate professor of sound bites at the City University School of Journalism in New York and author of the new book, “Net Neutrality: What Is It Again?” commented: “In the end, this is all about our children. If we want to leave them a rich legacy of media and empower them to enjoy the same media diet of stories about polls and debates and gaffes and commentary from the left and from the right and promises made and promises broken and pleas for civility and anonymous quotes and Sarah Palin that we have enjoyed up to now, we’re going to have to face facts and start rationing news.”
Funny, or just narcissistic? Opinions differ! (But I still have a copy of Kinsley’s first book Curse of the Giant Muffins, so I’m prejudiced… and old.)
Villago Delenda Est
VandeHei has no idea how stupid he sounds, does he?
The candidates mean nothing? Say what?
Or is this yet another example of Poe’s Law in action?
Oh…Associate Professor of sound bites…ah…OK…
lol
I was thinking Kinsley should’ve played it a little more straight and was too over the top… and then I saw the first comment.
Yutsano
If there actually is an 1100 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, then Kinsley is going for prime snark. If he’s just making up everything out of whole cloth, I hope he sticks to punditry. Death is easy, comedy is hard and all that.
Also: Are the Politico commenters normally that idiotic? Sheesh.
hamletta
Yeah, it’s funny now. But so was Network.
I registered to be a bone marrow donor. My swab kit is speeding its way to me even as I write!
A sweet, pretty lady at my church got leukemia as a result of the chemo she had several years ago when she had breast cancer. And she’s only 42.
Dammit, dammit, dammit. I probably can’t help her, but maybe I can help someone out there.
S. cerevisiae
Plus 3 of these wonderful brews. Truly the nectar of the gods.
Villago Delenda Est
The really hilarious thing is the commenters there seem to think that Politico is made up of “liberals”.
The delusions of the wingtards never cease to amuse. It’s amazing these guys don’t suffocate when they sleep, their hindbrains are so undeveloped.
S. cerevisiae
Oops, screwed up the link: Pappy’s Dark
Ija
Is he just asking to be fired or what? I love it. Kinsley should stick to making fun of political and media blowhards rather than concern trolling about Social Security and the national debt.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
I’m backing my cousin’s kid, Gary, in 2048. I like his one-year old’s vision for the future.
Yutsano
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I’m in! When do we set up the ActBlue page?
Bnut
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Hope and Change Me!
Also, it may be the Sour Diesel but this comment from the Politico article made me laugh out loud for many reasons:
I like Politico because the comment system enables people to debate quickly. I cannot think of any way to improve it. Politico provides access for obsessed political junkies to weigh in on issues of the day, and get feedback from equally obsessed nutballs, of all persuasions.
Fun, fun, fun. Let the games begin!
frosty
@Yutsano: Yes, there is a 1100 Wilson Blvd in Arlington. I used to work pretty close to it. It’s the former Gannett/USA Today headquarters in Rosslyn, now full of generic Washington hangers-on, I assume.
MattR
@Yutsano:
It is an office building. I would have responded sooner but looking up that address on Bing sent me on an unsuccessful quest to find the sports bar a few blocks away that I used to go to for NFL games.
@frosty: So do you know which sports bar I could be thinking of? I was last there in October 1997 so it is very possible that it is defunct.
Bnut
Also, Anne, you misspelled Dave’s last name in the post. I only care because I hate when people misspell my name.
Yutsano
@MattR: One must be cautious when one does web searches. Otherwise one risks embracing the philosophy of Buckaroo Banzai without even realizing it.
@Bnut: I can relate. My last name is six letters divided into two words. In Quebec I’d be more or less a Jones it’s so common there. But not only does it get misspelled constantly in the US, the manglings of the pronunciation drive me apeshit. Power to the surnames brotha.
Bnut
@Yutsano: I have an unusual first name as well, an easy one but somehow often misspelled. It’s a last name as a first name, but not something pretentious like Hamilton or Glockenspiel.
frosty
@MattR: I left that job in 1999, so my tenure coincided with your sports bar. Regrettably, I never made it there. I hit the Irish bar (Ireland’s Four Courts) up the hill on Wilson a few times, though. Rosslyn blossomed after I left. Last time I was in Arlington it really had a night life. Very cool.
Off topic, Arlington County did a better job of leveraging the Metro investment and building a community off of it than any of the other suburban counties. IMHO.
ETA: TTFN. I really have to crash now so I can get to work in the morning … after I scrape the ice off the car.
Royston Vasey
Commander William Adama on police states:
Yutsano
@Bnut: The first name lottery I got lucky on. It’s a book of the Bible, so no big issues there. But at work I go by my last name, which throws people off so bad the first time they hear it they spend the next five minutes just writing it out. It gets annoying.
And FWIW my uncle’s guide dog is named Jefferson.
MattR
@frosty: I never really hung out too much in Arlington. I lived on Lee Hwy straight north of Ballston Metro station. I worked in an industrial park in Alexandria and the friends I hung out with lived in DC. If I was getting in the car and driving towards Rosslyn, I was probably continuing over the Key Bridge into Georgetown or the Roosevelt Bridge to head towards the Capitol.
@Yutsano: And yet a surprising number of people try to spell Matthew with one T. The biggest problem with my last name is that it is very similar sounding to several much more common alternatives. Luckily it is only 4 letters so I don’t mind spelling it.
Origuy
I don’t go to Politico; it makes my teeth hurt.
Yemen may be the next domino. Al-Jazeera is reporting that the president will not seek another term in 2013. There are protests planned for tomorrow. President Saleh has been in office for 32 years.
Bnut
@Royston Vasey: How do I reach these keeeeeeds?
Current song:
Auditorium
Mos Def
Yutsano
@Origuy: Yemen will be a mishegas of the highest order. And I have zero doubt whatever gets installed there will definitely be much less US friendly. And the Sauds ain’t gonna like having a competing Islamic country on their southern border.
Villago Delenda Est
Go over to Digby’s place, right now. There’s a satellite photo of the cyclone that’s about to hit Queensland.
Amazing. Frightening. There is no global climate change. None.
The moon is made of green cheese. Also.
Villago Delenda Est
@Origuy:
The really scary thing is, eventually, this trend will hit the Bandit Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Then all hell will break loose.
Bnut
@Yutsano: As a young person in terms of years, I still grapple with this problem. Reconciling will of the people with governments is something I struggle with. I shed blood for this country, it’s hard for me to judge others who do the same for theirs, despite many lands and politics between us.
Current song:
Soul To Squeeze
RHCP
Yutsano
@Bnut: My absolute personal opinion: I’m fucking overjoyed this is happening. The people of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Jordan are tired of the same old leadership and the endless lies that seem to keep them oppressed. They don’t even have to look very far west: Turkey kicks all their economic asses and it’s because they figured out a long time ago that you have to take the government by the balls in order to get it to respond to you. Not all of these countries will turn into mini-Irans, in fact they may indeed follow the Turkish model of reform or die. The best thing we can do is get the fuck out of their way and let them figure it out for themselves.
Bnut
@Yutsano: Yeah, I’d rather deal with democratic shit ass governments than totalitarian or junta ones. At least all the BS is on the table on both sides.
Current song:
the Weight
the Band
Yutsano
@Bnut: Ironically enough Turkey is one of the very few examples of a strongman government going over to a functioning dynamic democracy. It took education, bloodshed, and several military interventions, but Turkey is finally a strong proud true democratic nation, and they are thriving because of that. Next step for them I think is universal health care, which would make them the first majority Islamic country to get it.
(Note: I may be wrong on that last point, so someone please feel free to correct me.)
Bnut
Since we got linked to Weigel’s site I can’t believe I have not heard of this amazing Chicago mayor spat. A former Senator and Ambassador calls out an opponent at a community meeting for smoking crack 35 years ago? Yes. Good shit. (Watch the video)
Current song:
Last Kiss
J. Frank Wilson
Yutsano
@Bnut: Heh. Why can’t we have exciting mayoral races like that here?
Bnut
@Yutsano: In Alabama it was because the same limp dick Rethug got elected every year for more than a decade, and in NYC it’s because Bloomberg is some type of force, one which I don’t understand. Maybe there really are more rich people in this city than I think there are. That being said, the next NYC mayoral election should be fun. I see Anthony Weiner trying to get in the race. I love that loudmouthed asshole, I’ll vote for him.
Current song:
You’ve really got a hold on me
Smokey Robinson
Bnut
Anyone else alive out there? Me and Yutsano don’t bite, we swear (well I might a bit, can’t speak for him, ask Dawg). Throw something out there people. School’s canceled tomorrow.
Current song:
the Turtles
Happy Together
Suffern ACE
If only I were still in school.
Bnut
@Suffern ACE: If only I wasn’t….
Current song:
Rhythm of the Rain
the Cascades
Elizabelle
More on cyclone Yasi, bearing down on Queensland. Expected landfall about 10 pm there, 7 am EST
chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fgw-australia-cyclone-20110202,0,5662755,full.story
Martin
@Yutsano:
I just hope it turns out well for the people there. Whether these things get better or worse always seems like a bit of a coinflip.
Bnut
@Elizabelle: Wow. I hope they learned some Katrina lessons. My reserve unit got deployed to Louisiana and I have many stories I hope Australians don’t have to experience. Global climate change FTW!
Current song:
Run
Snow Patrol
El Cid
Another consequence of demonstration outbreaks in Tunisia, Egypt, and before that, Tehran:
And this is also the 1st time that King Abdullah of Jordan has sacked his government due to population pressure. Not all protests have to be about the downfall of a government. The same appears to be the case in Syria, though so far there’s only hints of aims at protests.
Of course, we all know that this is all fodder for the radical Islamists, such as the ally of the terrible, evil Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine, Hamas:
See? Those radical Muslims. They’re all the same. Even when the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood despises Al Qa’ida and has even had shootouts with them.
That part about Mubarak’s good relations with Israel and “the West” helping Abbas “withstand pressure” is completely false, as the released Palestine communications (Al Jazeera and the Guardian) document, with Abbas practically throwing offers at Israel to take all it wanted.
But what’s a few facts to get in the way of hardened US reporting tropes?
Carol
Not a lot of snow, but wind and ice here in Cincinnati.
I think when spring finally arrives, a lot of folks are just going to run outside and toss their coats in the air.
Radio
Classical
DK what it is
Bai
When it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood, I keep thinking about the IRA and how once a peace agreement was signed, it came out of the cold and became peaceful.
It’s time our policy became less Israel-centric. We need to tell them that they are big boys now, and they don’t need us to hold their hands for them.
El Cid
@Yutsano: It’s not in any close way a parallel in the developments themselves, but as leftist and independent nationalist governments began being elected throughout South America and — more importantly — actually governing in a manner more relevant to their own population and development rather than foreign investors & US economic and political pressure, you heard the same bunch of shit from US foreign policy establishment and pundit voices.
Oh, now they’ll pay, they’re electing these wild soshullist Marxist gubmits and they’re all going to collapse because they don’t understand FREEDOM and the FREEMAKIT.
And how they screamed and pissed their pants when Argentina said ‘Fuck off’ to the interest-sucking “loans” from the IMF et al, and forced a negotiated drop in their amounts due. And Argentina grew like hell in the face of nearly unified predictions of certain economic death.
It wasn’t quite as intense when Lula and the Workers’ Party took over Brazil, but there was plenty of the standard nervousness from the Wall Street brigades and their pundit avant garde.
It would be a good thing if, maybe someday, the Middle East could develop the sort of independence and nationally- and population-oriented development that South America has achieved in the past decade.
Bnut
@El Cid: @El Cid: I can hear Jonah Goldberg now lamenting that Egyptians are getting car jacked at alarming rates and that naps are taken in the afternoon ever since HAMAS took over, lol.
Current song:
Slow Motion
Juvenile
Elizabelle
I would LOVE to see this play.
Elizabelle
And now, the playwright, Matthew Lopez.
What a cool concept.
nytimes.com/2011/01/28/theater/28lopez.html
Morbo
Uh oh, looks like Cairo’s getting a little heated.
Yurpean
Somebody’s paired up Beck’s paranoid ravings with some Godspeed You Black Emperor! Just about the only way to improve him.
Clickity-click!
If you aren’t familiar with GYBE, check out this song of theirs, which combines beautiful apocalyptic music with paranoid right-wing raving, so yes, the Beck mashup is just cheap knock-off humour, but nothing wrong with that.
Carl Ballard
I would like to take this opportunity to announce my candidacy for president in 2028. I want to stress that my sex scandal in 2022 will have been a youthful transgression, and that my wife — who I haven’t met yet — will have forgiven me.