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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Open Thread: The Man Who Isn’t There

Open Thread: The Man Who Isn’t There

by Anne Laurie|  October 13, 20156:35 pm| 54 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016, Open Threads, Our Failed Media Experiment

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Biden, on his way to Vegas. pic.twitter.com/FBk8XbrvAZ

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) October 13, 2015

If you think about it @CNN DOESN'T NEED AN ACTUAL BIDEN. They could program a holographic Biden with pre-existing statements for debate.

— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner) October 13, 2015

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Previous Post: « This Fucking Guy…
Next Post: Pre-Debate Open Thread »

Reader Interactions

54Comments

  1. 1.

    realbtl

    October 13, 2015 at 6:45 pm

    1st picture- Dick Shawn in Madx4 World FTW.

  2. 2.

    trollhattan

    October 13, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Thank gawd and/or the bloghosts and/or his paymasters BiP isn’t around for the Dutch findings on MH117. Who will now tell us it’s all the CIA’s doing?

    Another day, another 298 murders. Bidnez as usual.

  3. 3.

    Brachiator

    October 13, 2015 at 6:49 pm

    Marlon James wins the Man Booker Prize

    Marlon James wins the Man Booker prize 2015

    Author of A Brief History of Seven Killings – a fictional account of an attempt to take Bob Marley’s life – first Jamaican writer to win prestigious prize

    http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/13/marlon-james-wins-the-man-booker-prize-2015

    A unanimous decision

    Ve’y nice

  4. 4.

    Baud

    October 13, 2015 at 6:55 pm

    Where have you gone, Joe Bideneo?
    A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
    Woo hoo hoo.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    October 13, 2015 at 6:55 pm

    @trolhattan

    Too late, he showed up to fellate Putin in the morning thread. Sans the iP part of BiP.

  6. 6.

    Roger Moore

    October 13, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Who will now tell us it’s all the CIA’s doing?

    Russia Today, same as always. The Russians are already claiming that the evidence shows the missile was fired from Ukrainian-held territory, the missile version was an old one only still used by the Ukrainians, etc. They’re throwing up enough of a smokescreen that anyone who wants can still use it to avoid having to see the truth.

  7. 7.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    October 13, 2015 at 7:06 pm

    I am calling our local Public radio station tomorrow, on the air, asking them to not cover anything Joe Lieberman says, until he dies. Their coverage of the weakest faux Democrat to appear with Trump was way too gentle and forgetful.

    CT’s WNPR is usually a cut above the mothership on things like this.

  8. 8.

    Kay

    October 13, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    @ThresherK (GPad):

    to not cover anything Joe Lieberman says, until he dies.

    Please say exactly that. I love that.

  9. 9.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 13, 2015 at 7:14 pm

    @trollhattan: Nope. He’s back.

  10. 10.

    Cervantes

    October 13, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    @ThresherK (GPad):

    I am calling our local Public radio station tomorrow, on the air, asking them to not cover anything Joe Lieberman says, until he dies.

    If you like, you can tell them from me that they can skip the eulogies as well.

  11. 11.

    Schlemazel

    October 13, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    @Cervantes:
    NO! They have to have a fitting eulogy. I strongly endorse Zell Miller to give said talk, it’s the least Joe deserves.

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 13, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    Somebody in one of the threads below said Crazy Uncle Joe should show up with a six-pack. That would be pretty awesome.

  13. 13.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 13, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    CNN is such a worthless infotainment joke.

    If Ted Turner were dead, he’d be rolling over in his grave.

  14. 14.

    srv

    October 13, 2015 at 7:27 pm

    At least there will be something interesting on tonight:

    Donald J. Trump Verified account
    ‏@realDonaldTrump

    At the request of many, and even though I expect it to be a very boring two hours, I will be covering the Democrat Debate live on twitter!

  15. 15.

    beltane

    October 13, 2015 at 7:28 pm

    @Schlemazel: But what did we do to deserve being made to listen to a Zell Miller eulogy of Holy Joe Lieberman?

  16. 16.

    dmsilev

    October 13, 2015 at 7:30 pm

    @beltane: I’m not sure, but just to be safe, let’s blame Obama.

  17. 17.

    Cacti

    October 13, 2015 at 7:35 pm

    @srv:

    You mean your hero will be imitating Bernie Sanders?

    Laughing at you, not with you.

  18. 18.

    Heliopause

    October 13, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    In 1968 some major candidates didn’t announce until March-April of that year. Those were the days, my friends.

  19. 19.

    Tenar Darell

    October 13, 2015 at 7:42 pm

    Very Bostonian: My late lunch with my father was 2 slices of Pino’s Pizza and a diet soda. And now I’m home, sitting on the porch drinking a beer. (Because, c’mon, it’s frickin balmy).

    Also, any more exhibits or gallery shows I should check out on my trip to NYC in November? /grammar

  20. 20.

    SFAW

    October 13, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    @NotMax:

    Too late, he showed up to fellate Putin in the morning thread. Sans the iP part of BiP.

    So you’re saying he can see Putin’s schlange from his back porch?

  21. 21.

    SFAW

    October 13, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    If Ted Turner were dead, he’d be rolling over in his grave.

    As Hysterium would say, “This will kill him.”

  22. 22.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 13, 2015 at 7:51 pm

    @Baud: Nailed it.

  23. 23.

    SFAW

    October 13, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    Since you all are such a humorless, joyless bunch:

    Let’s go, Mets!

    Steven Matz, 24, from Stony Brook, Long Island, on the mound against Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw may be a first-ballot guy, but I hope he continues his post-season string of “successes,” especially in games where the Dodgers face elimination.

  24. 24.

    ThresherK

    October 13, 2015 at 7:56 pm

    Hey, a home team clinches a playoff series at that park on Waveland for the first time since the ChiFeds!

  25. 25.

    SFAW

    October 13, 2015 at 7:58 pm

    @ThresherK:

    Is that like the ChiComs?

  26. 26.

    Gravenstone

    October 13, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    Onward to the NLCS!

  27. 27.

    Gravenstone

    October 13, 2015 at 8:00 pm

    @SFAW: Aw, Kershaw is okay in the post season – for the first six innings.

  28. 28.

    Baud

    October 13, 2015 at 8:00 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    Hope they go all the way.

  29. 29.

    benw

    October 13, 2015 at 8:01 pm

    @SFAW: Let’s go, Long Island Mets!

  30. 30.

    SFAW

    October 13, 2015 at 8:03 pm

    @Baud:

    Hope they go all the way.

    You better mean the Mets. If not, I may need to re-think my support of you, buddy.

  31. 31.

    SFAW

    October 13, 2015 at 8:04 pm

    @benw:

    Thank FSM they haven’t moved to the Meadowlands (or whatever it’s called these days).

  32. 32.

    ThresherK

    October 13, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    @SFAW: I actually don’t know who the ChiComs are.

    (ETA: I just looked it up. This is the kind of lowbrow humor I come to this site for, and you did not disappoint!)

    The Chicago Whales, from the Federal League, won the league title in what was then called Weeghman Park, back in the 19-teens. Before selling merch and hiring design companies to make nicknames were all the rage, “Feds” was a popular suffix for a sportswriter to give to any team in the league: BuffFeds, ChiFeds, BrookFeds, etc.

  33. 33.

    Baud

    October 13, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    @SFAW:

    I’m not invested in any team. But I gotta go with ending the 100+ year drought. Trump appreciates your vote.

  34. 34.

    Steeplejack

    October 13, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    I hope the Cubs go all the way. This postseason has been pretty bland for me, as far as rooting interest goes—I’m still enjoying the good games, though—and I thought the Cubs would get creamed by the Cardinals. But now that they’ve taken out the National League’s boring, non-obnoxious version of the Yankees I’m kind of liking their plucky underdog chances.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    October 13, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    @Tenar Darell

    Almost goes without saying, but the old reliable Metropolitan and the Museum of Natural History are always there.

    The new home of the Whitney is supposed to be worth the trip, also too.

    If it’s up your alley, the Transit Museum is fun – albeit out in Brooklyn. But there is a smaller annex to it inside Grand Central Terminal.

    Couple of off the beaten track places are the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of Mathematics.

    Also in Brooklyn, and much more outré, is the Morbid Anatomy Museum.

  36. 36.

    benw

    October 13, 2015 at 8:18 pm

    @SFAW: Nope, still on the Island, right about where the Valley of Ashes used to be, and the looming eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg!

  37. 37.

    Don K

    October 13, 2015 at 8:20 pm

    @realbtl:

    I’m comin to get ya momma!

  38. 38.

    catclub

    October 13, 2015 at 8:20 pm

    @Steeplejack: The announcers mentioned that winning 100 games is NOT the road to world series glory. rather, it seems to be a curse the past 30 years.

  39. 39.

    ThresherK

    October 13, 2015 at 8:22 pm

    @NotMax: I second the SofI. Next time, the Museum of Mathematics (for me, not my wife).

    If you have some time, I recommend the Dahesh Museum.

  40. 40.

    raven

    October 13, 2015 at 8:25 pm

    @ThresherK: Flimsy AK’s

  41. 41.

    Don K

    October 13, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    @Heliopause:

    Yeah i’ve thought about that too. IIRC RFK didn’t get into the race until after Wisconsin, and his California win, along with his ability to appeal to the white ethnic machine pols of the day, would have made him a factor in Chicago in a way McCarthy and McGovern simply couldn’t be (Yes, McC was Irish Catholic, but he sounded as WASPy as McG, and there was no way Daley, Tate, et. al., could have accepted him as the nominee, whereas I believe had RFK lived they would have accepted him.).

  42. 42.

    Don K

    October 13, 2015 at 8:31 pm

    @SFAW:
    AFTHOTWTTF FTW!! Funniest musical ever!

  43. 43.

    Steeplejack

    October 13, 2015 at 8:33 pm

    @catclub:

    That was the curse of my Atlanta Braves in the ’90s and early ’00s. Not that they won a hundred games a season, but Bobby Cox was the ultimate long-season manager, not so good in short series.

  44. 44.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 13, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    @Don K: McGovern’s dad was a Methodist minister.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 13, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    I am deliberately ignoring the Cubs until they manage to get past the same spot they were in when they broke my heart in 1984. Until then, bupkis from me.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack

    October 13, 2015 at 8:42 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    I’m hoping that at least all the fans know not to screw with a fly ball at the edge of the stands.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 13, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    These are apparently a few years old, but I missed them the first time — Nick Heffernan representing Cubs fans and Craig Robinson representing Sox fans (yes, they’re both Chicagoland natives):

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RnqdImHy3cw

    I like the first one best because Robinson goes that one step too far in his north side vs south side partisanship and has to tacitly admit it.

  48. 48.

    Roger Moore

    October 13, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    @ThresherK:

    Hey, a home team clinches a playoff series at that park on Waveland for the first time since the ChiFeds!

    The Whales- know your Federal League team names- didn’t win a playoff series there; they won the pennant, but the FL didn’t have any post-season series.

  49. 49.

    HinTN

    October 13, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    @NotMax:
    https://balloon-juice.com/2015/10/13/open-thread-the-man-who-isnt-there/#comment-5515537

    The Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History. They have “The Big Bang” narrated by Maya Angelou followed by walking down the ramp of time from then to now. Also around the equator of the sphere, which is mounted in a huge glass cube, is an exhibit on the size of things in the universe. Each item in front of you is referenced in size till the sphere. Plus it’s on the West Side and you can go to Zabar’s fit lunch.

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 13, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Those are funny. And, yeah, pizza comment over the line.

  51. 51.

    Pinksnapdragon

    October 13, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    @trollhattan: He was in an earlier thread today, going by “bob” instead of the old nym, saying just what you’d expect him to say.

  52. 52.

    Tenar Darell

    October 13, 2015 at 9:38 pm

    @NotMax: The Whitney, d’oh! I forgot that the new building was finished. Definitely will visit that.

  53. 53.

    hilts

    October 13, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    @Tenar Darell:

    In addition to the other recommendations in this thread, you should consider the Brooklyn Museum, the Queens Museum, and the New York Hall of Science.

    Also check out the official guide to NY at http://www.nycgo.com

  54. 54.

    Don K

    October 13, 2015 at 11:33 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Right. The man just oozed middle-class Protestantism. I was referring to McCarthy as being an Irish Catholic who didn’t have the ethnic chops to appeal to the working-class Catholics who ran the machines in, e.g., Chicago, Philly, Pittsburgh.

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