So, it looks like the rest of this election could be a contest between our collective memory and the media's attention span.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) August 31, 2016
Besides waiting for the barbarians, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
You always, always hear voters bitch that they want to hear about issues not attacks. But they don't click on articles about issues! 2/2
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) August 28, 2016
So if 28 minutes of a 30 minute presser are about policy, and the final 2 minutes are a gaffe, the policy As basically never happened.
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) August 28, 2016
@daveweigel Also, HRC's website is chock full of policies and issues. She speaks to them almost every day. But it's emails.
— Barb ¯\_(?)_/¯ (@barb_hill) August 28, 2016
Voters who can access that stuff on their phones, at any time, say they don't know what candidates stand for. https://t.co/LnOO8pHBBe
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) August 28, 2016
Matt McIrvin
I remember Favreau warning us about the impending Trump pivot months ago. He wrote a clever speech that he imagined Trump giving when he clinched the nomination–it was all direct quotes from Trump, but assembled into something that sounded uplifting and anodyne. The problem was that Jon Favreau is way smarter than Donald Trump and he didn’t even understand the magnitude of the difference.
Grumpy Code Monkey
“If it bleeds, it leads” works for a reason.
germy
Visited Grant’s cottage today. The place is lovingly restored. Original furniture, his writing materials, the bed he died in, a large bottle of cocaine and water they dabbed his throat with.
On the subject of waiting for the barbarians…
After we toured the cottage we walked up a trail to a scenic spot he liked to visit. There were some signs containing photos and maps. One of the signs was riddled with buckshot. I mentioned this to another visitor and she replied “Well, this is near redneck country.”
EriktheRed
Can we please try not plotch all over ourselves just yet??
Iowa Old Lady
@germy: A couple of years ago, I visited the Grant House and Museum in Galena, Illinois. It was more interesting than I expected. In particular, I’m enthralled by those early photos of the Civil War.
Seanly
Ugh, my facebook feed has a Trump request for money.
Was going there to find a link to Gene Lyons’ latest piece from National Memo (disclosure: long-time family friend from our days when my parents taught at UALR): From Russia With Love: Trump Stooges ‘Boris And Natasha’
Can’t tell from the title, but he does talk about how the media let’s Trump get away with, well, murder, but everything always comes back to Clinton’s emails or, now that Weiner was caught sexting again, Bill’s 20 years ago infidelity.
Bobby Thomson
@germy: near?
germy
@Iowa Old Lady: Mark Twain was a kind soul for publishing Grant’s memoirs and assuring his widow and children’s solvency. An earlier publisher had offered Grant something like ten or twenty percent of the proceeds. Twain found that outrageous, and got him seventy percent.
The signed guestbook from Grant’s time is on display in the front room of the cottage. Some of his handwritten notes as well.
jl
Not paying much attention, and trying not to think too much about campaign news that I can’t avoid today.
Sometimes, a certain foreboding, and disquiet, enters my mind when i see vast armies of influential people posturing over patent nonsense and BS that would shock the conscience of a normal ten year old, if dire circumstances forced said child to take something seriously.
The Thin Black Duke
It’s disturbing when you realize that for some people, the imaginary Hillary Clinton in their heads is more frightening than the real Donald Trump standing right in front of them.
Another Holocene Human
Here’s what I don’t get. Supposedly polls had Alan Grayson (spit) beating Rubio in polls but lesser known Patrick trailing. If “the only poll that matters is the one on election day” then why the tearing of hair? Clearly Democratic primary voters think Grayson is a piker. Gen election comes down to Dem turnout. Are Dems really not going to vote downticket against “I hate my job” Marco?
jl
@germy:
” Mark Twain was a kind soul ”
That is true. But IIRC Twain was about as bad as Grant in managing investments and needed money, Twain also recognized like few others that Grant could write great stuff, and (for once) had an accurate appraisal of the return on his investment. But, no time to check the Wiki, so IIRC might not be enough.
Another Holocene Human
@The Thin Black Duke: It’s disturbing to realize how many people eat up Donald Trump’s hate word salad with a spoon.
The Thin Black Duke
@Another Holocene Human: And then ask for seconds.
Major Major Major Major
@Another Holocene Human: I haven’t seen any hair tearing, wailing, OR gnashing of teeth. Where are you seeing it?
jl
@The Thin Black Duke: Donalds of the same tribe. So they can trust him to not really mean all the crazy stuff and will be a virtuous wise leader from their own everything will be great and grand again during the Trump dynasty. And if he does do crazy thit, well it will be grand to go over the cliff lead by one of their own tribe. I guess some Vikings got inspired to follow a ragingg berserker into the enemy lines to be chopped into smoking hunks and chunks of bone and flesh. That is the level of their thinking about it.
FEMA Camp Counselor
@EriktheRed:
Yet? Sir, we’re Democrats. We plotch ourselves by the hour.
Another Holocene Human
@Major Major Major Major: On this blog in the open thread. Also, heard it in person here in north central florida from another political junkie.
Another Holocene Human
@jl: Like my grandmother when she voted Reagan. Waste, fraud and abuse didn’t mean me and mine–right?
glory b
According to npr, the black voters in North Carolina are so unenrhusiastic! They all said they would vote for her, but not for the right reasons. It’s because they hate Trump and because the new voting restrictions are energizing them, but not because they looooove her.
Dems are doomed! Doomed I tell you!
Also, not enough yard signs in black neighborhoods.
Another Holocene Human
@glory b: I read this as: their coming loss (as Republicans) will not count, because reasons.
schrodinger's cat
There is no hope for MSM pundits.
Here is some Trump respite if you are interested:
Ganesh Chaturthi, start of the 10 day Ganesha festival is just 5 days away.The sendoff Ganesha gets at the end of the 10 days is truly spectacular. The atmosphere is electric.
Deva Sri Ganesha from Agneepath (path =Path, Agnee =fire) actually shot on location in Mumbai gives you some idea. Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra are onscreen.
Violence Alert: There is a stabbing at 4.00 min mark.
At 4.51, the last aarti that ends with all the different names of Vishnu (not just in the movie but IRL)
Seanly
@glory b: NPR is becoming more & more of a Trump-supporting, white redoubt. They don’t seem to realize that all of those extra syllable-adding, over-enunciating NPR news folks (especially those with the hyphenated last names) will be among the first against the wall when the Orange Pol Pot-wannabe takes over.
Sorry, I am stilled pissed at NPR’s David Greene for excusing racists telling racists jokes as not being racists and then a couple of days later almost ripped out my car radio when they had Cokie Roberts & Jonah Goldberg on to discuss something that surely involved pissing on Clinton.
Emma
A great part of Obama’s success was his bypassing the Washington media circus. His people then work for Hillary now. She’s doing it. The rest of us could learn to do the same thing.
pluky
If I could, I’d up-vote this 1000x for the Cavafy reference. His evocation of the foibles and fears of late antiquity seem particularly relevant these days.
cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=108&cat=1
DivF
@Seanly: if Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell became a newsreader on npr, I might listen. (/ Bonzo)
nelle
My daughter will be in the press pen for the Phoenix speech. I feel sorry for her – the job just isn’t worth it, I think.
Kathleen O'Neill
@glory b: I tuned in to Here and Now and immediately tuned out after hearing a breathless voice intone that the election is “really tight”.
Dave
@Seanly: I heard part of that interview with Cokie and Jonah! (Unless it was another one…)
They were explaining, very politely, how voters were supporting Trump because of “dysfunction in Washington”. Why, Congress can’t even approve funding to fight Zika! And – I’m not paraphrasing here, this is a direct quote – “of course, both sides are to blame.”
When I heard that, I turned it off immediately. So, so stupid. Indefensibly stupid.
schrodinger's cat
@Seanly: Snooze Hour is just as bad. Their econ correspondent is a buffoon.
Roger Moore
@Matt McIrvin:
I don’t know if that’s a difference in intelligence or a difference in intent. I think Trump is probably smart enough to pivot if he wanted to, especially since he does have some political professionals who appear to have been pushing a pivot and would make it easy for him. The difference is that Trump doesn’t really want to pivot. Every time his advisors get him to try pivoting, he turns right back around and keeps going the way he had been. If there’s a failure, it’s a failure of imagination on the part of people like Favreau who are so used to politics as usual that expect Trump to behave like a conventional politician and just can’t get it through their heads that he isn’t going to.
Mike E
@glory b: it’ll mean Gov Cooper, Sen Ross, and council of state remaining Dem
NorthLeft12
Perhaps if she put her policy positions into emails that mysteriously leaked out, they would get reported.
NorthLeft12
@germy:
Now that is someone who I would call an American patriot, and someone who honours veterans. Mark Twain is a favourite of mine. Love his quotes and writings. The world could use another Mark Twain right now.
seaboogie
Anybody who is on twitter and is not following Tom Levenson right now should do so pronto – he has some tweet-storm rants today that are Cole-esque, and of course – spot on.
Roger Moore
@jl:
That sounds about right. Grant was an excellent writer- his memoir is very good, though it could benefit from some maps- and not just the long-form of his memoir. Part of his skill as a general was that he wrote clear and concise orders. George Meade’s chief of staff said of his orders that “no matter how hurriedly he may write them on the field, no one ever has the slightest doubt of their meaning, or even has to read them over a second time to understand them.”
That is by no means a given; for example, misunderstood orders were a major contributor to Napoleon’s defeat in the Waterloo campaign. Napoleon depended on his chief of staff to draft orders for him, and Soult, who took over as CoS after Berthier’s death, wasn’t up to the task.
mayyouliveininterestingtimes
@NorthLeft12: He’s our Cervantes, aka “The Prince of Wits”.
MomSense
Fuck fucking Trump! Having a beer with my kid next to the ocean. Life is good.
Matt McIrvin
@NorthLeft12: Though Twain would probably spit on anyone actually calling him a patriot.
I suspect that Kurt Vonnegut aspired to be another Mark Twain. He had the look down, and some of the attitude. But he’s gone too.
Turgidson
@Another Holocene Human:
That might have been me. I made a comment about how I’m trying not to be discouraged by the fact that Rubio got almost as many primary votes as all the Democratic candidates combined, even though he was essentially running unopposed and the Dem primary was hyped as being competitive, at least until Grayson predictably self-destructed. It may not have any predictive power when compared with presidential turnout with the Trumpocalypse in the top spot, but still seems like a bit of a bad sign.
Turgidson
@glory b:
Oh is this the election where the value of a person’s vote towards the total is determined by an enthusiasm test?
Good to know. I’ll drink a pot of coffee and eat a bag of sour candy before I vote for Hillary.
Kay
So, I hear some frustration that Democrats can’t do more to protect voting rights, but I think people have to start to realize how difficult it is- what a bad hand they have to play:
This stuff is just barely being stopped, and in the 11th hour. There has to be a better understanding of just how bad conservatives are on voting rights.
North Carolina engaged in intentionally discriminatory conduct and 4 of 8 justices would have allowed that in a presidential election. North Carolina is 20% African American. This is not a small group of voters they’re targeting for suppression.
Mnemosyne
@glory b:
So Black voters in North Carolina are willing to crawl over broken glass to defeat Trump, but they’re not sufficiently enthusiastic about it so it doesn’t count?
Seriously, Black women are going to save all of our asses this election year. As a white woman, I really do appreciate it and wish the rest of my people weren’t such fucking morons.
Irony Abounds
Ya know, all this huffing and puffing about how poor Hillary is getting screwed by the press doesn’t change the fact that she’s simply a problematic candidate who just might lose an election to the biggest piece of clown shit to ever run for the Presidency. Yes, the email situation is overblown, but it was her pathological need to keep every thing secret that led her to do what even she admits was a mistake in using a private server in her house. And no matter if the Hillary is getting screwed, it’s not as though it should come as a surprise, which is why the Dems should be absolutely kicking themselves for not finding a better candidate.
grandpa john
@Irony Abounds: @Irony Abounds: Who?