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You are here: Home / Open Threads / That time President Obama politely pantsed Scaramucci at a town hall…

That time President Obama politely pantsed Scaramucci at a town hall…

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In 2010, then-hedge fund manager and future Trump communications director Anthony Scaramucci asked President Obama a couple of a questions at a town hall. It’s a fascinating exchange. First Scaramucci tries to butter Obama up by pointing out common school ties. Then he gets down to the business of whining about the Obama administration beating Wall Street fat cats like a “piñata” and taxing the poor job creators into oblivion. Obama is having none of that bullshit:

Sorry about the crap quality video, but it’s worth watching to recall how a real president talks policy — and pantses an unctuous bullshit artist. Now the bullshit artist is purveying towering piles of shit in service of King Turd of Bullshit Mountain. Here’s how Scaramucci redefined “transparency” yesterday:

Christ on a pony.

Just moments ago, Scaramucci wrapped up an interview with Jake Tapper. It didn’t go particularly well:

Then this happened:

It’s not surprising that Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ boss would casually say something degrading like that on TV. The presence of Pussy Grabboor and crew in the White House is a daily degradation for every woman in the country, even the fucking idiots who voted for him.

Anyhoo, open thread!

[H/T: @tizzywoman on Twitter for the Obama clip]

Reader Interactions

177Comments

  3. 3.

    germy

    In the Tapper interview, Anthony said “the kid took a meeting…”

    The kid is the 39 year old don jr.

  4. 4.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Ana Navarro‏Verified account ananavarro 1h1 hour ago
    jaketapper deserves sainthood for trying to control this run-away train interview w/Scaramucci. As does anyone watching. #Penance ?

    I caught a clip of The Mooch reminding everyone that he went to Harvard Law School.

    Scaramucci ended his interview with jaketapper by asking Sarah Sanders to keep the same hair and makeup person they used on Friday.

    When I first read that, I assumed it was a live mike moment and he was talking about the person who did his hair and make-up, complimenting his own Junior Gordon Gecko look. Still boggles one with disbelief that alleged normals were talking about what a great job he did the other day. He’s like trump if trump could speak in complete sentences, a bad sitcom’s idea of a Bridge-and-Tunnel guy who hit it big. A bad sitcom from 25 years ago.

  5. 5.

    Elmo

    I don’t usually pay much attention to which Front pager wrote a particular post unless it’s Cole or Mayhew, but I got to “Pussy Graboor” and knew immediately it was Betty. Love it!

  8. 8.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy: In the Tapper interview, Anthony said “the kid took a meeting…”

    when told that the subject of the meeting was the Russian government’s desire to help his father’s campaign, and people have credibly argued he did not seem surprised to hear about said desire of a hostile foreign power.

  14. 14.

    Betty Cracker

    @debit: Tasted good, but my Puss in Boots decoration was kinda “Cake Wrecks” quality, TBH. I needed some additional colors and could not locate my food coloring, plus the guest of honor showed up early with a minor domestic crisis that forced me to abandon decoration efforts early. But enough of my excuses; here it is:

  21. 21.

    NotMax

    “Anthony? Winston Smith on line one.”

    As things continue to deteriorate there further, they’re gonna have to install revolving doors at the White House. Job creation!

  22. 22.

    HRA

    Many thanks for posting the video, BC! What a contrast between what we had as a president and what we have to deal with now.

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    Past views evolved

    Tacit admission of belief in evolution?

    The religious right bloc ain’t a-gonna be pleased about that.

  25. 25.

    Roger Moore

    @Betty Cracker:

    Tasted good, but my Puss in Boots decoration was kinda “Cake Wrecks” quality, TBH.

    Cake Wrecks limits itself to professional decorators, who don’t have your plausible excuses of imperfect materials and equipment.

  33. 33.

    Spanky

    @debbie: Yeah, all babies look like Gerber babies … if they’re white and blond, which I was.

    ETA: s_c with the superior comeback.

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    isn’t there a story/urban legend that Humphrey Bogart was the original Gerber baby?

    ETA :@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Yashar Ali has downloaded and archived, if that’s the right word, The Mooch’s whole twitter history, and I’m sure he’s not the only one.

  36. 36.

    SFAW

    The presence of Pussy Grabboor

    Nice one.
    He’s also known as Dishonor Blackmen, of course.

  38. 38.

    Ohio Mom

    @Gretchen: When my kid was a baby — twenty years ago — we used to get that Gerber offer in the mail, quite frequently. They were relentless.

    I am not surprised to hear they advertise frequently on Fox, going after the addled grandparent population. Which is one way to describe Trump.

  39. 39.

    MomSense

    As it turns out, our Consitution and laws are only as good as our elected officials will allow. We have to retake the house in 2018 because the GOP is either implicated in this Russian mess or they have decided to shirk their responsibility to defend our country because the lure of the tax cuts is too strong. The stakes have never been higher.

  41. 41.

    Suzanne

    I’m kinda surprised Spicey lasted this long, TBH.

    I’ve been playing a lot of Pokémon Go as of late. Goofy fun. Going to try to catch an Articuno today, after getting skunked twice yesterday. DAMNIT.

    I finally convinced Mr. Suzanne to let me get another dog. A husky this time. Very excited. Huskies are my breed of choice.

  42. 42.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @germy:

    A college-educated 39-year-old father of four… yeah, he’s just a kid.

    He’s four years and fifteen pounds from a midlife crisis!

  43. 43.

    Laura

    @Betty Cracker: I’m torn. The greasy weasel press secretary makes me want to vomit, but the cake looks devine!
    Your artistic talent and acerbic wit are a big F’ing deal as old handsome Joe B would say.

  44. 44.

    Spanky

    Take notes. I fear we may be getting there soon:

    WARSAW, Poland — When she heard that Poland’s right-wing government was pushing through new laws to give it more control over the country’s courts, Lucyna Relewicz decided the constitution was in jeopardy and she needed to close her office and take to the streets.

    “I came here to defend the Supreme Court,” said Ms. Relewicz, 38, a lawyer from Poznan, in a small cluster of protesters Saturday afternoon. “The courts are the last line of defense of our civil rights and of our democracy and freedom.”

    All last week, Poland’s parliament debated whether to approve a raft of bills, proposed by the ruling Law and Justice party, that had come under heavy attack from European Union leaders, human-rights groups and many Poles. By the time the bills were passed early Saturday and sent for President Andrzej Duda’s signature, the peaceful protests that had begun a week earlier had grown and spread to dozens of cities across Poland.

  46. 46.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    Why do RWNJ’s who despise elitist city folk suddenly all love greasy Don, Don Jr., Eric, and Mooch? Those are four sleazy, slicked-back-hair-having creeps!

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    For the curious, here’s the tune.

    Barney Google
    With the goo-goo-googly eyes
    Barney Google
    Had a wife three times his size
    She sued Barney for divorce
    Now he’s living with his horse
    Barney Google
    With the goo-goo-googly eyes

  51. 51.

    zhena gogolia

    @HRA:

    Yeah, the contrast is devastating. Not that I don’t live with that fact mentally every minutes of every day, but seeing it here is just stomach-turning.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    Just watched the video up top. I bet a lot of people hear him speak and think “smooth”. I watched that and all I could think was “smarmy”. Ugh.

    “I promise not to foul you if we play basketball again. haha.” Stupid people think he’s jovial. But that’s just one more way for this sleeve to call attention to the fact that he has played basketball with the president of the united states.

  53. 53.

    Yarrow

    Didn’t expect to see this from him:

    Rod Dreher‏ @roddreher 23h23 hours ago

    In the end, Trump will force conservatives to decide if they love rule of law more than they hate liberals. I’m not confident in outcome.

  54. 54.

    Patricia Kayden

    Scaramucci ended his interview with @jaketapper by asking Sarah Sanders to keep the same hair and makeup person they used on Friday.

    Bizarrely sexist. Why couldn’t he say this to her face instead of making a public pronouncement? Is he trying to signal to Trump’s misogynist supporters that he knows Sanders is ugly and not up to Dear Leader’s standards of feminine beauty?

    I hope that the 53% of White women who voted for this joker are cool with how casually sexist Trump’s regime has turned out to be.

  56. 56.

    vtr

    Yeah, but Obama saddled us with Obamacare with very expensive premiums. President Trump, I read recently, will offer us plans that cost only $12 a year!

  57. 57.

    Nora

    @Yarrow: Whoever thought conservatives — modern day conservatives — gave a damn about the rule of law? CF Guantanamo, CF “Justice” Gorsuch, CF . . .the list goes on and on.

  59. 59.

    germy

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    A college-educated 39-year-old father of four… yeah, he’s just a kid.

    On one hand, I see the defense they’re using: “He’s just a kid!” On the other hand, it must piss off don jr. to see the defense they’re using. Can’t be good for his already fragile self-esteem. A guy who hunts big game, poses with dead elephants and dead big cats. He’s been trying to prove something for years, and now they’re using the “Just A Kid” defense. Sad!

  60. 60.

    Betty Cracker

    Saw speculation somewhere that Scaramucci is being groomed to move up to chief of staff when/if Preibus is canned or quits. Wouldn’t surprise me. Scaramucci is not qualified for his current job, which is creating and implementing a communications strategy, and seems to be a mere shitgibbon surrogate with a fancy title.

  63. 63.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Yarrow: I’m pretty sure that Dreher knows the answer to that dilemma. Republicans can’t even state categorically that if Trump fires Mueller they’ll move to take action against him.

    Also find it interesting that the same question couldn’t be flipped and asked about Democrats since there is no question as to whether Democrats would act to further the interests of this country over their party.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy: there’s a story, pretty much a posted rumor, in NY mag about how the Fredos are jealous of Ivanka’s Princeling Consort, which I pretty much would’ve bet the farm at any point in the last year, but it was kind of fun to see it posted in a prominent outlet, especially since I’m sure the Fredos have google alerts about themselves and they’ll see it and it will make them sulk. I wonder if Junior still boozes.

  69. 69.

    germy

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Bizarrely sexist.

    By the time they’re done with Sarah Huck, she’ll have ten layers of makeup on her face, five inch eyelashes, and a form fitting cocktail dress. She’ll be unrecognizable, but she’ll fit their standard of beauty.

  70. 70.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @WaterGirl: The vermin of the Village were all in the “smooth” camp.

    Which tells you, in part, why my nym is my nym.

  71. 71.

    sdhays

    I think Nancy said it best: “I don’t care”. Shitty excuse for a human being is replaced by another shitty excuse for a human being in a job for which brazenly lying is the only responsibility.

    I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that The Mooch is supposedly a billionaire, and yet he wants a shitty job at the shitty White House. Some people like that would want an actual job with actual authority, but not this guy. Too much responsibility? Or is what he really wants is close proximity to the stupidest, most corrupt, most treasonous, most easily influenced President in American history?

    Hmm… I think I just answered my own question.

  73. 73.

    trnc

    @Scaramucci just told @jaketapper “somebody” called him yest doubting Russian meddling. Tapper presses on who. Scaramucci: “The president”

    Good on Tapper. During the W years, admin officials were given cover by referring to them by any status they had before the administration. For example, indicted Cheney Chief of Staff Scooter Libby became “a former defense department official” when Judith Miller from the NYT wanted to give him cover for completely self serving bullshit.

  75. 75.

    Yarrow

    @Betty Cracker: I saw the same speculation. I think Priebus will be gone within a month. I hope he’s lawyered up good.

    @Betty Cracker: Yep. I found it interesting that he said it about what is ostensibly his own party. I know there are Never Trump conservatives/Republicans, but I didn’t know he was in that group. It’s a pretty strong indictment of Republicans from someone who I’d guess they’d think was one of their own.

    I also found it interesting that he said “more than they hate liberals.” Not liberalism. Liberals. The hate has nothing to do with policy. I was surprised to see a conservative person saying it.

  76. 76.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    Full transparency: I’m deleting old tweets. Past views evolved & shouldn’t be a distraction. I serve @POTUS agenda & that’s all that matters

    That’s not how transparency works…

    Must have learned from Trump’s example. Old tweets come back to haunt him but he’s too stupid/ignorant to give a shit

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trnc: I saw that earlier, it’s one of those things I usually laugh at but I’m feeling the horror more acutely today for some reason– in part because trump called on Navy personnel to lobby their legislators for trump care and apparently those service members cheered, that just kind of freaks me out. The Mooch is lucky trump is too stupid to know how bad that makes them both look.

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Betty Cracker:

    You’re too hard on yourself! That’s pretty darn good. I can recognize it as related to the picture you ran yesterday. Surely in cake art that’s close enough?

  80. 80.

    Yarrow

    @germy:

    By the time they’re done with Sarah Huck, she’ll have ten layers of makeup on her face, five inch eyelashes, and a form fitting cocktail dress. She’ll be unrecognizable, but she’ll fit their standard of beauty.

    Only if she also loses a fair amount of weight and has a lot of plastic surgery so that her face doesn’t move. It’s weird that she’s their spokesperson. She’s so far outside the usual look for their women. Do they not see her as female?

  81. 81.

    trnc

    @sdhays: Someone asked Jon Stewart why people would agree to be interviewed for a Daily Show piece when they should have known they would be endlessly mocked, and he said something like, “The people, they love to be on TV.”

  82. 82.

    Amir Khalid

    @germy:
    There’s an example cited here so often that I have memorised it: former Speaker Henry Hyde (do I have the name right? I’m pretty sure he too was a Republican) claimed an extramarital affair he had at the age of 45 was a “youthful indiscretion”.

    @Betty Cracker:

    Scaramucci is not qualified for his current job, which is creating and implementing a communications strategy, and seems to be a mere shitgibbon surrogate with a fancy title.

    A similar description applies to just about everyone currently on staff at the White House.

  83. 83.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Yarrow: I believe so. Can you imagine your boss talking in public about your makeup? I cannot. In my working life, I’ve had a few male bosses but none were blatantly or openly sexist. But I guess Sanders is okay with this since she’s okay with lying for Trump. Anything to help his cause.

  86. 86.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Honestly, the military and law enforcement freak me out because of how seemingly reactionary they seem to me. I suppose that’s a consequence of the All-Volunteer Force; self-selecting and all that

  87. 87.

    germy

    @Yarrow:

    She’s so far outside the usual look for their women.

    I think they’re aware of that. For Anthony S. to blurt out his makeover advice, it must be something dolt45 is outspoken about in private meetings.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if they traumatized her into an eating disorder.

  88. 88.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trnc: I was sitting in a Starbucks once and a local TV reporter with a cameraman asked me if I had time to answer a few questions. I said no, thank you. She had trouble processing the idea that someone didn’t want to be on TV

  89. 89.

    sdhays

    @trnc: Yeah, but he already gets on TV as a surrogate, which seems the perfect game for a billionaire dilettante – always on TV, no actual work.

    But I suppose Communications Director for the Trump White House is probably pretty similar. It’s not like they do any planning day to day. With Trump, they pretty much can’t.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    @Yarrow: They hate liberals more. The only open question is whether they feel they can get away with indulging their hate in this context.

  91. 91.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @germy:

    I welcome, nay, I fantasize about every humiliation, pain, irritation, and discomfort those connected to Trump feel each day. From Bannon to Conway, Omorosa to SHS… I hope they are all seismically shifting between constipation and diarrhea, awkward praise and crushing ridicule.

    I love that Spicer’s theft of a tiny refrigerator has been exposed — may he feel the burn of disgrace. I hope Conway hears the Crypt Keeper comparisons; someone who so values appearance would wither under the laughter. I hope Eric keenly feels the public sentiment that he’s a half-wit.

    In particular, of course, it must be Lump, Squishner, and Fat Steve Bannon who are disgraced.

    Along with the racist, bigoted assholes of every shade and sex who voted them in.

  92. 92.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NotMax: Aaaand the final verse::

    Barney Google
    With the goo-goo-googly eyes
    Barney Google
    Tried to enter Paradise
    When St. Peter saw his face
    He said, Go to the other place!
    Barney Google
    With the goo-goo-googly eyes

    I remember this verbatim from a rendition on fhe Mitch Miller show when I was, geez I dunno, about 10….

  93. 93.

    Patricia Kayden

    @germy: Hmmm. Hate to sound mean but I don’t think that would work out all that well. Sad that Trump supporters are okay with Trump and his sycophants making comments about women’s appearance. Not cool.

    Do you remember when the Rightwing went into an uproar because President Obama jokingly praised Kamala Harris as the nation’s best looking Attorney General? I sure do.

  95. 95.

    trnc

    @sdhays: I suspect people who say this is just a stepping stone for the chief of staff gig. The combo of no comm experience and being told to report directly to pres instead of to COS, seem to support this idea.

  98. 98.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Sad that Trump supporters are okay with Trump and his sycophants making comments about women’s appearance. Not cool.

    Would hearing them up change their minds? It would make me feel better anyway

  99. 99.

    Yarrow

    @Patricia Kayden: Outside of a director discussing the makeup and costuming process for some kind of incredible transformation of an actress to play a part in a film, there’s never a reason a boss should be discussing a woman’s makeup. And even then it can be dicey.

    @Baud: True enough.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Daniel W. DreznerVerified account @ dandrezner
    I’m already loving Scaramucci’s “I’m a businessman” or “I’m an entrepreneur” tic. Like that sprinkles magical pixie dust on the problem

    Josh Chafetz Retweeted Daniel W. Drezner
    If this administration can cure us once and for all of the “running gov’t like a business” tic, it will … have accomplished one good thing

    It was stupid when Perot and his supporters said it, stupid when Romney and his supporters said it, but I don’t think even trump will kill it off. Like the idiotic “you have to balance your household budget, Washington should too!” It’s stupidity that appeals to people at a gut level. (edited because dammit!)

  101. 101.

    WaterGirl

    @Yarrow: I’m pretty sure that in their minds she is so un-fuckable that they probably don’t consider her female, most likely they think of her as an asexual being, an it.

    edited

  103. 103.

    Yarrow

    @germy: She chose to work for them. She could leave and go do something else. If she wants to stay in the traumatizing environment, well, that’s her choice. It probably does seem familiar to her, given her obviously sick family background.

  104. 104.

    bemused

    Scaramucci said he’d pare down WH staff if leaks don’t stop. Hilarious. How will he pare down Trump, the yoogest leaker of all.

  105. 105.

    germy

    Shannon Watts ✔ @shannonrwatts

    We almost had a female president – instead we have Anthony Scaramucci on #CNNSOTU critiquing the hair and makeup of female spokeswomen.

  106. 106.

    germy

    Daniel Dale ✔ @ddale8

    Scaramucci: I’m not going to tell you who said this
    Tapper: Who said this
    Scaramucci: THE PRESIDENT OKAY

  108. 108.

    germy

    Keith Olbermann ✔ @KeithOlbermann

    Trump talking pardon?

    Sekulow on @thisweek: no, never, not discussed, not on table

    Mooch on @foxnews: he and I talked about it yesterday

  110. 110.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy: okay, that one might cause him to get a time out from TeeVee

    David Frum‏Verified account @ davidfrum 3h3 hours ago
    Everyone imagines he’s a natural at TV until he blurts something to generate exactly the headline he least wanted

  111. 111.

    Yarrow

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m pretty sure that in their minds she is so un-fuckable that they probably don’t consider her female, most likely they think of her as an asexual being, an it.

    Yeah, that’s kind of my take on the situation too. I wonder if she gets that on some level.

  114. 114.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @trnc: My theory is that there are people out there in the general population who honestly believe you can not be a real person unless you’ve been on TV. This explains, for example, both Jon’s remark, and the Gerry Springer Show.

  116. 116.

    mai naem mobile

    @dr. bloor: Eric Bergen from Madam Secretary. He’s one of Tea Leoni’s aides – the slick smart alecky one. There’s also NCIS’s Michael Wetherly but he would need to lose some weight. Scareadouche looks pretty slim.

  118. 118.

    MomSense

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Yeah that freaked me out, too. At least Malcolm Nance called it for what it is, an unlawful order, but it seems like the sheer volume of scandals is sort of diluting how serious each one is.

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Roger Moore: Spicer always looked vaguely troubled by what he was saying. Like Scott McClellan (sp?) under W, not quite sure he was getting away with spewing bullshit, too dumb to be sure, not principled enough to not do it. SHS, Conway and now The Mooch aren’t just untroubled by spewing bullshit, they love doing it, and they think they’re always gonna get away with it.

  123. 123.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    Don Jr. a kid… there’s only one kid in the Trump sphere, Barron. Everyone else is a grown-ass adult.

  126. 126.

    trnc

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Like the idiotic “you have to balance your household budget, Washington should too!” It’s stupidity that appeals to people at a gut level.

    No shit. I’m not sure I have ever met anyone who doesn’t carry debt.

  127. 127.

    Roger Moore

    @Yarrow:

    Outside of a director discussing the makeup and costuming process for some kind of incredible transformation of an actress to play a part in a film, there’s never a reason a boss should be discussing a woman’s makeup.

    I could see doing it for somebody in cosmetics sales.

  128. 128.

    germy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I was sitting in a Starbucks once and a local TV reporter with a cameraman asked me if I had time to answer a few questions. I said no, thank you. She had trouble processing the idea that someone didn’t want to be on TV

    I had a similar experience last winter while I was shoveling a foot of snow in front of my house. A reporter with her cameraman came walking down the street, looking for a “human interest” story about the snow. Asked me if I wanted to be interviewed. When I politely declined she looked nonplussed.

    (I recognized her from our local sinclair station. I guess they had airtime to fill with fluff stories, because they sure as hell weren’t reporting the shitstorm in Washington.)

  129. 129.

    Yarrow

    @Roger Moore: Only if discussing techniques for makeup application. Otherwise, if discussing her makeup, that would be best handled in private.

  130. 130.

    Gelfling 545

    @NotMax: Having been raised by my grandparents, I know all these old songs. My grandfather was a big fan of Sing Along with Mitch Miller.

  131. 131.

    germy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: That “running government like a business” meme is an old cliché. I saw a Robert Benchley short subject from 1944. Local businessman Joe Doakes is invited to Washington. He boasts to all his colleagues that he’s finally going to “show those boys in Washington” how a REAL businessman runs things. Of course it ends with him suffering every indignity you could imagine.

  135. 135.

    Lapassionara

    @trnc: Try living on a cash basis sometime. It is very hard. This is how most of my court-appointed clients have to live, and the days right before payday are lean ones. I wish more people understood how poor people actually get from day to day,

  136. 136.

    singing truth to power

    I’m so glad that it’s Shark Week and I don’t have to worry about hearing Scaramucci’s voice on a news program. I like sharks so much better than Scaramucci.

  137. 137.

    Gelfling 545

    @schrodingers_cat: Good job! My daughter & her daughter’s stepmother are in the throes of figuring out the image for the girl’s high school graduation party next Sunday. They are doing the image from Wicked that she wore on her graduation cap last month. (Graduated from the Visual & Performing Arts Academy. The caps were amazing. Can you guess she was a theater major?)They’re putting it on a sheet cake from the bakery. Cap here. https://flic.kr/p/W74hn5

  138. 138.

    debbie

    @Yarrow:

    They see her as a thank you to her dad for his help during the campaign. At least until someone cuter comes along.

  139. 139.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @sdhays:

    I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that The Mooch is supposedly a billionaire, and yet he wants a shitty job at the shitty White House. Some people like that would want an actual job with actual authority, but not this guy. Too much responsibility? Or is what he really wants is close proximity to the stupidest, most corrupt, most treasonous, most easily influenced President in American history?

    Hmm… I think I just answered my own question.

    God makes them and they find each other.

  140. 140.

    No Drought No More

    It’s always impressive to watch Obama mash a potato using his brain alone, isn’t it?

  141. 141.

    Gelfling 545

    @Betty Cracker:
    Good job! My daughter & her daughter’s stepmother are in the throes of figuring out the image for the girl’s high school graduation party next Sunday. They are doing the image from Wicked that she wore on her graduation cap last month. (Graduated from the Visual & Performing Arts Academy. The caps were amazing. Can you guess she was a theater major?)They’re putting it on a sheet cake from the bakery. Cap here. Might previously have sent reply to wrong comment. Tried to delete error. Who knows. Sigh. https://flic.kr/p/W74hn5

  142. 142.

    lgerard

    @germy:

    When one of my RWNJ friends floats this idea I always ask them if running government like a business means taxing Americans to provide benefits for Chinese citizens

  144. 144.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @NotMax: Given the tenor of the times =;^D that verse was pretty risque for a fambly show. Given my age at the time (calendar & mental) it was a cinch I’d remember it. (I don’t remember any of the other verses!)

    One evening in 1963 Perry Como had Al Hirt on The Kraft Music Hall. After he played his current hit, “Java”, Hirt & host were standing in front of the curtain & Perry said, And did you know this gentleman is the father of 9 children? (not sure about the number but it was at least 9 though his FTFNYT obit mentions only 6) At which point the curtain was pulled back & there standing on one of those prop staircases were all the kids. When the audience. applauded, the trumpeter grinned & said, Don’t applaud, folks, it was my pleasure. Woohooo!

  147. 147.

    hueyplong

    I see Scary Spice having a much shorter tenure than Fridgeburglar Spice. Both made their debuts with an over-the-top obnoxiousness that was the one qualification Trump requires. But Scary Spice is much more politically naive and is already folding under questioning (a single follow-up from Tapper). It’s clear that Trump will be “disappointed” with him very soon and the call will go out to Andrew Dice Clay, Dennis Miller, or else some random rolling coal dude who says something offensive on the internet.

  148. 148.

    Roger Moore

    @Lapassionara:

    Try living on a cash basis sometime. It is very hard. This is how most of my court-appointed clients have to live, and the days right before payday are lean ones.

    There’s a reason the Bible (Leviticus 19:13) insists that workers be paid at the end of the day every day. Too bad more of these so-called Christians couldn’t spend a bit more time reading what God says about how to treat the poor.

  149. 149.

    lgerard

    Face it, Spicer was a boring Politburo styled drone.

    The Mooch is trump-like in his belief that he can bullshit anyone into believing anything.

    He also seems to think that waving his arms around makes him a more effective speaker.

    BTW all journalists should refer to him as “The Mooch” in all future stories. “White House communications Director The Mooch today……”.

  150. 150.

    Baud

    Via Kos. I’m not necessarily opposed to this given the current political situation, but I don’t expect it to soften the hate.

    As Democrats gear up for the midterm elections in 16 months, the party has been working on a new “core message” that they hope will align them with ordinary Americans.

    According to several reports, on July 24, Democrats in both the House and Senate will deliver a unified message of populism that they hope will carry them to electoral victory in 2018.

    …..

    The details of the new legislative agenda, called “A Better Deal,” have yet to be released, but they reportedly will be kept simple: No identity politics. No foreign policy. No social issues.

  151. 151.

    Baud

    Via Vox. He doesn’t want his veto to be overridden because that would make him a loser.

    On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump will support a bipartisan bill in Congress designed to punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election.

    If Trump does indeed sign the bill, it means America will retaliate against Russia for undermining Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — even though Trump has repeatedly said “nobody really knows” if Russia did so.

  153. 153.

    Amir Khalid

    @Baud:
    Considering what some Wilmeristas see as “identity politics”, I’d be wary of that first bullet point.

  155. 155.

    jonas

    @NotMax: Whaddya mean? Jesus changes his mind all the time. For example, in the Gospels a long time ago, he’s all about helping poor people and shaming rich folks. Now, Jesus is clearly in favor of shaming the poor and giving tax cuts to the rich.

  158. 158.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: the real Haters were never for us, to borrow a phrase from Twitter Nixon, and never will be. I like “A Better Deal”, then let local candidates figure out what to talk about. An Atlanta journalist said after the Ossoff loss that his mistake was not talking about infrastructure– because ATL has terrible roads and gridlock. That may be arrant nonsense from a crank, but I thought it was plausible and interesting. I remember when I was following the CT Senate race in ’06, I kept seeing locals say “Joe Lieberman saved the New London naval base”. I couldn’t and still can’t for a life of me figure out how that trumped Iraq and the Bush administration, but people have voted on stranger issues.

  160. 160.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Amir Khalid: Maybe a hint can be found in what’s happening in NC right now? I got a fundraising email yesterday for Gov. Cooper’s Break the Majority initiative. The bits and pieces I’ve heard so far sound like someone has been listening to Kay.

  161. 161.

    Baud

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    An Atlanta journalist said after the Ossoff loss that his mistake was not talking about infrastructure

    My experience with Hillary tells me that most of the time people say our candidate didn’t talk about X, she talked about X. But maybe it’s true here.

  162. 162.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mike J: it was a lesson to me in “all politics is local”. Mainers have told me that the explanation for Collins and Snowe (as was) was that their constants get their phone calls returned by staff.

  163. 163.

    Gelfling 545

    @Baud: And he doesn’t really care what’s in it. He just wants to sign some, any, piece of legislation.

  166. 166.

    Denali

    @Suzanne,

    Huskies are very appealing with their blue eyes and independent streak. We had one(a rescue) for 10 years. He was the boss dog. He loved people, but needed to dominate other dogs, so we had to warn people who did not have their dogs leashed and thought all dogs loved to find a playmate. Bear did not play well with others. He also would take off if given the opportunity. I miss him, but would not get another Husky in a suburban neighborhood.

  168. 168.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: heh.

    I’m hoping Kay will be pleased that the new slogan isn’t “A Bigger Ladder Up’ or some other variation of whatever stupid phrase they have been using.

  169. 169.

    Citizen Alan

    @JPL:

    Yes, I’m quite sure the Pharisee’s Daughter saw absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, I’ll bet she tittered like Dolores Umbridge at what she considered a compliment on her appearance from a male superior.

  170. 170.

    Citizen Alan

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym:

    Cillian Murphy was the hero of 28 Days Later. From a certain point of view, he’s the real hero of Inception, since every other character in the movie was engaged in a criminal conspiracy to mind-f**k and brainwash him for personal profit.

  171. 171.

    Citizen Alan

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I hope that the 53% of White women who voted for this joker are cool with how casually sexist Trump’s regime has turned out to be.

    I have often opined that the reason the Patriarchy is so entrenched is that large enough percentage of women (possibly a narrow majority) don’t have any problem playing the patriarchal game so long as it advantages them personally. Better to advance by fulfilling the expectations of men than have to compete with other women on a level playing field.

  172. 172.

    sukabi

    @germy: you forgot the bottle blonde hair, Lipo, and plastic surgery…cuz right now she’s as Aryan looking as Hitler.

  174. 174.

    Citizen Alan

    @Yarrow:

    It’s weird that she’s their spokesperson. She’s so far outside the usual look for their women. Do they not see her as female?

    The Pharisee’s Daughter is a bone (no pun intended) thrown out to the Christo-fascist base. If Shitgibbon hires a frumpy, Jesus-y woman who is the daughter of a respected Christo-fascist like Mike Huckaby, then obviously Shitgibbon isn’t the repulsive p***y-grabber every intelligent observer knows him to be. Because to the Christo-fascists, the appearance of morality is far more important than actual morality.

  175. 175.

    J R in WV

    @Gelfling 545:

    I vaguely remember film shorts at the movie theater having music with the verses and a bouncing ball for the crowd to sing along with the orchestra/chorus… can’t bring up any more than that. I guess re-runs on b&w TV were the same short films.

    There was a cartoon series where there were two ravens (or crows) who showed up a critical moments, would walk into a room or cave, there were be disturbing noises, characters would fly out of the room/cave, get up and run off. Were these Odin’s Ravens? What was the very distinctive classical music that played when they walked along? Any other oldster remember that?

    We’re still out of power here, new time/date of repairs tonight at midnight… in theory.

  177. 177.

    Tehanu

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    isn’t there a story/urban legend that Humphrey Bogart was the original Gerber baby?

    Not exactly. His mother was a successful commercial illustrator and frequently used Humphrey as a model during his childhood, and his likeness was used for a baby food ad, but not Gerber.

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