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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Saturday Night Open Thread: VP Harris and ‘the Tightrope’

Saturday Night Open Thread: VP Harris and ‘the Tightrope’

by Anne Laurie|  April 29, 20238:45 pm| 157 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Our Failed Media Experiment, Proud to Be A Democrat, Vice-President Harris

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Being underestimated is a superpower. pic.twitter.com/aDwxTENvRo

— Renee (@PettyLupone) April 28, 2023

Opinion by Eugene Robinson: The vice president appears more than a dozen times in the video kicking off President Biden’s reelection campaign. She played a big role in mobilizing the party’s base in 2020 — and should be expected to do the same thing again. https://t.co/bUhtLGEjXR

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 28, 2023

Unpaywalled (gift) link:

… As has been the case with virtually every vice president since the nation’s founding, Harris gets a bad rap. The first duty of the job is to avoid upstaging the president, which means surrendering any political autonomy and never being out in front of the West Wing on any issue. Recall the way Mike Pence always stood like a hyperrealist statue, mute and expressionless, while President Donald Trump ranted and raved. Somehow, Pence managed to never even lift an eyebrow.

And when vice presidents are given actual tasks, they tend to be the impossible ones. Biden put Harris in charge of the border — at a time when there was absolutely no possibility of getting Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that might reduce the flow of would-be migrants. It was a classic no-win situation: She could make a show of raising hopes, which then would be dashed; or she could hunker down and keep expectations low. Either way, she was bound to be criticized for having failed…

The right-wing echo chamber accuses her of speaking in “word salad.” It is true that she often burdens her sentences with more dependent clauses than they can bear, and verbatim transcripts of her extemporaneous remarks can sometimes be hard to follow. But she also connects powerfully with audiences and communicates her message, even if it might be hard to diagram.

I glance at Harris’s public schedule every day, and one thing that stands out is how much time she has spent on foreign policy. It is not uncommon for visiting leaders to stop at the vice president’s residence. Her recent trip to Africa was well publicized, but she has also become a regular at gatherings such as the Munich Security Conference — where, in February 2022, she was the last high-ranking U.S. official to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before Russian tanks rolled into his country. She reportedly implored him to believe the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia would indeed invade.

That experience is particularly relevant because of Biden’s age. Republican candidate Nikki Haley has already previewed the GOP line of attack. “I think we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden, you really are counting on a President Harris,” she said Wednesday on Fox News, “because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely.”

Fact-check: Biden is in good health, according to his doctors, and I know of no reason why he should not be expected to live through a second term. But one of Harris’s important tasks during the campaign will be to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume the awesome responsibilities of commander in chief if necessary.

Her other big task will be to energize voters around the issues on which the Republican Party has boxed itself into fringe positions that are rejected by most Americans. Especially on abortion — and the GOP’s ongoing attempt to deny women autonomy over their own bodies — I expect her voice to be a clarion call. And, as in 2020, I expect her to inspire and motivate the Democratic Party’s most loyal voters, African American women.

As the first woman and first Black and South Asian American to serve as vice president, Harris was destined to be held to an impossible standard. Now, as the reelection campaign begins, she gets to show the talent and drive that got her there.

NRO is worried that someone with FAR MORE govt experience already when she was elected to the Senate than Donald Trump had when he was elected President in 2016, might, 7 years of relevant experience later, be next in line to be President. https://t.co/245Kzz9Dmr

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) April 28, 2023

It’s really significant that @KamalaHarris’ first campaign event, on the day of their re-election announcement, is a reproductive freedom rally with @PPact @NARAL @emilyslist and @ACLU.

Abortion is going to play an even bigger role in 2024. As it absolutely should.

— Alencia Johnson (@AlenciaJohnson) April 25, 2023

.@VP, of course, was prominently featured in the @JoeBiden re-elect video.

According to @CBSNewsPoll, her approval among voters under 30 is 61%

— which is about double than what it is among Gen X & Boomers. pic.twitter.com/nO47z7W8VJ

— John Della Volpe (@dellavolpe) April 26, 2023

President @JoeBiden and Vice President @KamalaHarris ?? pic.twitter.com/iaGSBRZyFj

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) April 26, 2023

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Reader Interactions

157Comments

  1. 1.

    Ken

    April 29, 2023 at 8:56 pm

    Mike Pence always stood like a hyperrealist statue, mute and expressionless

    Play to your strengths.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    April 29, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    This time, for the first time, running against the Vice President will work.

  3. 3.

    mvr

    April 29, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    Most of the negative stories are just plain unfair, since they have more to do with the job of being VP than her.  But, maybe because I get my media mostly online and don’t watch TV, I can’t actually see any of the things people complain of.  She’s smart; she’s upbeat; she enjoys the work. It makes me happy that she is doing that job. I think she brings a lot to the present ticket and I fully expect her to do well when she runs to succeed Biden.

    But I’m probably not a typical voter. Never saw what anyone saw in Ronald Reagan.  I just remember him as a punch line on one of the Woodstock albums.  In any case, I think she rocks.

  4. 4.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 29, 2023 at 9:17 pm

    @Baud: Both the ends of the horseshoe are trying to Hillary her with an able assist from the media. We should not let them succeed, again.

  5. 5.

    SpaceUnit

    April 29, 2023 at 9:18 pm

    To our political press competence and decorum is boring.

    The poo-flinging monkeys make better tv.

  6. 6.

    Mike in Pasadena

    April 29, 2023 at 9:18 pm

    Vice President Biden supported gay marriage before President Obama. In other words he got out in front of the president.

    Newsome started holding same sex marriages in SF before Obergefell in 2015. I think Biden and Newsome together helped give the pre-TFG Supreme Court political room. I am grateful to both men.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    April 29, 2023 at 9:24 pm

    I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Biden will ably serve this full second term.

    But then I’m not trying to frighten old white people into voting Republican.

  8. 8.

    Mike in Pasadena

    April 29, 2023 at 9:27 pm

    I overheard  two Republican women talking.

    W1: Biden won’t live to the end of his term.

    W2: (horrified and exclaiming) Oh No! Then that WOMAN would be president!

    Harris is a woman, a Democrat, and a minority. Three no nos for wealthy, smug, self satisfied Republicans.

  9. 9.

    eclare

    April 29, 2023 at 9:27 pm

    @Baud:   I think he will too, he is in great shape with the biking and has the best health care in the US.  IIRC his mother lived well into her nineties.

  10. 10.

    Trivia Man

    April 29, 2023 at 9:28 pm

    The crux of the entire matter to me is translating that 61% to votes on the box on election day. If that age cohort turns out – the tsunami will change the country almost overnight. I am hopeful she can energize them and bring them out.

  11. 11.

    Gvg

    April 29, 2023 at 9:31 pm

    She was my first choice, not Biden. I understood the electorate as a whole might not be able to pick a black woman, and I was prepared to vote strategically. I watched Hillary get slandered for 30 years over nothing of substance. I want to fight this. Hoping the fact of Hillary will give us an example to hold up and say watch what fool stories you believe without thinking.

    Thats what I want. A campaign to wake up the young to how stupid the smears against Hillary were (and a lot of other women in other jobs) and what it cost us. Plenty of democrats I know do not to this day realize they were propagandized into being suspicious of Hillary or that she was never crooked, that Bill was a womanizer but not crooked etc, it was deliberate smears coming from the fearful of equality for women and minorities.

  12. 12.

    eclare

    April 29, 2023 at 9:34 pm

    @Gvg:   And I want people to understand the connection between voting and who sits on SCOTUS.  People dismissed Hillary’s concerns about SCOTUS as fear-mongering.  Wake the fuck up, people.

  13. 13.

    The Lodger

    April 29, 2023 at 9:35 pm

    @Ken: so when do they put Pence in Statuary Hall? (Not a statue, Actual Mike Pence)

  14. 14.

    Alison Rose

    April 29, 2023 at 9:37 pm

    @Mike in Pasadena: Yeah, similar (at least one one axis) with their response to HRC. For many men (and not only Republicans, but mostly them), the idea of a woman president is like having a woman boss, since in a sense, the president is like the boss of the country, at least in their minds. And there are a lot of dudes who haaaaate the idea of a woman as their boss. And then for a lot of white people, having a person of color in charge is, you know, not to their liking, as a certain former president could attest.

    They don’t want anyone they view as beneath them to end up above them.

  15. 15.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 9:37 pm

    Only the folks who had their dreams of an Eternal White Supremacist Paradise dashed with trumpov’s 2020 lost will be berserk animated to vote primarily against the current VP

    Unfortunately, this describes 99% of today’s GQP.

    So…let’s get to work, peeps!  We kicked his ass last time and that was before multiple indictments, increasingly insane video statements, and the realization that this clown has cost them three straight elections.

  16. 16.

    SpaceUnit

    April 29, 2023 at 9:38 pm

    It’s going to be amusing to see how the pundits spin the age issue when trump again claims the Republican nomination in 2028.

  17. 17.

    Aussie Sheila

    April 29, 2023 at 9:38 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    This exactly. The Dems should be fierce in their loyalty and support for her. I can see from here they are trying to ‘Hillary Clinton’ her.

    If anything, heaven forfend, happens to Joe Biden,  she will be a strong candidate and a strong President.

  18. 18.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 9:39 pm

    Oh and for this

    According to CBS News 

    Harris’ approval among voters under 30 is 61% — which is about double than what it is among Gen X & Boomers.

    what can one say except fuck Gen X and the Boomers?  =)

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @SpaceUnit: well, clearly the 77-year-old morbidly obese guy who eats nothing but fast food, red meat, fries, and Diet Cokes is far superior health-wise to the guy who’s what, 165 pounds and works out every morning.

    Clearly.

    //

  20. 20.

    kalakal

    April 29, 2023 at 9:41 pm

    @Ken: Mike Pence: filling the often overlooked ambulant fly paper niche.

  21. 21.

    Aussie Sheila

    April 29, 2023 at 9:43 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Yes. The guy who couldn’t walk down a ramp unassisted. That’s the one whose health should go unremarked.

  22. 22.

    Jackie

    April 29, 2023 at 9:43 pm

    @Ken: Except when his eyes were gazingly adoring TFG.

  23. 23.

    Cameron

    April 29, 2023 at 9:46 pm

    @Jeffro: Wonder what all those disapproving Gen X/Boomers would say if asked what it is that they disapprove of…..

  24. 24.

    Jackie

    April 29, 2023 at 9:46 pm

    @The Lodger:

    😂🤣😂

  25. 25.

    sdhays

    April 29, 2023 at 9:47 pm

    @Baud: Biden is a lot healthier than Trump, so despite Biden’s extra years, I honestly think the chance of Trump dying first is higher than 50/50.

  26. 26.

    Jackie

    April 29, 2023 at 9:48 pm

    Is anyone besides me watching the WHCD?

  27. 27.

    delphinium

    April 29, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    @Mike in Pasadena: So, do these dipshits honestly think that Trump (most likely nominee at the moment), who is in far worse shape than Biden, would make it thru a 2nd term?

    And I’m guessing that if Trump chose Haley as his VP for example, these same women would suddenly have no issues  voting for a woman and a minority.

  28. 28.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    @Cameron: hoping as always for follow-ups (polling or otherwise) but the snooze media seems determined not to drill down into such touchy subjects…

  29. 29.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    April 29, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    @Mike in Pasadena:

    I am grateful to both men.

    Don’t erase Kamala. She was part of this history too, officiating at San Francisco’s first gay weddings.

    Kamala Harris describes her fight for marriage equality
    https://www.thepinknews.com/2020/08/12/kamala-harris-marriage-equality-gay-lgbt-same-sex-prop-8-california/

  30. 30.

    SpaceUnit

    April 29, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    @Jeffro:

    The same people who are moaning about Biden being sooo old will claim that Biden’s successful 2nd term completely cleared the issue for trump.

    And with a straight face.

  31. 31.

    Suzanne

    April 29, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    @Jeffro:

    well, clearly the 77-year-old morbidly obese guy who eats nothing but fast food, red meat, fries, and Diet Cokes is far superior health-wise to the guy who’s what, 165 pounds and works out every morning. 

    For serious.
    I would find their attacks on Biden’s age and fitness more compelling if they weren’t trying to convince me that Donald Fucking Trump, who is so out of shape that he needed a golf cart to haul his ass 500 yards, and who is in such clear cognitive decline that he can’t form a basic sentence, was the healthy and vigorous alternative.

  32. 32.

    Mike in NC

    April 29, 2023 at 9:53 pm

    @Jeffro:  What you said!

  33. 33.

    eclare

    April 29, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    @Jackie:   I am DVRing it.

  34. 34.

    Aussie Sheila

    April 29, 2023 at 9:59 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Yes. The guy who can’t walk a golf course and has to be driven around in a golf cart to go 50 metres. That’s the one whose health can’t be interrogated. You know, the overweight, sniffling, shuffling sociopath.

  35. 35.

    BellyCat

    April 29, 2023 at 9:59 pm

    @Baud: You’ve conceded Baud 2024 already?

  36. 36.

    HumboldtBlue

    April 29, 2023 at 10:02 pm

    Is it possible to eat too many mini Reese’s peanut butter cups?

  37. 37.

    BellyCat

    April 29, 2023 at 10:04 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Only if you leave the foil on.

  38. 38.

    mvr

    April 29, 2023 at 10:05 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Empirical research has not discovered a limit.

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 29, 2023 at 10:05 pm

    @eclare:

    And I want people to understand the connection between voting and who sits on SCOTUS. People dismissed Hillary’s concerns about SCOTUS as fear-mongering. Wake the fuck up, people. 

    Preach!

  40. 40.

    rikyrah

    April 29, 2023 at 10:06 pm

    I have admitted that the thing I got most wrong about 2016 is the level of misogyny against Hillary.

     

    Will not make that mistake with MVP.

    Pointing out the misogyny and refusing to let muthaphuckas gaslight me about it….that is the fight for Harris supporters.

     

    You can’t remotely tell me that they even did polling about Vice-Presidents  before Kamala Harris.

    😠😠😠

  41. 41.

    Ken

    April 29, 2023 at 10:06 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Just don’t top them off with one wafer thin mint.

  42. 42.

    rikyrah

    April 29, 2023 at 10:06 pm

    @eclare:

     

    Preach👏🏾

  43. 43.

    rikyrah

    April 29, 2023 at 10:07 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I admit…an entire big bag is too many.

     

    Anything less…no😒

  44. 44.

    rikyrah

    April 29, 2023 at 10:08 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I know….it’s absurd😒

  45. 45.

    JCJ

    April 29, 2023 at 10:08 pm

    @eclare:  I was thinking the same thing about Biden’s mother – longevity with good health.  I remember that exact scenario was a reason given by the media when the age of John McCain was cited as a concern since his mother was in good shape at an advanced age.  In other words, the usual shifting of goal posts.

  46. 46.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 29, 2023 at 10:08 pm

    @SpaceUnit:

    It’s going to be amusing to see how the pundits spin the age issue when trump again claims the Republican nomination in 2028. 

    You think the fat, orange, fascist shitstain won’t have a massive heart attack before then?

  47. 47.

    rikyrah

    April 29, 2023 at 10:09 pm

    @Aussie Sheila:

    They surely are trying to Hillary her.

    And, to that , I say…

    I think the phuck not.😒

  48. 48.

    SpaceUnit

    April 29, 2023 at 10:10 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Would it be wrong of me to hope so?

  49. 49.

    Kelly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:11 pm

    @Gvg: She was my first choice, not Biden.

    I hadn’t decided between Harris and Warren. I was leaning Harris based on her experience as District Attorney, San Francisco and Attorney General of California. Running a large public agency would be useful experience.

    Biden has handled the Presidency very, very well. I expect him to complete two terms. I look forward to supporting Harris in 2028.

  50. 50.

    Chetan Murthy

    April 29, 2023 at 10:11 pm

    @rikyrah: I’m still not over it.  Still bitter AF.  And those rapey creeps who interviewed her and opined on how she wasn’t suitable, fuck them too.

  51. 51.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 29, 2023 at 10:15 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Is it possible to eat too many mini Reese’s peanut butter cups? 

    If you are allergic to peanuts…

  52. 52.

    Kelly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:15 pm

    @BellyCat: My dear departed dog Alice snarfed up a bunch of leftover mini Reese’s peanut butter cups after Halloween 2001. Our Vet assured me the foil would go thru just fine and he was right. She lived another 6 years.

  53. 53.

    Ruckus

    April 29, 2023 at 10:15 pm

    I’m an old white man, only 6 yrs younger than Joe Biden. He is aging better than I am, which is to say he’s  pretty damn good at aging slowly. At 84 my mom was still working, at her local police station, not on the law enforcement side. She lived 11 more years and was damn strong physically and mentally for quite a few of them. Joe seems to be in better shape than she was and gets excellent health care, even before becoming president. As a geezer my own self I see no reason why he shouldn’t run and do well. He’s doing a better job at 80 than any republican that’s been president in my 7+ decades has done.

    And I voted for Harris in the primary because she’s damn good. And I am not sorry in the least that Joe Biden is president. I hope she runs after Joe’s next stint.

  54. 54.

    SpaceUnit

    April 29, 2023 at 10:21 pm

    @Ruckus:

    Amen.  Please accept this upvote.

  55. 55.

    Old School

    April 29, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    Biden gives a shout out to NYT Pitchbot in his WHCD speech.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 29, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    Joe Biden just cited NYTimes Pitchbot at the correspondents’ dinner

    “I love that guy”

  57. 57.

    Almost Retired

    April 29, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    Deleted. redundant.

  58. 58.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 29, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    @SpaceUnit: Not at all.

  59. 59.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    @eclare:

    Biden’s doing a great job. Shout out to NYTimes Pitchbot.

  60. 60.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:26 pm

    @Almost Retired:

    You beat me to it. I’m listening to it on TuneIn. There’s a delay.

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 10:26 pm

    @Kelly: Warren was my first choice.

    I think with Biden 1.0 we essentially got a Warren presidency within the limits of what was possible, Congress-wise.

    With Biden 2.0 (and FSM willing, recapturing the House), I’m hopin’ and prayin’ that we go right at all the structural things that need to happen – expanding SCOTUS, expanding the House – if we’re going to continue as a democracy er excuse me republic.

  62. 62.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 29, 2023 at 10:26 pm

    WH Correspondents dinner is on in the background, and DougJ’s Twitter account just got a shout-out from Uncle Joe.

    ETA: slow typist, me

  63. 63.

    Ruckus

    April 29, 2023 at 10:27 pm

    @sdhays:

    I agree with this. I haven’t listened to any thing/noise he’s uttered since Jan 6 but I understand that his rants are getting pretty difficult to even make any sense of, let alone understand so I’d say he’s falling fast. I’ve watched a lot of relatives and seniors in the complex I live in (have to be over 55, federal program complex) age out and all of them sound better than he does. So I don’t see him able to take office even if he managed to win.  Joe Biden is only about 3 1/2 yrs older than SFB and is in far, far better health than SFB. Who was/has shit for brains long ago.

  64. 64.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 10:27 pm

    @Old School:

     

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

     

    @Quinerly:

    omg NO WAY!

  65. 65.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:28 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Biden just slammed Tucker Carlson.

  66. 66.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:29 pm

    Biden is great tonight.

  67. 67.

    Sure Lurkalot

    April 29, 2023 at 10:29 pm

    I have zero FTG about trash talking VP Harris. It has nothing to do with her capabilities.

    It is a thankless job but my god, she brings issues to the table, is studied, competent, compassionate. What about that would make a bad president?

  68. 68.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:30 pm

    “Fox News owned by Dominion Voting Systems.” Pres Biden

  69. 69.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 10:30 pm

    @rikyrah: there used to be the odd poll here and there over the decades, and it always came up that the VP pick (whether for the first run or a re-election run) never mattered.

    I think Baud’s right: this time, unfortunately, it’ll matter.  Probably not to anyone who was D-gettable anyway, but it’ll be the One Weird Excuse that a lot of R-leaning folks use to vote against the Biden/Harris ticket.

  70. 70.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    April 29, 2023 at 10:31 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    It’s a tremendous compliment.

    Found this Columbia Journalism Review article featuring our very own DougJ while looking that up. Pretty cool seeing BJ mentioned : )

    The bot that saw the Times

  71. 71.

    Ruckus

    April 29, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    @SpaceUnit:

    Hoping for it and expecting are 2 different things.

    And to answer your question – NO.

  72. 72.

    eclare

    April 29, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    @Old School:   Woohoo!

  73. 73.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    @Quinerly: tomorrow, I want to talk about the excellent NYT article about Carlson and how his firing is different for Fox, and where’s he’s likely to focus his malign energies going forward.

    He’s a psycho and he’s going to take “running against the establishment” to a new creepy-o art form in the next 18 months.

  74. 74.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 29, 2023 at 10:33 pm

    Aaron Rupar @atrupar

    lmao Biden with a @DougJBalloon shoutout!

  75. 75.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:36 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Biden is on fire tonight. Must see (actually, I’m listening and am going to watch it later…I guess on YouTube)

  76. 76.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    April 29, 2023 at 10:36 pm

    @Jeffro:

    but it’ll be the One Weird Excuse that a lot of R-leaning folks use to vote against the Biden/Harris ticket.

    Didn’t Biden win with some of those folks in some states, like Arizona/Georgia?

  77. 77.

    Kay

    April 29, 2023 at 10:36 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Ha! “I love that guy”

    DougJ is so famous :)

  78. 78.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:37 pm

    Biden’s not sure about Dark Brandon.

  79. 79.

    karen marie

    April 29, 2023 at 10:37 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Doug’s head is going to be SO SWOLE!

  80. 80.

    JoyceH

    April 29, 2023 at 10:39 pm

    DARK BRANDON!

  81. 81.

    eclare

    April 29, 2023 at 10:39 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:   Thank you!

  82. 82.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:39 pm

    “If you find yourself disoriented or confused, either you’re drunk, or Marjorie Taylor Greene … the best way to make NPR go away is for Elon Musk to buy it!” Pres Biden

  83. 83.

    eclare

    April 29, 2023 at 10:40 pm

    @Quinerly:   En fuego!

  84. 84.

    zhena gogolia

    April 29, 2023 at 10:41 pm

    @Baud: The first question on the NYT news quiz on Friday was: “If re-elected, how old will Joe Biden be by the end of his second term? A. 74 B. 80 C. 86 D. 92 E. 98” I shit you not.

  85. 85.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 10:41 pm

    “I’d call Fox honest fair and truthful. But then I could be sued for defamation.” Pres Biden

  86. 86.

    kindness

    April 29, 2023 at 10:43 pm

    Elizabeth Warren was my first choice in ’20.  Kamela became my 1st choice when Warren dropped out.  I voted for her for Att General & Senator here in Ca.  I already liked her.  I’m saddened that her being a woman and a minority woman at that are factors for some.  If Trump’s term taught me anything it’s that there are a lot more racists in this country than I thought there were.

  87. 87.

    Poe Larity

    April 29, 2023 at 10:45 pm

    I’m not endorsing Joe until he gets DougJ fired from the NYT.

  88. 88.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    April 29, 2023 at 10:47 pm

    @Quinerly:

    God, that’s good stuff. You guys are making me choose between Psych and the WH Corespondent Dinner 😫

  89. 89.

    JaneE

    April 29, 2023 at 10:48 pm

    There is no question about Harris’ ability to be president.  Trump set the bar so low a cockroach could clear it.  The issue is what it always has been – her sex and color.

    I hope most voters will make the right decision a second time and vote for Biden and Harris.

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 10:49 pm

    @Quinerly: I just caught a bunch of clips on Twitter…OMG

    Just awesome!

  91. 91.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 10:52 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): um I don’t know, let me go check in with them personally???

    Let’s just go with: the guy restored the ‘Blue Wall’ and then some.  TFG is swirling down the Drains of Insanity and is approaching the Shoals of Multiple Indictments at the same time.

    (the best metaphors are mixed metaphors ;)

    I like our chances!

  92. 92.

    zhena gogolia

    April 29, 2023 at 10:55 pm

    @Old School: That was so cool

  93. 93.

    zhena gogolia

    April 29, 2023 at 10:56 pm

    @Kay: I said to my husband, “I know that guy!”

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    April 29, 2023 at 10:58 pm

    @Jeffro:

    TFG is swirling down the Drains of Insanity and is approaching the Shoals of Multiple Indictments at the same time.

    That deserves a second showing. Hell that could be an entire post on it’s own.

  95. 95.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    April 29, 2023 at 10:58 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Good points! 👍

  96. 96.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 11:00 pm

    @Jeffro:

    And, of course, if Carlson runs for president and wins….everyone will blame Biden for pushing him to that by insulting him.

  97. 97.

    Percysowner

    April 29, 2023 at 11:02 pm

    @Gvg: ​
     She was my second choice, I say while wearing my Yet, She Persisted Elizabeth Warren Swag. Like many I was not impressed by Biden, at the time. I am overjoyed at how wrong I was. Biden is so impressive and Harris would be a great follow up.

  98. 98.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 11:02 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Be sure to catch Biden’s closing. Serious stuff.

  99. 99.

    Sebastian

    April 29, 2023 at 11:03 pm

    There is the possibility that Trump will attack Harris but with all the legal brouhaha around Trump’s crimes and Biden throwing bait at him, I doubt there will be enough airtime for Harris.

  100. 100.

    bookworm1398

    April 29, 2023 at 11:06 pm

    Any guesses for TFG’s VP?

  101. 101.

    BruceFromOhio

    April 29, 2023 at 11:14 pm

    I voted for Harris in the primary, and I look forward to voting for her again.

    @Poe Larity: ok that’s just hilarious

  102. 102.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 11:15 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I know, right?  RIGHT??

    A little shout-out to all of us inside baseball peeps!

  103. 103.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 11:17 pm

    @bookworm1398:

    Kari  Lake

  104. 104.

    Kristine

    April 29, 2023 at 11:19 pm

    @Old School: DougJ is a Star! 🌟

  105. 105.

    Jeffro

    April 29, 2023 at 11:21 pm

    @Quinerly: Carlson only has ‘the juice’ inside the wingnut bubble – he doesn’t have the decades-long name recognition, association with extreme wealth, “business expertise”, etc. with the general public.  If anything, he’s either a) the guy who got owned by Jon Stewart a couple decades ago or b) the weirdo that Grandpa MUST SEE* every night at 8pm.

    *well, until last week, anyway! LOL

    And him running in 2024 just kneecaps trumpov.

    I think he’s going to find some sort of media/internet/whatever outlet and vent and vent and vent, and keep his people stirred up for as long as he can…then fizzle out.  Because weirdo websites and Newsmax and podcasts and what not can keep the fringes riled up, but they ain’t Fox

    ETA: BUT…he is a complete psycho and has been canned publicly three times now, so who knows?  All I know is that it’s extremely unlikely that anything he says or does will benefit the Ds (even if/when he damages the Rs) but it will almost certainly damage our democracy.

  106. 106.

    Alison Rose

    April 29, 2023 at 11:30 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Now we gotta be an actual top-10,000 blog, right???

  107. 107.

    Alison Rose

    April 29, 2023 at 11:33 pm

    @bookworm1398: The J6 dude who dressed up as a shaman or whatever.

  108. 108.

    mvr

    April 29, 2023 at 11:33 pm

    @Jeffro: It is also going to matter to D base voters. You dump her and you lose a lot of enthusiasm. Not that Biden doesn’t know this and didn’t know it when he picked Harris. The Biden/Harris branding on most everything is no accident and part of their strength.

  109. 109.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 11:33 pm

    @Jeffro:

    I was mostly joking….although, I would not be surprised if he ran in 2028. It will be a big primary field.

  110. 110.

    Redshift

    April 29, 2023 at 11:33 pm

    @Kristine: I know!!!! I knew that guy back when, and now the president is a fan. Hope it doesn’t go to his head…

  111. 111.

    mvr

    April 29, 2023 at 11:38 pm

    @Redshift: I do still miss his posting on here with the music-quoting headers.

  112. 112.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 11:43 pm

    Biden’s Kevin McCarthy joke, “The speaker is trying to claim a big win this week, but the last time Republicans voted on something that hapless, it took 15 tries.”

  113. 113.

    No One You Know

    April 29, 2023 at 11:49 pm

    @Jackie: Watched it live.

  114. 114.

    Geoduck

    April 29, 2023 at 11:53 pm

    Since it’s an open thread… right after the latest Texas gun-massacre, Gov. Abbott’s Twitter’s feed posted a picture of a golden retriever and added “All smiles for the weekend.” Couldn’t even spare some thoughts and prayers.

  115. 115.

    Geoduck

    April 29, 2023 at 11:54 pm

    @Quinerly: You’re sure the Shaitgibbon will be gone by 2028?

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    April 29, 2023 at 11:55 pm

    An American YouTuber tries McDonald’s in Malaysia, and he seems impressed.

  117. 117.

    Quinerly

    April 29, 2023 at 11:57 pm

    @Geoduck:

    You are probably asking the wrong person. I was sure he was toast after 1/6.

  118. 118.

    TriassicSands

    April 30, 2023 at 12:04 am

    @Quinerly:

    I don’t blame Obama for TFG, but I have always wondered if he hadn’t made such a fool of Trump at the Correspondents’ Dinner if Trump would actually ever have run.

    OTOH, watching Trump seething was wonderful. It said so much about him as a person — none of it good, which isn’t surprising since there is absolutely nothing good one can say about Trump.

    Someday, there will be something good to say about Trump — he died. Finally, an act worth celebrating.

  119. 119.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 12:08 am

    Totally OT and a couple of weeks late.

    Deborah Harry at 77 at Cochella earlier this month. Hot!

    https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/coachella/2023/04/14/coachella-2023-blondie-brings-70s-80s-to-the-mojave-tent/70104824007/

  120. 120.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 12:11 am

    @TriassicSands:

    It was a great thing that night with Obama and then watching Trump’s expressions…and everybody laughing but Trump.

    I’m blanking….was that the same night that Bin Laden was killed? Order given to go in?

  121. 121.

    TriassicSands

    April 30, 2023 at 12:17 am

    @Quinerly:

    Different nights, I think. From what I can glean, the dinner was on April 30; bin Laden went down on May 2. So, very close together if both those dates are accurate

    Ironically, it might have been better for the US, if Obama had made fun of bin Laden and the Seals had taken out…

  122. 122.

    eclare

    April 30, 2023 at 12:19 am

    @Amir Khalid:   The chicken foldover sounds great!  And I would get that porridge all the time in the winter.  Do you live near where that was filmed?

  123. 123.

    Chetan Murthy

    April 30, 2023 at 12:20 am

    @TriassicSands: Heh, you made me look.  And yeah, in my memory, he came from overseeing that raid, to giving the speech.  In reality (as you note) he had just *authorized* the raid, and gave the speech, while it was being put-in-motion, but it was a few days later that it actually transpired.

  124. 124.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 12:21 am

    @Chetan Murthy: thanks.

  125. 125.

    eclare

    April 30, 2023 at 12:22 am

    @Quinerly:   So cool.

  126. 126.

    JaySinWA

    April 30, 2023 at 12:25 am

    @Jeffro: I could see Tucker aligning himself with the Flynn insurrection plotters.d

    ETA: Some people have claimed he is too lazy to do a presidential run, but being the power behind the throne would be right up his alley.

  127. 127.

    cain

    April 30, 2023 at 12:25 am

    @Gin & Tonic: ​
     
    https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRwYkKxP/b

    For all who missed it.

  128. 128.

    Alison Rose

    April 30, 2023 at 12:30 am

    @cain: I…..think that’s the wrong link?

  129. 129.

    HumboldtBlue

    April 30, 2023 at 12:34 am

    @cain: ​ 

    That’s a sexy Latina, where did we miss her?

  130. 130.

    Amir Khalid

    April 30, 2023 at 12:38 am

    @eclare:

    I’m just a short train ride away. Beef/chicken foldover season is over for this year, alas, but the item should be back in 10 months time. The other items he tried are all on the permanent menu.

  131. 131.

    Alison Rose

    April 30, 2023 at 12:41 am

    @HumboldtBlue: LOL I got so confused, then I clicked it again and realized because the link is bad, it just redirects to the TikTok homepage and shows random shit.

  132. 132.

    eclare

    April 30, 2023 at 12:46 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Our “seasonal” sandwich here is the McRib.  Disgusting.

  133. 133.

    prostratedragon

    April 30, 2023 at 12:59 am

    It’s around midnight in Chicago: “I Still Believe,” Laura Love.

  134. 134.

    Amir Khalid

    April 30, 2023 at 1:00 am

    @eclare:

    The ‘Mekdi” menu in Malaysia is all-halal so there’s no McRib season, but in December/January we do get the beef/chicken Prosperity Burger: rectangular patty, oodles of black pepper sauce, some raw onion. Simple but hella good.

  135. 135.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 1:11 am

    A friend sent this to me the other day. Pretty cool.

    https://fb.watch/kdIp8UNKsj/?mibextid=NnVzG8

  136. 136.

    Origuy

    April 30, 2023 at 1:15 am

    @Amir Khalid: That sounds really good. If anyone’s interested, here’s an attempt at a recipe.

    I may ask my housemate who does the cooking what he thinks.

  137. 137.

    Chetan Murthy

    April 30, 2023 at 1:15 am

    @Quinerly: ohhh yeah.  here’s another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXS52TSweKc&t=1s

  138. 138.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 1:17 am

    @Quinerly:

    YouTube link

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fNTtEntQ-oM&pp=ygUgc2FyYSBuaWVtaWV0eiBwb3N0bW9kZXJuIGp1a2Vib3g%3D

  139. 139.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 1:21 am

    @Chetan Murthy:

    That’s a great one. How am I just learning about Post Modern Jukebox? The Book of Faces feed is pretty awesome.

  140. 140.

    Chetan Murthy

    April 30, 2023 at 1:24 am

    @Quinerly: Oh, I learned about ’em here long, long ago.  They have a ton of great covers/remixes.  Haley Reinhart did a ton of stuff with them — all great.  Also, do you know Pink Martini ?

  141. 141.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 1:24 am

    @Chetan Murthy:

    https://fb.watch/kdJge2njzI/?mibextid=ZbWKwL

  142. 142.

    eclare

    April 30, 2023 at 1:25 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Interesting!

  143. 143.

    Aussie Sheila

    April 30, 2023 at 1:31 am

    @Jeffro:

    Thank you. Of all the dumb takes, ‘Carlson running for President’ is absolute Pitchbot material. He FA and now he is FO that Murdoch is the boss of Fox, not him. I see a podcast interviewing Jimmy Dore and the bore from Rio.

  144. 144.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 1:33 am

    @Chetan Murthy:

    All new to me. An old St. Louis buddy started sending me links a couple of weeks ago. Now that I am looking at the dates on the YouTubes I realize I have been totally out of the loop on PMJ for a few years.

    This is a mostly Mark Knopfler, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Al Kooper, Steely Dan, Little Feat, Josh Ritter, AJ Croce, Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur household.

    Dr John’s last album released since his death is fantastic. Speaking of covers: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_87UySpRnqc&pp=ygUUZHIgam9obiBpdCdzIGFscmlnaHQ%3D

  145. 145.

    Quinerly

    April 30, 2023 at 1:43 am

    WHCD tonight

    Roy Wood Jr, “Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a supreme court — a black one, on top of that! There’s only two in stock. And he owns half the inventory. We can all see Clarence Thomas, but he belongs to billionaire Harlan Crowe. And that’s what an NFT is.”

  146. 146.

    Amir Khalid

    April 30, 2023 at 1:44 am

    @Aussie Sheila:

    I agree with you about Tucker. I don’t see him being organised enough to run for president. And that whiny peevish voice makes him tough to listen to for any length of time.

  147. 147.

    eclare

    April 30, 2023 at 2:03 am

    @Quinerly:   Hahaha…

  148. 148.

    tobie

    April 30, 2023 at 2:28 am

    This thread is probably long since dead but I’ll add all the same that I voted for Biden in spite of Harris not because of her. The ticket is what it is in 2024. The stakes are too high to quibble. But I hate the reflexive defenses of Harris. She has a tin ear for language. I’ve heard her speak live and she’s an atrocious public speaker. And she’s easy to catch flat-footed in interviews. I was disappointed when Biden picked her as his running mate and nothing she’s done as VP inspires confidence.

  149. 149.

    🐾BillinGlendaleCA

    April 30, 2023 at 3:41 am

    @Amir Khalid: I tried the McDonald’s in Seoul, the bulgogi burger was really good.

  150. 150.

    Amir Khalid

    April 30, 2023 at 4:18 am

    @🐾BillinGlendaleCA: ​
    What McDonalds USA ought to do is bring in national and regional items from around the world and offer them in the US as special items. You never know what might catch on.

  151. 151.

    NotMax

    April 30, 2023 at 4:23 am

    @Amir Khalid

    Not to be confused with the prosperity sandwich, dating from the 1920s.
    ;)

  152. 152.

    NotMax

    April 30, 2023 at 4:26 am

    Linky no show above. Fix.

    @Amir Khalid

    Not to be confused with the prosperity sandwich, dating from the 1920s.
    ;)

  153. 153.

    artem1s

    April 30, 2023 at 7:15 am

    @TriassicSands:

    if he hadn’t made such a fool of Trump at the Correspondents’ Dinner if Trump would actually ever have run

    He had already started running. IIRC he pulled out of 2012 early because he didn’t want to have to stop doing Apprentice (campaign grifting money wasn’t good enough yet evidently). Lots of people, including the MSM he got so much attention from four/five years later, were making fun of him because of his weird campaign publicity stunt of sending a team to Hawaii to surf on his dime look for the birth certificate. Obama’s was just more visible and a pretty epic take down. Obama probably moved himself up to the top of the list that night though. And once he was elected, TFG had extra motivation to wipe out Obama’s accomplishments. But TFG was always going to run in 2016. And he always has a list of people who he’s seeking revenge for some petty grievance. His whole 2016 primary campaign was designed to stick it to everyone in the GOP who had made fun of him.

    But the dinner became legendary and linked in everyone’s mind to TFG take down because of what happened later with bin Laden. The content of the speech and reference to TFG was only solidified in everyone’s memory well AFTER the election because it was such a strong demonstration of what coolness under pressure looked like and that the new president didn’t have it. There are plenty of other people who pissed off The Donald who we have footage of insulting him. If the fault lies anywhere, it lies with the GOP primary candidates who couldn’t use the take down to their advantage. They had all witnessed a master class on how to do it and just couldn’t pull it off themselves. As always, it’s not the Dem’s fault the GOP couldn’t keep this asshole in line and let him take over their Party.

  154. 154.

    evodevo

    April 30, 2023 at 8:06 am

    @Quinerly: Yeah…her or MTG…checks all the boxes for Trumpy lol

  155. 155.

    TriassicSands

    April 30, 2023 at 9:03 am

    @artem1s:

    This is too late to be seen, but I’ll simply add, I never blamed Obama, but the epic takedown had to be extra incentive to Trump, who is a lazy POS. However, I doubt if anything apart from grifting inspires TFG more than getting revenge. I expect that if he has a favorite movie character it would have to be Paul Lazzaro from Slaughterhous Five: “Anybody ever asks you what the sweetest thing in life is–” said Lazzaro, “it’s revenge.”

  156. 156.

    karen marie

    April 30, 2023 at 4:36 pm

    @Jeffro:  I watched a synopsis on youtube of Maddow from last week where she talked about rightwing figures prominent in the media.

    There’s no more a chance of Tucker running for president than Bill O’Reilly or Glenn Beck.

    The defining feature of O’Reilly, Beck and – I expect – Tucker is that when they lose their 8 pm time slot on Fox, they disappear.  Like Beck and O’Reilly, he will soon become irrelevant.  Tucker – like Beck and O’Reilly – will be replaced by someone just as heinous but none of them, as individuals, are as important as the Fox platform.

    There was no chatter about O’Reilly running for president after he was fired because of the timing – O’Reilly was fired in 2017, after Trump was elected.

    “Asking the question” about Tucker elevates him beyond his actual importance.

  157. 157.

    rikyrah

    May 28, 2023 at 4:17 am

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Tell that truth

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