I wonder what the casts of “Morning Joe” and “The View” think about the Geithner bank plan.
Always Loud, Always Wrong
Remember last week when Chip Reid and Rick Klein were getting the vapors about Gibbs ripping into Cheney and Limbaugh at the daily presser? And then remember how we were told it was a terrible gaffe and all that? About that:
Congressional Republicans are telling Dick Cheney to go back to his undisclosed location and leave them alone to rebuild the Republican Party without his input.
Displeased with the former vice-president’s recent media appearances, Republican lawmakers say he’s hurting GOP efforts to reinvent itself after back-to-back electoral drubbings.
The veep, who showed a penchant for secrecy during eight years in the White House,has popped up in media interviews to defend the Bush-Cheney record while suggesting that the country is not as safe under President Obama.
The story then goes on to list a number of Republicans who are basically telling the former Vice President to shut up and Cheney himself. And the really awesome part of all this? Unlike Rush Limbaugh, Cheney won’t be getting any apologies from the congressmen.
Quote of the Day
This is the best description of Big Hollywood I have seen:
“But for all the bluster of all-caps headlines like “GLOBAL WARMING PROPAGANDA SINKS ‘UNDER THE SEA 3D,’ ” it’s a far less courageous site than the comparably nonconfrontational Culture11; beneath the patina of combativeness, it’s really just a support group for 24 fans.What Big Hollywood does isn’t criticism, or reporting—it’s ideological accounting.
So true. Not to step on Tbogg’s toes.
The Dumbest Person In Congress
This video is just priceless. Rep. Michelle Bachman, easily one of the most embarrassing persons in Congress and also one of the wingnuttiest, spent her five minutes asking inane questions about the Constitutionality of Geithner’s actions:
After about the third time she asked, I would have asked her where in the Constitution it says the desk he is sitting at should be wood. And then asked her to tell me where in the Constitution it says he has to wear clothes.
There are a whole host of things not specifically listed in the Constitution- a wide wide world of government activities- but that doesn’t mean that engaging in those activities is “unconstitutional.” Geithner’s actions do not derive their authority directly from something written into the Constitution several hundred years ago, but from the authority that Congress granted him when they passed the respective bills. In fact, the very reason we have things called “Constitutional Scholars” is because everything isn’t spelled out verbatim in the Constitution.
Things done changed
Like athletes limbering up for the big game, White House reporters have been going through elaborate preparatory rituals as they bone up for tonight’s prime-time news conference with President Obama, the second formal “presser” of his presidency.
[….]The unspoken contest playing out under the East Room lights: The president wants to deliver a message – in this case, reassurance on the economy and a plug for his budget – and not get tripped up by issues he considers extraneous, or that might overshadow what he wants to say.
Reporters have the opposite incentive: They want to “make news” by getting the president to say something he hasn’t said before, or wasn’t prepared to say – which, by definition, is not his message.
I think we were very deferential because … it’s live, it’s very intense, it’s frightening to stand up there. Think about it, you’re standing up on prime-time live TV asking the president of the United States a question when the country’s about to go to war. There was a very serious, somber tone that evening, and no one wanted to get into an argument with the president at this very serious time.
Sucking up to George W. Bush — and maybe even getting your own nickname — elevated a reporter’s status in 2003. Trying to knock Obama off his game now elevates a reporter’s status. It really is that simple.
What Happened to Ruling From the Gut?
For people who spent the last eight years swearing that polls didn’t matter, right blogosphere seems awfully giddy about this latest Zogby “poll” stating that Obama has fallen to a 50-50 approval rating. Nate Silver points out that this poll is complete garbage and about as useful and reliable as the polls on the People magazine website asking whether you would rather spend a weekend with Britney or Lindsey.
Here is Gallup, which I think is the gold standard:
I don’t know why these guys keep latching on to Rasmussen and Zogby other than that they really are just interested in not only creating, but staying in their own reality. Rasmussen and Zogby will keep telling you what you pay them to tell you, but it doesn’t reflect what is actually going on in the real world. It is sad, really.
Open Thread
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned it or not, but in the video of Gutfield and the rest of the Red Eye morons that DougJ linked to last night, one of those involved in the little flap was comedian Doug Benson.
That would be the same Doug Benson who got stoned for thirty days and filmed it and then sold the results in a movie called Super High Me. And, I will also note, it was a pretty damned funny movie.
So while Red Eye may be the worst hour of television out there after Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs, and while Gutfield is still a jerk, it is probably worth noting that the people who made all the snotty remarks about the Canadian military are comedians and morons.