Patterico's Pontifications

4/27/2023

Big Media Very Incurious About How Biden Knew What an L.A. Times Reporter Was Going to Ask Him

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 1:07 pm



After Fox News settled its litigation with Dominion Voting Systems for the staggering sum of $787 million dollars, many noted the fact that Fox News’s coverage of the settlement somehow failed to mention the settlement amount. Fox News viewers will never learn about this! the critics said . . . and they were right!

But is Fox News the only organization that behaves this way?

Yesterday Joe Biden appeared to have advance knowledge of a question that he was asked by an L.A. Times reporter. I’ll hand the microphone to Fox News:

As Biden spoke alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the White House Rose Garden, a photographer captured a small cheat-sheet in the president’s hand signaling he had advanced knowledge of a question from Los Angeles Times journalist Courtney Subramanian. The small paper also included a picture of the reporter along with the pronunciation breakdown of her last name. “Question #1” was handwritten at the top of the sheet, indicating the president should call on her first at the conclusion of his remarks.

“How are YOU squaring YOUR domestic priorities — like reshoring semiconductors manufacturing — with alliance-based foreign policy?” read the question in Biden’s hand.

The reporter, who was in fact called upon first but whose last name was omitted by the president, asked Biden, “Your top economic priority has been to build up U.S. domestic manufacturing in competition with China, but your rules against expanding chip manufacturing in China is hurting South Korean companies that rely heavily on Beijing. Are you damaging a key ally in the competition with China to help your domestic politics ahead of the election?”

It’s not exactly the same question, but Biden clearly had notice of the substance of the question. Hmmmm!

This seems like a big deal. The President of the United States — who, you might remember, is 80 years old and seems to have his events scripted to an almost ridiculous degree — knows in advance the substance of a question that a reporter was going to ask? Is this true of all questions asked by the White House press corps, or just this reporter/newspaper? One would think news organizations would be interested in such a story.

But when you Google the reporter’s name to learn who has written about the story, you notice a curious fact: nearly all of the outlets mentioning the story are right-wing outlets like Fox News or the New York Post:

The New York Times has not said a word about it:

And the L.A. Times has not reported about it. The stories available if you click the link do not mention the controversy.

Reminds one of Fox News’s refusal to report on the damning details of its own settlement, doesn’t it? Why, if you’re a reader of the L.A. Times or the New York Times — or both! — you would never know that there is a controversy over how the President of the United States had advance knowledge of the content of a reporter’s question.

Seems odd, no?

Not really. Not if you understand how Big Media routinely ignores evidence that serves the agenda of those gross people on the right. The attitude is: “Let right-wing media cover that.” Is there evidence that some people who transition to a different gender regret it and want to transition back? Let right wing media cover that! Is there evidence that statistical disparities in police shootings of black men line up with statistical disparities in black men killing police? Let right wing media cover that! Is there evidence that Hunter Biden really did commit crimes, or that some teachers want to indoctrinate schoolchildren in ideology that shames white kids for being white? Let right wing media cover that!

And apparently, even when there is photographic evidence that the President of the United States had advance knowledge of a reporter’s question, the attitude even for that issue is Let right wing media cover that!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is really going on here? To its credit, the Washington Post actually has published a piece about the controversy. Paul Farhi, quoting an anonymous “veteran White House reporter,” says this sort of thing has been going on for years:

How did Biden — or, more accurately, his press handlers — know that question was incoming, and know to call on Subramanian? The answer is because they asked her.

For many years, White House press employees have routinely polled reporters about their priorities and interests in advance of news meetings to anticipate what their boss might be asked when he or she appears on the podium. The practice is also common in news conferences with cabinet secretaries, such as the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State.

“Every White House press office will try to go around and take the temperature” of reporters, said a veteran White House reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his employer had not authorized him to comment. “They want to look smart in preparing their boss for what we’ll throw at him.”

Farhi reports that the L.A. Times has denied feeding the question to the White House . . . but it also sounds like she kinda sorta did, with a wink and a nod:

White House officials declined to speak on the record, and Subramanian didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Times, Hillary Manning, said Subramanian didn’t provide White House officials with a specific or even general question in advance of the news conference. However, while covering Biden on a trip abroad, the reporter mentioned to officials that semiconductors was “one of several topics she might want to cover,” said Manning.

The White House also polls reporters before press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s daily briefings, and before “gaggles” (informal gatherings with officials). The inquiries come via email or in person. Another reporter — who also who spoke on the condition of anonymity because their employer hadn’t authorized them to talk about the topic — said that a White House press staffer emailed them recently asking “if there were any topics in particular” that they wanted to explore at an upcoming gaggle.

I’m not sure how much credence I am going to give to anonymous reporters about how long this has been going on. But the idea that this sort of thing happens seems to be corroborated by that very revealing admission by the L.A. Times spokeshole, doesn’t it?

Why would a reporter say “topic x” is a topic they might want to cover? How is that remotely ethical in any way? Why would a reporter choose to make such a statement to officials, knowing they will repeat it to the president? The answer is obvious: because they know that if they feed their questions to the White House in advance — not by saying “I will ask x” but through the far more deniable stratagem of saying “x is one of several topics I might want to cover” — they know the president is more likely to call on them.

You scratch my back and I’ll scratch your wrinkled 80-year-old back.

It’s pretty much the incestuous crap that cynical people expect, and for the L.A. Times to deny it in this Clintonian parsing fashion is an insult to the intelligence of anyone truly paying attention. They got caught and they ought to own up to it.

But, like Fox News and its massive $787 million payout, the L.A. Times hopes to bury the story and hope their readers never find out about it. And the rest of Big Media, for the most part, will help them out . . . because they play the same game.

So if you’re part of Big Media and you want to rant and rave about how Fox News is hiding facts from its readers, go ahead. I mean, you’re right, after all. But once you’re done, you might want to check for the mote in your own eye.

Just sayin’.

71 Responses to “Big Media Very Incurious About How Biden Knew What an L.A. Times Reporter Was Going to Ask Him”

  1. Wasn’t there a time when Sam Donaldson or Helen Thomas always got first crack? I know, they were more adversarial when the prez was an (R).

    As George Will more or less mentioned a while back, Biden is too diminished for a 1st term let alone worthy of reelection, but would a Trump who’s now an even crazier uncle be better? To me, no, so I’ll continue to be NeverBiden and NeverTrump.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  2. Everyone knows that isn’t a fool or a knave that the media is bias. In the 1950’s and early 1960’s the deep state asked its corporate allies to appear to be unbiased to help the american government in its war on communism. This pretense would help the government get information in unfriendly countries where it could claim reporters were unbiased. This had to be carried over in this country and journalism schools to appear genuine. Then came the vietnam war which discredited media cheerleaders on the war and worse some journalists actually started covering the new with far less establishment bias like watergate. Still nixon was hated so it was allowed. Some what with reagan as the deep state was afraid democrat establishment stooges were being discredited. It has been a slow progression until trump when all the stops came off. Journalisms history is side taking from calling washington a king and jefferson the devil. Thru abolutionist papers crusaiding against slavery to yellow journalism of hearst and pulitizer with a short break for the war on communism.

    asset (61cd14)

  3. Wasn’t there a time when Sam Donaldson or Helen Thomas always got first crack?

    I believe they did because they were longest serving WH reporters at the time.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  4. The question really is, why should the general public care?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  5. It’s not the first time Biden had advance knowledge of questions he would get (and who he would call on)

    https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-press-office-asked-journalists-advance-questions-report-2021-2

    Biden’s press office asked journalists to send questions in advance, drawing mixed reactions from reporters

    Ashley Collman and Grace Panetta Feb 2, 2021, 5:26 PM EST

    https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-press-conference-notes

    ..Following U.S. President Joe Biden’s first news conference on March 25, 2021, partisan critics blew up the fact that Biden appeared to have notes at the lectern, with some critics singling out what they described as a sheet containing thumbnail photos of reporters present at the event, claiming it was evidence the entire news conference was “scripted” or “staged.”

    “New photos show cheat sheets used by Biden during his first press conference,” a headline published by the New York Post read. One of the photos in question, taken by pool photojournalist Oliver Contreras, can be seen in the Post’s tweet below:

    …Guardian writer Poppy Noor pointed out that other presidents have held news conferences in which they came prepared with notes, notably Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald Trump, who created his own internet controversy with notes like these at the podium:

    The LA Times has denied it, which might mean the reporter concealed this from her bosses.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/la-times-biden-subramanian-notes-b2328350.html

    Biden’s people are somewhat close to some reporters – Anthony Blinken in 2020 told Mike Morrell to send his statement to a particular
    Washington Post reporter.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/21/hunter-biden-laptop-jim-jordan/

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  6. @4 It must be made to look adversarial to fool the rubes. You can’t have comparisons to radio moscow or tokyo rose. Fox news and talk radio on the right and msdnc and npr on the moderate left doesn’t fool anybody. I got banned from DU for asking why do you call yourself democratic underground when you are DNC public relations.

    asset (61cd14)

  7. If you think some platform is dishonest, you have to go about suggesting that very obliquely because they may prove you right.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  8. A generation ago Big Boy Pants Big Media; real journalist type people, ran the windbag out of the presidential race in 1988 for doing something any of them would be fired for; faking credentials and plagiarism.

    Today, these lazy, click and scroll kids- more pundit ‘talent’ than shoe-leather ‘journalists’- keep giving the bum a pass— for access, career advancement or by direction from the back office suits; editors, news directors and upper management in corporate. Forget journalism and the public good. Ratings and revenue are all that matter. A Sam Donaldson would destroy him before breakfast. And a younger Brit Hume told him to his face when a senator he was unquotable because he’s a “blowhard.”

    But hey—no mean tweets!! Never forget: “You bought him; you own him.”

    DCSCA (6aa83c)

  9. This kind of prep is what led Candy Crowley to “know” about Obama’s post-Benghazi speech where he included a throwaway line about “terrorism” near the end.

    A few days later Crowley recounted how she had brought up the same question in her normal WH reporting job, and was informed about Obama’s statement in his day-after Rose Garden speech. And when it came up in the debate, and Obama referred to that speech and then turned to Crowley to back him up.

    The only conclusion one can get out of this is that Crowley was played and Obama knew about the set-up.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  10. Fox News viewers will never learn about this! the critics said . . . and they were right!

    Um, no. That’s absurd. Every newscast by anyone else mentioned that again and again for days. I doubt you could pump gas and not hear about it. It is fairly easy for the left to live in a bubble — they just have to avoid a few outlets. But for someone of the Trump bent — damn near impossible. It’s like holding back the tide.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  11. Thank you for confirming what I’ve been saying for a long time. It’s both sides. Both sides hide, twist, and distort. That is why the tribalist poo flingers, be it wokesters or MAGAites, who think their side represents all that is good and true, are so amusing to me.

    norcal (15fce4)

  12. The question really is, why should the general public care?

    Because they are being manipulated, lied to, and defrauded. Biden is a better liar that Trump (who isn’t?), but that does not mean the lies are meaningless.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  13. @11: Both would do this, of course. But one side has 90% of the press as fellow travelers, and can rely on their help in propagating the lies

    And don’t just sluff it off with “But Trump!” — it was true for W, too.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  14. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/27/2023 @ 2:56 pm

    Yes. That Candy Crowley incident was very distasteful.

    I wonder if any of the more reasonable people here, who may have voted for Obama in 2012, are humble enough to admit that Romney was the better choice.

    Obama still has egg on his face from ridiculing Romney for considering Russia a serious threat.

    norcal (15fce4)

  15. The question really is, why should the general public care?

    Because they are being manipulated, lied to, and defrauded. Biden is a better liar that Trump (who isn’t?), but that does not mean the lies are meaningless.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/27/2023 @ 3:05 pm

    As it is with most other institutions that manipulate, lie, and defraud (sports teams, athletes, commercial advertising, political parties, campaign ads, “reality” television and game shows, actors, politicians, etc.), the general public does not care. Though I am sure it will end up as a SNL skit.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  16. They have the question in advance, presumably they have prepped him on it, and he still needs the cheat card? Oy vey!

    nk (b3939b)

  17. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/27/2023 @ 4:29 pm

    And anonymous posters on internet forums.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  18. Although Paul Farhi said the quiet part out loud, I wish that, as a reporter for the Washington Post for 30+ years, he would have also taken the opportunity to call out this practice. Enough is enough. Presidents aren’t children. They hold the most powerful position in the world. It shouldn’t be too much of a demand that they know their stuff in advance and be able to field vexing questions without needing a cheat sheet in advance.

    Dana (560c99)

  19. But hey—no mean tweets!!

    More accurately, no coup attempts, no extortion of Ukraine’s president, no obstruction of justice, no profiteering off the office, no using government power to retaliate against critics, no lotsa other stuff.

    And no mean tweets, just mean Truths. Until the mean tweets start again. And they will.

    Patterico (51d863)

  20. Never forget: “You bought him; you own him.”

    Put him up against Trump again and I’ll buy him again. And I question the judgment of anyone who would not agree.

    Patterico (51d863)

  21. Patterico (51d863) — 4/27/2023 @ 5:49 pm

    Now that is a withering rebuttal!

    I admire your pointed writing style. I guess it comes from being a prosecutor. 😉

    norcal (15fce4)

  22. Number #15,000 in reasons some Trump voters think the fix is in.

    “Put him up against Trump again and I’ll buy him again. And I question the judgment of anyone who would not agree.”

    Subject Biden to the “no stone left unturned” actions by the media and give Trump the “there are no stones to turn here in this field of stones” that Biden gets and maybe you’d not vote for either. The level of scrutiny on Biden is insufficient for an equal and fair comparison of flaws

    steveg (d58e2a)

  23. NBC Poll: 70 Percent Don’t Want Biden to Run Again

    With age the “major” reason why Americans do not want Biden to run again, there were 70% of Americans, and even a majority of registered Democrats (51%), telling the Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted for NBC News that they do no believe Biden should declare a run for reelection.

    Just 26% of American adults believe Biden should run again, and that is 9 percentage points less than those saying the same for former President Donald Trump, who always been wildly unpopular with Democrats.

    Among those saying Biden should not run, 48% say age is the major reason with 21% saying it is a minor reason, and just 29% saying it is not the reason.

    https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23786178-nbc-april-2023-poll?responsive=1&title=1

    DCSCA (3512e6)

  24. Biden vs. Trump: Big challenges, but opposite ones, as 2024 rematch begins – Poll

    Joe Biden and Donald Trump each face significant challenges in a potential rematch for the White House in 2024, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll finds – but opposite ones. For President Biden, expected to launch his reelection bid Tuesday, his standing among the voters who backed him in 2020 is wide but shallow, at risk of being eroded by a credible Democratic challenger for the nomination or a third-party candidate in the fall.

    For former President Trump, support among his 2020 voters is deep but narrow, reinforced by controversies that are all but guaranteed to make it harder for him to expand his support in the general election. Yin, meet yang…

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/23/biden-trump-2024-poll/11702803002/

    Lots of data; lots of ‘folks’ to have their judgments “questioned” either way as well…

    DCSCA (3512e6)

  25. Biden, 80, once attacked 63-year-old rival for being too old

    President Biden once hammered an opponent for being too old for office — even though he was almost 20 years younger than the oldest-ever commander-in-chief is now.

    Biden, running to stay president despite being 80, was a 29-year-old local Delaware councilman in 1972 when he ran the cruel — and ultimately successful — campaign for Senate. Biden repeatedly bashed incumbent Republican Sen. Cale Boggs for being too old at a mere 63 — which is 23 years younger than Biden will be at the end of a second term as president if he wins reelection…

    His campaign ads repeatedly hammered Boggs for being too old to understand modern life, CNN noted… One radio ad also accused Boggs of being too worried about Russia while ignoring domestic issues like crime, a criticism that Biden faces today.

    That, like many others, had the tagline: “Joe Biden, he understands what’s happening today.”…

    The agist approach was attacked by other Senators, and credited as being the key for Biden’s victory at the time. The Associated Press headline at the time read: “Biden stressed age to defeat Boggs, 63.”

    https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/biden-80-once-hammered-rival-for-being-too-old-at-63/

    DCSCA (3512e6)

  26. But is Fox News the only organization that behaves this way?

    LOL

    JF (47e9f4)

  27. Well, CNN roused itself to peer into this. Stephen Collinson doesn’t quite frame it as a “Republicans pounce” story, but he does strike me as being more than a bit dismissive about the idea of media collusion with an Administration ideologically suitable to themselves:

    A photo of the president’s detailed note cards taken during a press conference has led his political foes to raise new questions about his age at the start of his reelection bid and to condemn what they see as an overly cozy approach from the White House press corps.

    The note card captured by photojournalists on Wednesday shows a head shot of a reporter on whom Biden would call, a pronunciation guide for her name, and most controversially, seems to say what she would ask.

    Los Angeles Times reporter Courtney Subramanian’s question did turn out to be on a basically similar issue to the one predicted on Biden’s card – about an apparent conflict between US efforts to slow semiconductor manufacturing in China and the trading interests of its allies. But the query did not exactly match the one Biden was apparently expecting and the LA Times said in a statement that Subramanian did not submit her question to the press office in advance, though she had been in regular contact with White House aides seeking information for her reporting.

    That didn’t stop conservative media from trumpeting that a conspiracy was afoot between the president and the press, and that 80-year-old Biden was a puppet of his aides. Pundits relished using words like “crib sheet” and “cheat notes.” The controversy was especially acute because Biden has been under fire for holding fewer press conferences than his predecessors. And of course, the oldest president in history just announced a bid for a second term that would end when he is 86.

    But don’t worry, guys: Mr. Collinson is here to assure us that this is nothing out of the ordinary, and that nasty ol’ Donald Trump did the same thing:

    But this episode appears to be more innocent than Biden’s critics make out. While it was notable that a potential question was written on Biden’s card, every White House press office takes scrupulous care to prepare their president for news conferences. Commanders in chief typically build time in their schedule to go through potential questions before they face journalists, and every recent president has had a list of reporters on whom to call.

    As part of an effort to stage manage their boss’ interactions with journalists, presidential aides sometimes try to shape the news conference with their choice of reporters. If there’s a big domestic scandal, for instance, that a president might not wish to talk about, they might pick a reporter who is mainly interested in foreign policy or the economy and is less focused on the day’s political buzz. Former President Donald Trump went through a spell of only calling upon friendly conservative outlets.

    [. . .]

    The right-wing pundits complaining about Biden’s “cheat notes” on Thursday were probably not too bothered when Trump was pictured holding notes with questions to ask and things to say to survivors and family members of victims after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018. “I hear you,” read one note. It was not clear who scribbled on the card, but the then-president’s Democratic critics crowed that he had no empathy and had to be told how to act. He might just have wanted a note to remind himself exactly what he wanted to say.

    And now for the grand finale, even that wretched Richard Nixon used to use direction cards:

    Such minute-by-minute choreography is a gift to political opponents seeking to build a narrative that the gaffe-prone Biden is too old to serve or has lost some of his mental acuity. But presidents meet multiple people every day and have endless meetings. Staff seek to avoid any possibility of embarrassing moments or the chance that the commander in chief might not know exactly what’s happening next – especially in public, televised encounters. In previous administrations, for instance, senior staff and the president were provided with a schedule showing who they would meet, where they would sit at any given moment, which door they would use to exit a room and where they might encounter lurking reporters.

    For a look at how the days of presidents are programmed, it’s worth checking out the fascinating contemporaneous notes of Richard Nixon’s White House days, which also include preview notes to the then-president about his schedule. In one entry, entitled the “President’s Scenario,” Nixon is briefed on a church service he will attend on March 16, 1969. It reads almost exactly like Biden’s minute-by-minute schedule.

    So, to sum up the issue that Joe Biden called upon a reporter whose question was known in advance and printed out on a card with the President provided with a pre-written response: it’s not what you think, everybody does it, it’s been going on, Trump did far worse, and they were doing this stuff fifty years ago.

    Recall that Mr. Collinson works for the network which furnished Hillary Clinton with the 2016 Democrat debate questions in advance.

    JVW (d4f643)

  28. Oh. My. God.

    BIDEN CAN’T RECALL VISIT TO IRELAND HE TOOK TWO WEEKS AGO

    Biden can’t recall recent Ireland visit, seems to forget Hunter’s love child during Q&A with kids

    No wonder President Biden needs a cheat sheet while taking questions from adults. The 80-year-old commander-in-chief had difficulty remembering his recent state visit to Ireland Thursday while being grilled by kids during a ‘Take Your Child to Work’ event at the White House.

    “The last country I’ve traveled, I’m trying to think of the last one I was in,” Biden mused to the children of administration staffers and members of the media. “I’ve been to, met with 89 heads of state so far. So, uh, trying to think where was the last place I was; it’s hard to keep track.”

    “Ireland,” a child shouted out, jogging the president’s memory.

    “Yeah, you’re right, Ireland. That’s where it was,” he said good-naturedly.

    “How’d you know that?”

    Biden, with the help of first son Hunter, also took questions from children of US Embassy workers while in Ireland — but hosted no formal news conferences, frustrating members of the White House press corps.

    The Ireland exchange was one of a handful Thursday that highlighted the president’s frequent memory lapses, most notably forgetting the death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski and calling out the Indiana Republican’s name at an event last September.

    Another child at the White House event asked Biden: “Do you watch the Stanley Cup playoffs, and if you do, do you have a favorite team?” “I did, and I do: the Philadelphia Flyers,” the president answered, apparently unaware that the team did not make the tournament this year.

    The commander-in-chief also rattled off the names of grandchildren Naomi, 29, Finnegan, 23, Maisy, 22, Natalie, 18, Robert Hunter Biden II, 17, and Beau Jr., 2, but stopped short of mentioning Navy Joan Roberts, the often-unacknowledged 4-year-old daughter of Hunter and Lunden Roberts, a former stripper.

    “And guess what? They’re crazy about me because I pay so much attention to them,” Biden said, getting some laughs from the crowd of parents and children present. An Arkansas judge ruled Monday that Hunter, 53, who has been staying away from the proceedings of a child support case involving his love child with Lunden, must attend all court hearings going forward.

    ​​House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested last week that money from Hunter’s foreign business deals — which benefited other members of the first family — may have gone to some of the president’s nieces, nephews and grandchildren. Roberts is suing Hunter for child support, but deliberations have been slowed by questions about financial records on his abandoned laptop. A court-ordered DNA test proved in November 2019 that Hunter was Navy’s father.

    https://nypost.com/2023/04/27/biden-cant-recall-visit-to-ireland-he-took-two-weeks-ago/

    DCSCA (be7372)

  29. @28. Reagan famously kept 3X5 cards in his pocket as notes for speech giving as well for guidance– but it was a far cry from the moment by moment, step by step, name, image and question cheat sheets Biden keeps waving around.

    Just waving them around alone is an alarming tell; a reminder that keeps Xi grinning and Putin smiling…

    DCSCA (be7372)

  30. Great comment, JVW. Also, funny how it’s a “conspiracy” when conservatives criticize the practice.

    A less silly report on the issue, with regard to President Biden when his tenure began:

    According to three sources with knowledge of the matter, as well as written communications reviewed by The Daily Beast, the new president’s communications staff have already on occasion probed reporters to see what questions they plan on asking new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when called upon during briefings.

    The requests prompted concerns among the White House press corps, whose members, like many reporters, are sensitive to the perception that they are coordinating with political communications staffers.

    One reporter raised the issue during an informal White House Correspondents Association Zoom call last Friday. According to multiple sources, leaders at the meeting advised print reporters to push back against requests by the White House press team to learn of questions in advance, or simply to not respond to the Biden team’s inquiries.

    Dana (560c99)

  31. @14 obama was the better choice. Look what happened when a republican won in 2016 with a minority of the vote. We barely avoided civil war then because clinton was so lousy.The country will no longer put up with republican BS. Look at 2020 trump who barely lost the electoral collage by 43,000 votes in 3 states. Had he won a general strike was going forward to shut the country down and violence and real insurrection would have occurred including other unlawful acts. Also democrats would no longer find anyone guilty in jury trial. Plenty more was planed including violence as the establishment would no longer keep minorities disarmed and unable to shoot back!

    asset (2f2373)

  32. Asset is saying the left is in a Civil War in America and they will burn it down if you don’t give them what they want.

    NJRob (eacb83)

  33. Put him up against Trump again and I’ll buy him again. And I question the judgment of anyone who would not agree.

    Make the case for re-electing Biden and the policies his administration without mentioning Trump, MAGA, or Republicans.

    Horatio (9f1d58)

  34. #34

    Make the case for re-electing Biden and the policies his administration without mentioning Trump, MAGA, or Republicans.

    I actually can’t do it. What that tells you is up to you.

    Imagine an election where Trump isn’t the issue and bad Trump impersonators are not competing with themselves on who can be the worst person in the world. I wouldn’t mind that place. Reality tells me I am not going to get to live there anytime soon.

    Appalled (e2e408)

  35. So, to sum up the issue that Joe Biden called upon a reporter whose question was known in advance and printed out on a card with the President provided with a pre-written response: it’s not what you think, everybody does it, it’s been going on, Trump did far worse, and they were doing this stuff fifty years ago.

    It’s funny how the media makes it a story about Biden’s preparation rather than the reporter’s behavior in providing the question in advance, which is what conservatives are actually seizing and pouncing on.

    Patterico (442537)

  36. “without mentioning Trump, MAGA, or Republicans”

    That’s like writing a review of Our American Cousin and not mentioning the shooting of Lincoln.

    I disagree with most of Biden’s policy preferences. He’s never been the sharpest, even when he was younger and more energetic. I am not put at ease with Harris a heartbeat away. I prefer Republican governance and Republicans managing the administrative state. I prefer originalists and judicial conservatives being appointed. But the ultimate decision is, absent a viable 3rd party option, a choice between two major party candidates. For me, I’ve written in a protest vote the past two elections, though I understand people who voted for Biden last time. Some believe that Trump is dangerously erratic and careless about laws, institutions, and customs. It’s also unclear whether the best and brightest from the GOP will be able to constrain him as he runs on a campaign threatening “retribution”.

    Many of us don’t think it’s wise to trust someone who did not have the sense to intervene during the riot at the Capitol or who cannot honestly talk about the 2020 election. He’s either unbalanced or corrupt, or both. A candidate still has to earn my vote. I still hope that Biden does not run and that the DEMs consider a more competent field. But Biden can be checked by divided government. I’m not sure if Trump’s excesses can be…especially with a GOP who has been unwilling to hold him to account….at all. Again, I’ll probably sit out a Trump v. Biden II. Trump is too erratic; Biden I disagree with too much and think he’s past his sell-by date. But I can’t besmirch critics that view Trump as the more dangerous of the two. It’s concerning when a Joint Chief worries about how the President might use the nuclear arsenal. Biden’s foreign policy people have been steady on Ukraine after muffing up Afghanistan. I don’t worry about him having some weird bro-mance with Putin.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  37. According to three sources with knowledge of the matter, as well as written communications reviewed by The Daily Beast, the new president’s communications staff have already on occasion probed reporters to see what questions they plan on asking new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when called upon during briefings.

    The requests prompted concerns among the White House press corps, whose members, like many reporters, are sensitive to the perception that they are coordinating with political communications staffers.

    They’re so “concerned” that they refuse to say what they’ll ask, choosing instead to say the topics they might be interested in, which turn out to be . . . what they’ll ask.

    Why are those wagons forming a circle, Mommy?

    Patterico (442537)

  38. Only Trump could have gotten Biden elected.

    nk (bb1548)

  39. Patterico (51d863) — 4/27/2023 @ 5:49 pm

    Until the mean tweets start again. And they will.

    I think Trump has some of a contract with TruthSocial that prohibits him from using another platform till I think about June.

    Meanwhile, Parler has been bought by something called called Starboard,and shut down. From their statement about it, it sounds like it could be left wing,

    Sammy Finkelman (150e1c)

  40. Meanwhile, Parler has been bought by something called called Starboard,and shut down. From their statement about it, it sounds like it could be left wing.

    “We focus on working with groups that are advocating for or otherwise advancing conservative causes or conservative beliefs,” Starboard CEO Ryan Coyne told the Daily Caller News Foundation in 2021, back when Starboard was known as Olympic Media.

    According to its social media platforms, Starboard offers digital marketing and ad agency services. In that same 2021 Daily Caller piece, the agency previously worked with current and former Republican Congress members like Jim Jordan, Elise Stefanik, and Madison Cawthorn and conservative organizations like Turning Point USA.

    Source

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  41. 29.

    BIDEN CAN’T RECALL VISIT TO IRELAND HE TOOK TWO WEEKS AGO

    I don’t believe that spin.

    I think Biden simply couldn’t recall the name of the country. Or otherwise, he couldn’t recall the order.

    Sammy Finkelman (150e1c)

  42. That’s like writing a review of Our American Cousin and not mentioning the shooting of Lincoln.

    Which was done: ‘Our American Cousin’ premiered in New York on October 15, 1858. The play ran for 150 nights, which was very successful for a New York run at the time… the play opened at the Haymarket Theatre [in London] on November 11, 1861. Reviews were mixed.’ Quilled long before 1865. –

    DCSCA (950116)

  43. ^https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_American_Cousin

    DCSCA (950116)

  44. Here’s a related story:

    ABC News edited an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday to exclude remarks the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate made about vaccines.

    During the interview, Kennedy spoke to ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis about his presidential campaign and said that while he considered President Joe Biden to be both a personal and family friend, Biden’s “approach to government and to the Democratic Party” was ultimately at odds with his own.

    We get by with a little help from our friends.

    (Kennedy’s persistent attacks on vaccines should disqualify him from any elected office.)

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  45. #37 AJ_Liberty – One of the few nice things about living in a safe Democratic state (as I do) is that you can make a protest vote, without the slightest worry that your mote will affect the outcome. I was actually glad of that in 2016 and 2020.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  46. “vote”, not “mote”, of course, though mote is a good description of the size of he effect one vote has.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  47. Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/28/2023 @ 9:34 am

    I agree, though I just don’t vote.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  48. @42. It’s no spin, Sammy. If you watch the video of the event on CSPAN, it’s worse than reading it in print. It’s startling… and frightening, given the responsibilities and demands of the high pressure gig he occupies: ‘the most powerful position on Earth.’

    He is clearly not well, Sammy. And it is irresponsible, if not criminal, for both his family and the organization he represents, to present that individual– with obvious and increasingly degrading mental acuity– up for re-election to hold such a high-pressured job, putting his personal health– and the health of the nation– at further risk.

    DCSCA (950116)

  49. Richard Nixon used to have notes as to what to say on a telephone call. That meant he could be led,

    Sammy Finkelman (150e1c)

  50. DCSCA (950116) — 4/28/2023 @ 9:54 am

    He is clearly not well, Sammy.

    I think what it is is that when asked what he did the day before yesterday, the answer does not immediately come to mind. It’s a limited problem.

    I think what matters the most is policy, appointments and character, good or bad, plus background knowledge. Too mmuch changes when you change presidents,

    Sammy Finkelman (150e1c)

  51. And Biden keeps on telling lies, I don’t think it’s confabulation, like with an alcoholic with Vitamin B1 deficiency,

    The other day he said he was born in the same hospital where his grandfather died two weeks before, Not true,

    One grandfather died around a year before he was born, but in another city, Baltimore, in Johns Hopkins. The other one did indeed die in the same hospital, but when he was 16 years old or so.

    Sammy Finkelman (150e1c)

  52. Unless the reason they can’t get him to stop is mental deterioration,

    Sammy Finkelman (150e1c)

  53. @51. It’s not a ‘limited problem’… it a growing problem, Sammy. Time waits for no man and his is running out.

    DCSCA (ced458)

  54. A man who cannot remember he spent a busy, eventful and very public week in Ireland just two weeks ago is not fit to be offered up for the gig as ‘the most powerful man on Earth.’ No frigging way. End of story.

    DCSCA (ced458)

  55. It’s not that he did remember the trip – what he did not remember was what it was that happened recently. He instantly recognized the answer of Ireland was right. Which sounds like the problem was what to call or where he went last.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  56. 40 41. I ddn;t like the reference to ” “unsupported online communities.”

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  57. 33 Biden won so peaceful revolution is still possible. Also 80% of voters oppose a ban on abortion which is why republicans did so poorly in 2022 election. In 2024 biden runs on vote democrat or use a coat hanger! As long as electorial collage doesn’t thwart the will of the people civil war can be avoided. Alito now crying that he was afraid when he took away abortion rights! So sad.

    asset (413050)

  58. #56. Stop making excuses for him. He was asked by a kid a simple question: what was the last country he visited. – A visit larded with much hype, public fanfare, family and personal enjoyment- and he could not remember being in Ireland for a week just 14 days earlier. And this is only going to get worse…

    DCSCA (ca5289)

  59. Make the case for re-electing Biden and the policies his administration without mentioning Trump, MAGA, or Republicans.

    There is none.

    But since the alternative is a part of the analysis any informed actual vote, that doesn’t matter.

    Patterico (442537)

  60. Make the case against jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, without mentioning death or what happens to you when you hit the ground.

    You can’t, can you? I guess I win the argument.

    Patterico (442537)

  61. Richard Nixon used to have notes as to what to say on a telephone call. That meant he could be led,

    Somehow I don’t see Kamala Harris holding her own in a “kitchen debate” with Vladimir Putin. Or really with anyone for that matter.

    JVW (1ad43e)

  62. 80% of voters oppose a ban on abortion

    The same number oppose abortion-on-demand near to term, but that’s what the Democrats insist on. It’s like the NRA demanding that bazookas be legal.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  63. I agree, though I just don’t vote.

    Reading about voting is not the same thing.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  64. @61. You don’t need a parachute to exit an airplane when it’s at rest and safely parked on the tarmac. 😉

    DCSCA (55df71)

  65. @63 dream on. Explain away 80% don’t want a total ban on abortion. It is called the propaganda technique called “the red herring.” 2024 vote democrat or use a coat hanger sticks with voters.

    asset (0445d8)

  66. Make the case against jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, without mentioning death or what happens to you when you hit the ground.

    You can’t, can you? I guess I win the argument.

    Jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is an incredibly dangerous and foolish act that puts not only the person jumping but also others at risk. Firstly, it violates the safety regulations and policies of the aviation industry, which are in place to ensure the well-being of all passengers and crew on board. It could potentially cause chaos and panic among the passengers and crew, which could lead to a range of accidents and injuries.

    Secondly, it can cause significant financial and legal repercussions. Any damage to the aircraft or injury to other passengers as a result of the stunt could result in costly lawsuits, and the person jumping without a parachute may be held liable for any damages or injuries caused.

    Thirdly, it sets a dangerous precedent and may encourage others to engage in similar risky behavior, potentially leading to copycat incidents that could have even more severe consequences.

    Furthermore, jumping out of an airplane without a parachute shows a lack of respect for the value of human life and the importance of safety measures. It also undermines the professionalism of the aviation industry and disregards the training and expertise of pilots and crew members who work hard to ensure the safety of all passengers.

    Overall, jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is an irresponsible and reckless act that could have serious consequences for all involved. It is not a behavior that should be encouraged or celebrated, but rather condemned and discouraged to maintain the safety and well-being of all those involved in air travel.

    I win. You’ll probably have a bd day on the way down

    Horatio (42ffd9)

  67. Explain away 80% don’t want a total ban on abortion.

    *I* don’t want a total ban on abortion. That does not mean that I’d oppose a 15-week limit on elective abortions. See the difference?

    Probably not, as you seem to be an absolutist on so many things. Just like MAGA’s shocktroops in many way.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  68. Jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is an extremely risky and potentially harmful activity. Even if you survive the initial jump, you could end up getting lost in an unfamiliar area with no means of communication or navigation. Additionally, you may end up landing in a body of water, which could cause you to drown if you’re not a strong swimmer or if the conditions are unfavorable. Furthermore, the act of jumping out of an airplane without a parachute can be very dangerous for those around you, including pilots and other passengers on the plane, who may be put in danger as a result of your actions. Additionally, it’s important to consider the legal and ethical implications of such an action, as it could potentially put others at risk and result in legal consequences for you. Overall, there are many reasons why jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is not a wise or responsible decision to make.

    Horatio (42ffd9)

  69. @69. Jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is an extremely risky and potentially harmful activity.

    Unless it’s on the ground, parked on the tarmac, engines off and the wheel chocks snugly in place. Thousands of ‘folks’ do it, w/o a chute, daily. 😉

    DCSCA (fda5b0)

  70. T R V T H

    Horatio (42ffd9)


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