Midday open thread
- Remember when Huffington Post’s Nico Pitney, who had been owning the Iran story, asked a question about Iran???? Yeah, no one could’ve predicted that. And yet the traditional press is outraged.
The contrast between the media’s overall immediate reaction to “mission accomplished” and its current angst is instructive. Is it really a coincidence that the same “staged” event that’s provoking so much media outrage also happens to be one that took status-conscious journalists down a few pegs at a time of great uncertainty in their profession?
What’s more, the complaint that White House “staging” is inherently wrong is just bogus. Politicians stage events all the time for all kinds of reasons. The real question should be this: Was the reason for the White House’s managed question a defensible one? Yes, it helped Obama by making him look supportive of Iranian protesters. But it also allowed an ordinary Iranian to ask a tough question of the leader of the free world. Whatever “status” was granted Nico Pitney was also accorded the Iranian questioner. Can anyone seriously argue that this goal didn’t justify this relatively minor breach of Beltway press protocol?
But like Atrios notes:
I’ve long been puzzled why elite news outlets cling to authority rather than expertise as their reason to be.
The Congressional Press Gallery, an industry-managed group which issues press credentials for Congressional reporters, refused to give Daily Kos media credentials despite the fact that David Waldman knows more about parliamentary procedure than probably 98 percent of the reporters covering it. You see, they have to protect their status. It has nopthing to do with expertise.
- Michelle Bachmann is on a two-year-long talk radio audition, since she’ll have to do something once the voters kick her out of office.
Right now, she’s arguing that refusing to fill out a Census Bureau form (a criminal offense) will protect her from ACORN and government concentration camps. No joke.
- Ladies, in case you were wondering why Mark Sanford turned you on:
“It does indicate that men who oppose federal spending at the local level are irresistible to women.”
- In South Carolina, adultery is a crime. Isn’t it lovely how those who seek to legislate morality are most likely to run afoul of their own laws? I don’t want laws banning adultery, yet I somehow manage to remain faithful to my wife. I don’t need an escort to prevent me from being alone with women, lest I accidentally have sex with them. I know, so weird!
- New rule:
Marriage is between a man and a woman and a woman in Argentina.
- If we had strategically smart congressional leadership, they …
…would immediately bring up for a vote the repeal of DOMA while the Republicans are reeling from their second bimbo eruption in a week. Let the Republicans start talking about the protection of traditional marriage.
- Having trouble keeping up with all the Republican sex scandals? Well, here’s a handy flowchart to guide you along.
Other Hillary Clinton News:
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