WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 Aging Fox star proves the point: It's been a while since we looked in on the moral progress of the aging star who sits at the helm of the Fox News Channel's primetime Gutfeld! program. That star grew up in a sunny land. Last week, he turned 60. Havin … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 Dozens of bomb threats have followed: Was our flailing nation's public discourse once a different critter? In 1960, the Kennedy-Nicon TV debates marked the start of the modern political era. Our national discourse was perhaps different then. Consider … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Scribe doesn't get it right: Can anyone here play this game? Over at the Washington Post, Dana Milbank was doing the highly unusual. He was describing the eternal spotlessness of the Fox News viewer's mind. Hic column appeared last Friday, three days p … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Pepperidge Farm remembers: Long ago and far away, Hans Christian Andersen blew the whistle on an emperor who was wearing a new suit of clothes. There was an obvious problem with the ruler's new ensemble. But as Andersen capably reported, citizens of th … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Pepperidge Farm remembers: We're losing a chunk of time this morning. We won't be posting until this afternoon. At that time, we'll continue with this week's discussion—with a discussion of our flailing society's unmistakable new suit of clothes. It wa … | Continue reading
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 Possibly not for Harris either, but also possibly yes: In our view about who to vote for this year, we differ from the New York Times' Bret Stephens. We're going to vote for Candidate Harris. Here's what Stephens tells Gail Collins in this week's episod … | Continue reading
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 Could he have imagined these clothes? Could "our democracy" possibly die in disorder? As we float that question today, forgive us if we ask you to think about Theodore White again. Quite literally, White wrote the book about the presidential campaign wh … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 ...it's Pacific-10 greatness again: We could imagine a different tone shaping the New York Times news report. We could imagine placing the news report on the Times' front page. (In this morning's print editions, the report in question appears on page A2 … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 From Harris, a hint of "the dark encroachment:" According to Theodore White, televised debates arrived on the scene as part of "a revolution in American Presidential politics.". This revolution was technological in nature. "It was a revolution born of … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2024 ...a cancer grows on the world: Did somebody "win" last Tuesday's debate? If so, by how much? Let's make our question a bit more precise: Will one of the candidates end up receiving additional votes based on what happened on Tuesday night? Especially in … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 In a much larger nation: Viewership figures are in for Tuesday night's debate. How many people watched the event? According to NBC News (and everyone else), the very fine people at Nielsen have announced a familiar figure: Harris-Trump debate nabs mor … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 Donald Trump's numbers were different: It's never completely clear what we mean when we ask who "won" a presidential debate. It's never quite clear what that means! But by most assessments, Candidate Harris prevailed this past Tuesday night. What was … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 Plus, the latest cognitive shortfall: What did the nation's Undecideds think about last night's debate? Frankly, it's hard to decide! According to this report, the Washington Post assembled a panel of 25 "uncommitted, swing-state voters," then asked … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 But so did the New York Times: Last evening, after the ball was over, the Harris campaign said they wanted more debates. At 6:35 this morning, speaking on behalf of the Trump campaign, Jason Miller said his candidate has already agreed to another deb … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 Peter Baker, front page of the Times: Full disclosure: We hadn't watched last evening's Last Word when we scanned today's New York Times. We still hadn't seen the opening segment of Lawrence O'Donnell's program. That said, and for obvious reasons, we r … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 Kilmeade brought in the trash: "By mid-September all had been arranged." So wrote Theodore White, describing the process by which the first presidential debates came into being. As White explained in a famous book, the debates would be presented to the … | Continue reading
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 Harris's problem with Biden: In our view, Jonathan Chait is right as rain. After that, he's wrong! So it goes in his latest post for New York magazine. Chait starts by challenging a fairly typical, thumb-sucker piece by the New York Times. As he starts h … | Continue reading
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 A tale of two revolutions: In yesterday morning's print editions, the New York Times offered a front-page report concerning debate prep. According to the Times report, Candidate Harris has gone all in, Candidate Trump a bit less: Inside the Trump-Harris … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2024 Brian Kilmeade's squalor: With each passing week, it's becoming even more obvious. It's obvious why the Deep State felt they had to destroy the Pac-10. Yesterday, refugees from that mightiest conference went out and did it again. Last week, it was Southe … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2024 As the social order turns: Believe it or not, we're going to have a debate next week! More likely, we're going to pretend to have a debate. Or perhaps it should be stated this way: We're going to have what poses as a debate. We're going to have somethi … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 Or a journalist like Levin: As a nation, we've come a very long way, baby, from the journalistic landscape described by Theodore White. His iconic book bears a famous title: The Making of The President 1960. Key point: In effect, White was reporting from … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 Donald Trump's brilliant debate: We've mentioned this assessment more than once: In our judgment, E. E. Cummings can now be seen as the greatest anthropologist of the twentieth century. In our view, he surpassed even Gene Brabender, whose great observa … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 The Kennedy / Nixon reporters: American media have come a long way since Labor Day 1960. An observer might even think of the way Laura Ingalls Wilder began her famous first book, Little House in The Big Woods: WILDER (page 1): Once upon a time, sixty y … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 Statistics can be hard: In fairness, it doesn't exactly matter. That said, it's the kind of journalistic performance we're always puzzled by. We refer to a news report in the New York Times—a report about a recent shift in student demographics at seve … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2024Statistics can be hard: In fairness, it doesn't exactly matter. That said, it's the kind of journalistic performance we're always puzzled by.We refer to a news report in the New York Times—a report about a recent shift in student demographics at severa … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 In a challenge to our system, Trump spoke of prisons and jails: Way back in 1960, Labor Day could still be said to be the start of the White House campaign. As Labor Day approached that year, Candidate John F. Kennedy was all tied up in Washington. Ca … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2024In a challenge to our system, Trump spoke of prisons and jails: Way back in 1960, Labor Day could still be said to be the start of the White House campaign. As Labor Day approached that year, Candidate John F. Kennedy was all tied up in Washington. Can … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024 But first, Kate Bolduan's question: We spent the day addressing the question of The Surgical Wound That Would Not Heal. (More accurately, that wouldn't heal as of yet.) For that reason, we'll extend yesterday's side trip into the realm of sport. First, … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024But first, Kate Bolduan's question: We spent the day addressing the question of The Surgical Wound That Would Not Heal. (More accurately, that wouldn't heal as of yet.)For that reason, we'll extend yesterday's side trip into the realm of sport. First, t … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024Democracy dies in these ways: Labor Day has come and gone. In this election year, we the people now face a major challenge—a major challenge we'll continue to face going forward, in the years ahead.Our major party nominees also face challenges as the el … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024 Democracy dies in these ways: Labor Day has come and gone. In this election year, we the people now face a major challenge—a major challenge we'll continue to face going forward, in the years ahead. Our major party nominees also face challenges as the e … | Continue reading
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2024What Beban was like way back when: Forgive us for treating this as a holiday after another magnificent Pacific-10 win.We refer to Southern Cal's magnificent win over LSU last night. Joining that game to earlier losses by Florida and Texas A&M, we're remin … | Continue reading
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2024 What Beban was like way back when: Forgive us for treating this as a holiday after another magnificent Pacific-10 win. We refer to Southern Cal's magnificent win over LSU last night. Joining that game to earlier losses by Florida and Texas A&M, we're rem … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2024Though only on page A12: We didn't get what we requested—but what we got was a start.Once again, we refer to an (extensive) news report in the New York Times. Last Thursday, the report appeared online, beneath this dual headline:Trump Keeps Turning Up th … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 Though only on page A12: We didn't get what we requested—but what we got was a start. Once again, we refer to an (extensive) news report in the New York Times. Last Thursday, the report appeared online, beneath this dual headline: Trump Keeps Turning Up … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2024 ...its performance was an embarrassment: On Monday, August 19—the first day of the Democratic National Convention—CBS News was given the chance to conduct a brief interview with Candidate Donald J. Trump. The interview produced zero discussion. The reaso … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2024...its performance was an embarrassment: On Monday, August 19—the first day of the Democratic National Convention—CBS News was given the chance to conduct a brief interview with Candidate Donald J. Trump.The interview produced zero discussion. The reason … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2024But also, how vulgar and crass? In our view, the New York Times has taken a major step in the right direction with a lengthy, detailed report by Bensinger, Yourish and Gold. It starts to go where the rubber is meeting the road. Its dual headline says this: … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2024 But also, how vulgar and crass? In our view, the New York Times has taken a major step in the right direction with a lengthy, detailed report by Bensinger, Yourish and Gold. It starts to go where the rubber is meeting the road. Its dual headline says this: … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2024Also, Fox News goes there again: We hadn't heard of the interview until six days later.For reasons which would become obvious, the interview(s) in question hadn't been widely discussed. We heard about them on August 25, in this news report by the New York … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2024 Also, Fox News goes there again: We hadn't heard of the interview until six days later. For reasons which would become obvious, the interview(s) in question hadn't been widely discussed. We heard about them on August 25, in this news report by the New York … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2024Also, who is Karoline Leavitt? Years ago, we advanced the following dictum:It's all anthropology now.What did we mean by that? We meant there's no reason to expect a serious improvement in the national discourse. All that's left is the attempt to discern … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2024 Also, who is Karoline Leavitt? Years ago, we advanced the following dictum: It's all anthropology now. What did we mean by that? We meant there's no reason to expect a serious improvement in the national discourse. All that's left is the attempt to disce … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2024 His statement was perhaps just a tiny but under-reported: Major experts tend to agree: The distinguishing characteristic of our national discourse may be its "dullard" quality. So it was when guest host Pete Hegseth spoke up on The Ingraham Angle last ni … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2024...was he fatuous all the way down? Today, we'll reluctantly disagree with several things Jonathan Chait has said.Rather, we'll semi-disagree, on a provisional basis. The first two statements come in the passage shown below from Chait's new post for New … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2024 ...was he fatuous all the way down? Today, we'll reluctantly disagree with several things Jonathan Chait has said. Rather, we'll semi-disagree, on a provisional basis. The first two statements come in the passage shown below from Chait's new post for Ne … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2024 Cronkite then, a nightly garbage can now: Labor Day is drawing on fast. With it comes the apocryphal start of the general election campaign. Given the withdrawal of President Biden from the race, a special burden has been placed on American political jo … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2024Cronkite then, a nightly garbage can now: Labor Day is drawing on fast. With it comes the apocryphal start of the general election campaign.Given the withdrawal of President Biden from the race, a special burden has been placed on American political jour … | Continue reading