NYC Letter: Democrats In Charge IV

Day 657 of CHOPE

Something was wrong.

CROSS-TAB 19. Do you think things in this country (are generally going in the right direction) or do you feel things (have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track)?*

 
                Right     Wrong     No 
              direction   track   opinion  
10/28/10 LV      27        71        2
10/28/10 RV      27        71        2
1/16/09          19        78        3
LV = Likely voters; RV = Registered voters

Two years in, record spending, a "productive Congress", and CHOPE moves the needle seven points and still can't break 30%. [Pause.] Something was wrong.

Something was downright screwy.

McCONNELL TO FRANKEN: "THIS ISN'T SNL"

WASHINGTON August 6, 2010 (CBS NEWS) - Just before Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was confirmed yesterday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was making his case against her -- a case Democratic Sen. Al Franken seemed to find quite comical.

According to the Associated Press, Franken, who was presiding over the Senate at the time, whispered and made wild gestures as the minority leader laid out his argument. It was distracting enough that McConnell approached Franken afterward to say, "This isn't 'Saturday Night Live,' Al."

Franken, a former comedian who used to work on the late-night comedy show, immediately went to McConnell's office following Kagan's confirmation in an attempt to apologize, but McConnell wasn't there

Mr. Franken (D-MN) won election to the Senate with a .007% advantage in a recount.

"He's an American. He comes before the committee. He has a point of view. It can bring attention to an important issue like immigration. I think it's great.

Nancy "Sure Thing" Pelosi (D-CA, 8th),
soon to be outgoing speaker, remarking on
comedian Steven Colbert testifying in character
before the House Subcommittee on Immigration,
Refugees, and Border Security
WASHINGTON September 24, 2010 (CNN)

Mr. Colbert has his own antic television show. On this show he can testify in character to whatever. If his act contains some valuable legitimate insight on an issue, it can be read into the House record. Mr. Colbert appeared at the request of the committee chair, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA, 16th), who recently won re-election with 68% of her district's vote. Ms. Pelosi won re-election with 80% of the vote.

WHITE HOUSE DECLARES
'DAILY SHOW' INTERVIEW A SUCCESS

WASHINGTON October 29, 2010 (LAT) -At his daily briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs faced more questions about the president's "Daily Show" interview than any other topic. ... Reviews of Obama's appearance have been tough. A Washington Post columnist declared that "the joke was on President Obama," an assessment eagerly circulated by Republican officials.

Gibbs at times seemed perplexed at the obsession with the subject in the briefing room, reminding reporters it was just "a comedy show".

That's sort of the point, Bobby. What do they call it? [We search for the precise obfuscation.] Optics. The optics are wrong.

And we're absolutely positive it's the first time a network has put a sitting president in the position of immediately following a promo for its show "Pretend Time," in which two cherubic children see a "vomiting" bald-headed tiny man's "head" pop out from the zipper of a man's pants causing the children to shout happily, "Mr. Creepy!"

Nicely played, Comedy Central!

GEITHNER VISITED JON STEWART IN APRIL,
THOUGH NOT FOR LAUGHS

November 6, 2010 (Bloomberg) - In the midst of debates on financial regulation and China’s currency in April, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner sat down to discuss the U.S. economy -- with comedian Jon Stewart.

Geithner and Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” held an off-the-record meeting at Stewart’s office in New York on April 2, according to Geithner’s appointments calendar, updated through August on Treasury’s website.

Treasury spokesman Steve Adamske:

Jon Stewart is influential in America, so we took the opportunity for the two to meet and to discuss the economy.

Optics, Stevie. Op. Tics. It doesn't boost confidence in American fiscal management among big creditor nations to learn the Treasury secretary sought out a comedian to discuss the economy.

Finally, something to keep in mind the next time Joe "End Of The Road" Biden opens his mouth.

BIDEN ASKED OLBERMANN FOR ANGER ADVICE

November 6, 2010 (HuffPo) - In an interview conducted before his suspension from MSNBC, Keith Olbermann revealed that Vice President Joe Biden once asked him for tips on how to channel his anger.

Olbermann told the New York Times Magazine's Deborah Solomon that, when he was still in the Senate, Biden had "asked me for advice about how to turn anger into righteous inspiration."

Solomon: Joe Biden took you to lunch to ask you for tips on getting angry?

Olbermann: He said, 'I just come across like I'm angry and out of control, and you seem to focus it and make it look useful and expressive'.

Whatever Mr. Olbermann offered didn't take.

All these reports in isolation seem harmless ephemera. But added up they form a ground against which our government is seen. The take-away impression is that these are not serious people in government.

CHOPE.

The joke vote.

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* This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone October 25 to 28, 2010, among a random national sample of 1,202 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones. The results from the full survey and for the 1,015 registered voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points; it is four points for the sample of 786 likely voters. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.

Posted by Damian at November 9, 2010 03:00 AM