Sunday, May 16, 2010
Oh, The Humanity! Cartoon Peggy Noonan Meets the Press
I am fairly certain that Peggy Noonan is not a human being. She is a cartoon character, a Hanna-Barbera inspiration miscast as a political analyst, which, in cartoon-land, must be something like living in hell.
To deserve such a severe fate, Noonan the cartoon character must have committed some kind of cartoonish crime, like not breaking into tiny pieces when hit with an anvil, or not churning her legs at whipsaw speed before actually running, or, and I believe this was cartoon Noonan's crime, acting too much like a human being.
In cartoon-land, of which I know little, acting too human is probably cause for erasure, but Noonan somehow survived the wrong end of the pencil and lives on in our human environment, somehow. And the Sunday news shows love her. Usually reserved for ABC (that network owned and operated by a cartoon mouse), she suddenly popped up this week on Meet the Press. Could it be that Peggy has been banished from cartoon-land or did she somehow leap off the page and land in the lap of some enterprising publicist?
Whatever the case, the penciler did a masterful job of superimposing Peggy's cartoon image onto the MTP set. I must say, you could barely detect the normal flickering cartoon movements, though one cameraman or show producer is going to be fired for showing the blank stares of the other columnists while she was (supposedly) talking. Bob Shrum, Mike Murphy and Jonathan Alter were variously shown staring vacuously into space during some of Peggy's voice-overs, like she wasn't really there at all! I think they got Julia Louis Dreyfus to do Peggy's vocal work. Nice job, but keep the camera on the cartoon next time, guys.
Peggy the cartoon-character limped through the discussion without making any salient points, which, you've got to believe, is the point of her being on the air in the first place. The networks have long-believed that the American public can't handle the truth. That's why they have roundtable discussions with people (and cartoon characters) who don't matter. They spout gibberish, which is just peachy-perfect for Peggy.
For instance, when moderator David Gregory asked her about Obama and leadership, prodding her to compare him to Reagan - something she simply could and would never do - she said, "the President seems different from his party," about as profound a pronouncement as a cartoon character could utter.
When asked about the upcoming Senate Judiciary confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kegan, Peggy conjured up images of Robert Bork being hanged (more about that below), but must have done some Googling before the show as she made a reference that "Oliver Wendell Holmes would not be confirmed today." That's a dubious call, though Peggy gets credit for bringing up the obscure and opaque.
On anti-incumbency, another topic about which Peggy knows nothing, adding to the case that she's not really human, Gregory called on her to dissect the Arkansas democratic race, where Blanche Lincoln faces a tough primary. Peggy, always aiming for a cheap shot on the president, said, "he stiffed her," and added that Lincoln "does not have the part of the party which needs to be on fire, on fire."
Note to Peggy: Your hair is burning!
After chuckling though MTP, I needed a little more convincing, so I checked for Peggy's latest writings and, sure enough, she didn't disappoint.
What has me convinced that Peggy is actually a cartoon character gone rogue is that she writes opinion columns for the Wall Street Journal, the paper owned by that bastion of fairness and equanimity, Rupert Murdoch, who, over the years, has morphed into a caricature of himself.
I was happy to find Peggy's most recent column in the Journal, which was promoted on line with the tag: "Noonan: The Lamest Show on Earth" complete with comic strip picture.
I thought when they mentioned "lame" the Journal editors were talking about Peggy. Alas, the column was about the coming Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, to whom Peggy swiftly, and without explanation, applied the "liberal" tag. But, that's just Peggy's way of keeping close ties to her dead hero, Ronald Reagan, and continue her 23-year lament for Robert Bork.
A few of Peggy's choice lines from her current monograph (with my comments):
"Ms. Kagan needs and deserves a tough and spirited grilling..." - of course. She's a liberal, after all. (This is just Peggy's first instruction to the Senate.)
"...even dead trees have a place in the forest." - obvious reference to Reagan.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee in 1987 took everything Judge Bork had ever said or written, ripped it from context, wove it into a rope, and flung it across his shoulders like a hangman's noose." - keep the flame alive, Peggy!
"There should be and needs to be a vigorous, rigorous grilling of Ms. Kagan." - Second call. All aboard!
"his [chief justice John Roberts] testimony was among the more lucid of recent years." - shamelessly self-serving.
"It would be nice if Ms. Kagan were given the opportunity and responsibility to answer tough, clear, direct questions." - strike three, Peggy. You're out.
I used to think that Peggy Noonan was a vampire, released from the crypt following a 20-year, post-Reagan snooze, but she's too old and silly and girly to be a vamp. She's a cartoon character, I'm totally sure.
Labels: Meet the Press, Peggy Noonan
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Meet the Press Scripted: Political Discourse is Dead
A few weeks ago, on my blog which focuses mainly on economic issues, Money Daily, I coined the term, Post-Government Era, to describe the public backlash at increasingly overwhelming government control, dictates and policy. Already, a number of instances of the backlash have surfaced on the public landscape - various "tea party" protests, the indictment of six upstate New York lawyers who failed to file state income taxes, and a slow trickle of civil disobedience actions from Bangor to Phoenix running across the political and demographic plains of America have confirmed that regular Americans are fed up with the burdens of massive federal, state and local government, their regulations, taxes and attitudes.
On Sunday's "Meet the Press" the government's response was clear in a well-scripted and rehearsed "interview" between host David Gregory and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The discourse began with a basic economics lesson, complete with charts and graphics, explaining how "securitization" works and how it is essential to the smooth functioning of the American banking system. Following that little treatise, Geithner and Gregory continued - at a pace which allowed for no follow-up or intellectual inquiry - on to another instructional session on why Geithner's Public-Private Investment Partnership (PPIP) to get the toxic (securitized) assets off the books of the nation's largest banks (BofA, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, et.al.) is the "best" solution for investors, bankers and the general public.
This trite, insipid attempt at justifying spending trillions in taxpayer money to keep the structurally-flawed mega-banking system afloat also included a terse reply by Geithner to NY Times economics opinion writer Paul Krugman (also a Nobel Prize winner) criticism that the Geithner plan was just a rehash of former Secretary Paulson's bad bank ideas with new frills, gee-gaws, bells and whistles.
Geithner's response was so forgettable and lame - and quick - that I actually forgot what he said. Nonetheless, it was pure gibberish and Krugman, who carries water for nobody, is still correct and in good company. As with the previous administration, this one, the one which promised to work from the "bottom up", is surely continuing the policies that got us to this point, with a "top down" approach that favors banks over individuals, institutions over individuals and protecting the status quo over real, fundamental change.
By this dumbed-down, completely-scripted interchange, it's become more than obvious that the press is on board with the administration and the overall dictates of the massive federal system. To take the nation's most widely-watched Sunday talk show and turn it into an infomercial for federal financial reconstruction is more than pure fascism at its unholy worst, it is nearly a return to feudalism, replete with all the trappings of monarchy, class structure and mostly, dictates from the pulpit of officialism, with the formerly-free press serving as a megaphone for the federal government.
To make matters worse, Meet the Press continued the charade with, instead of the usual roundtable discussion, the discussion continued with the inarticulate and largely-emasculated John McCain (drill, baby, drill), to prepare the nation for the "blood and treasure" losses about to be sustained in Afghanistan and at the Mexican border.
Americans have had their minds warped by years of inappropriate Bush doctrines and their savings eroded by globalization and the banking and stock market meltdown. Whether the public is ready for the reinstitution of "perpetual war," further erosion in their individual rights and economic freedom and total control by the distasteful characters in congress and on Wall Street is not in doubt. We have been primed and readied for the final assault on the middle class: extreme taxation, political unaccountability and a widening of the police state structure.
We are ready. Most - those who haven't already - will submit to the feudal federal will. Those with a smattering of grey matter still between the ears will either flee or fight. The runners will be stopped at the border or banished to outliers not of their choosing. Those who stand and fight will likely be slaughtered by the hand and the gun paid for by their very own labor and taxes. And, with the rapid destruction of the nation's newspapers, the press is being downsized along with the expectations of Americans.
We are a lost nation now. Democracy is merely a facade by which the government can continue to con the public into a false belief that America is good, and free, and just - somethings it hasn't been in many years. There are only two ways America can proceed: we will either submit and suffer, or reject and repel the forces of government. With the mainstream media firmly on the government's side, the odds are set against us.
This is not a partisan issue pitting Democrats against Republicans. Rather, it is the purest of class struggles, with the tiny-by-number but great-in-power ruling elite of Washington, Wall Street and the media against 300 million regular folks, armed to the teeth not with pitchforks and torches, guns and ammo, but with cunning, wit, deception and non-compliance.
In the words of the worst American president in history: Bring it on.
On Sunday's "Meet the Press" the government's response was clear in a well-scripted and rehearsed "interview" between host David Gregory and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The discourse began with a basic economics lesson, complete with charts and graphics, explaining how "securitization" works and how it is essential to the smooth functioning of the American banking system. Following that little treatise, Geithner and Gregory continued - at a pace which allowed for no follow-up or intellectual inquiry - on to another instructional session on why Geithner's Public-Private Investment Partnership (PPIP) to get the toxic (securitized) assets off the books of the nation's largest banks (BofA, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, et.al.) is the "best" solution for investors, bankers and the general public.
This trite, insipid attempt at justifying spending trillions in taxpayer money to keep the structurally-flawed mega-banking system afloat also included a terse reply by Geithner to NY Times economics opinion writer Paul Krugman (also a Nobel Prize winner) criticism that the Geithner plan was just a rehash of former Secretary Paulson's bad bank ideas with new frills, gee-gaws, bells and whistles.
Geithner's response was so forgettable and lame - and quick - that I actually forgot what he said. Nonetheless, it was pure gibberish and Krugman, who carries water for nobody, is still correct and in good company. As with the previous administration, this one, the one which promised to work from the "bottom up", is surely continuing the policies that got us to this point, with a "top down" approach that favors banks over individuals, institutions over individuals and protecting the status quo over real, fundamental change.
By this dumbed-down, completely-scripted interchange, it's become more than obvious that the press is on board with the administration and the overall dictates of the massive federal system. To take the nation's most widely-watched Sunday talk show and turn it into an infomercial for federal financial reconstruction is more than pure fascism at its unholy worst, it is nearly a return to feudalism, replete with all the trappings of monarchy, class structure and mostly, dictates from the pulpit of officialism, with the formerly-free press serving as a megaphone for the federal government.
To make matters worse, Meet the Press continued the charade with, instead of the usual roundtable discussion, the discussion continued with the inarticulate and largely-emasculated John McCain (drill, baby, drill), to prepare the nation for the "blood and treasure" losses about to be sustained in Afghanistan and at the Mexican border.
Americans have had their minds warped by years of inappropriate Bush doctrines and their savings eroded by globalization and the banking and stock market meltdown. Whether the public is ready for the reinstitution of "perpetual war," further erosion in their individual rights and economic freedom and total control by the distasteful characters in congress and on Wall Street is not in doubt. We have been primed and readied for the final assault on the middle class: extreme taxation, political unaccountability and a widening of the police state structure.
We are ready. Most - those who haven't already - will submit to the feudal federal will. Those with a smattering of grey matter still between the ears will either flee or fight. The runners will be stopped at the border or banished to outliers not of their choosing. Those who stand and fight will likely be slaughtered by the hand and the gun paid for by their very own labor and taxes. And, with the rapid destruction of the nation's newspapers, the press is being downsized along with the expectations of Americans.
We are a lost nation now. Democracy is merely a facade by which the government can continue to con the public into a false belief that America is good, and free, and just - somethings it hasn't been in many years. There are only two ways America can proceed: we will either submit and suffer, or reject and repel the forces of government. With the mainstream media firmly on the government's side, the odds are set against us.
This is not a partisan issue pitting Democrats against Republicans. Rather, it is the purest of class struggles, with the tiny-by-number but great-in-power ruling elite of Washington, Wall Street and the media against 300 million regular folks, armed to the teeth not with pitchforks and torches, guns and ammo, but with cunning, wit, deception and non-compliance.
In the words of the worst American president in history: Bring it on.
Labels: Meet the Press, Post-Government Era, Timothy Geithner
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Sunday Talk Shows Scorecard - January 7
Notes on the Shows: As the shows mostly continue to give the Republican administration equal time concerning Iraq, it's become clear to almost everyone (with the notable possibility of NBC's Tim Russert) that important policy decisions are going to be made by the Congress.
Once again, we see that the only network that really "gets it" is the one built on the back of a cartoon mouse, ABC. George Stephanopoulos, the show producers and his panelists seem to have a much better handle on the public mood and have lately been choosing more guests with progressive agendas than the other networks. The show comes across as more thoughtful, better organized and more in the public interest.
What's become evident in the undercurrent of debate is that the president's administration is spoiling for a Constitutional showdown with the Congress and the Iraq "surge" policy will be its centerpiece. By promoting a policy (supposedly to be announced this week) that is at odds with the wishes of the majority of American people and the Congress, the president isn't fomenting a strategy for a realistic end to the conflict, but more of a continuation of it.
Bush's actions, as we have seen repeatedly, have an ulterior motive and that has been and is always an assault on the Constitution and a push for unitary executive power. Such an assault will drive the Congress towards more investigations and hearings concerning the use - and abuse - of presidential power. The response from Congress will be (and it should have been in the previous Congresses) to protect the Constitution and the co-equal power of the legislative branch.
January 7 Sunday Talk Shows Scorecard
Week 9 - January 7
*Total of progressive/Democrat guests to total # of guests.
**Total percentage of shows beginning with Sunday, November 12.
Chart updated weekly each Sunday.
How well are the Sunday News Talk shows presenting the progressive/Democratic point-of-view?
We look at the guests each show offers and award them a point for every one that is either an elected Democrat or shares the values of the progressive left and a zero for every one that does not. Generally, Democratic party guests get a 1; Republicans and all others, a zero.
Once again, we see that the only network that really "gets it" is the one built on the back of a cartoon mouse, ABC. George Stephanopoulos, the show producers and his panelists seem to have a much better handle on the public mood and have lately been choosing more guests with progressive agendas than the other networks. The show comes across as more thoughtful, better organized and more in the public interest.
What's become evident in the undercurrent of debate is that the president's administration is spoiling for a Constitutional showdown with the Congress and the Iraq "surge" policy will be its centerpiece. By promoting a policy (supposedly to be announced this week) that is at odds with the wishes of the majority of American people and the Congress, the president isn't fomenting a strategy for a realistic end to the conflict, but more of a continuation of it.
Bush's actions, as we have seen repeatedly, have an ulterior motive and that has been and is always an assault on the Constitution and a push for unitary executive power. Such an assault will drive the Congress towards more investigations and hearings concerning the use - and abuse - of presidential power. The response from Congress will be (and it should have been in the previous Congresses) to protect the Constitution and the co-equal power of the legislative branch.
January 7 Sunday Talk Shows Scorecard
Week 9 - January 7
| Show | Guests | Score | WeeKTotal | Cum. Total* | Cum. %** |
| Meet the Press (NBC) | SenatorsJoe Biden (D) & Lindsey Graham (R) | 1 | 1-2 | 6-22 | 27.27 |
| Fox News Sunday (FOX) | House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R) | 1 | 1-2 | 11-26 | 42.31 |
| This Week (ABC) | Reps. David Obey (D), Henry Waxman (D), Charles Rangel (D), former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft (R) | 3 | 3-4 | 14-26 | 53.85 |
| Face the Nation (CBS) | Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) | 1 | 1-1 | 7-18 | 38.89 |
| Total for week, all shows | all guests | 6 | 6-9 | 38-92 | 41.30 |
*Total of progressive/Democrat guests to total # of guests.
**Total percentage of shows beginning with Sunday, November 12.
Chart updated weekly each Sunday.
How well are the Sunday News Talk shows presenting the progressive/Democratic point-of-view?
We look at the guests each show offers and award them a point for every one that is either an elected Democrat or shares the values of the progressive left and a zero for every one that does not. Generally, Democratic party guests get a 1; Republicans and all others, a zero.
Labels: ABC, CBS, Fox News, Meet the Press, Nancy Pelosi, Sunday talk shows
Sunday, December 17, 2006
NBC's very own Grinch on Meet The Press
After hearing that Meet the Press was having Newt Gingrich on as their "exclusive" guest this week, I couldn't wait to see the show before firing off another note to the redoubtable Mr. Russert and the show's producers. Following is the unedited (and unvarnished) email to the show:
Dear Mr. Russert, executive producer Betsy Fischer and producers Michelle Jaconi and Rebecca Samuels:
Are you really as out-of-touch as you seem or are you just jealous that you don't have your own Grinch and needed Gingrich to take up your air and scare the little kids that may be watching?
Is Mr. Gingrich, who resembles the famous Dr. Seuss character, the "Grinch" in ways that cannot be measured by appearance alone, really the best guest you could find this week?
While it may be the case that Mr. Gingrich suffers - like the Grinch - from having too small a heart (the size comparison usually reserved for other Republican bodily parts such as the brain or certain "unmentionables"), those of us on the progressive front have noted a certain lack of relevance in the former Speaker's message and some distance and departure from the reality-based community.
It is noticeable (and ironic) that Mr. Gingrich has not held public office since 1998, but still thinks he's a viable voice for conservative politics. The notion that he's entertaining a run for the presidency would be humorous if it were not the case that he's taking it so seriously. There's a reason he's been out of public office for 8 years - he can't get enough people vote for him to win even a local election.
The problem with Newt may be that his heart is not too small, but that his head is too big - inflated, as the case may be, with the tantalizing notion of possibly becoming the most powerful man in the world. Yes, he's scary all right, but we're not living in Whoville, or Kansas, for that matter.
Maybe all other suitable politicians were out of town, too busy preparing for the upcoming 110th Congress, or had made holiday plans with their families, like most normal people. If that's the case, Newt Gingrich could be considered a solid choice, since he's not much of a "real" family man, having already been married three times (I can't wait to hear him fulminate over values and morals).
Speaking of available guests, Condi Rice (single) was probably looking for something to do this weekend. Why not her? She's proven to be completely ineffective in every office to which she's been appointed. As National Security Advisor she watched and did nothing on 9/11/2001 and as Secretary of State she's overseen the unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the horror of Darfur and the Israeli bombing of Lebanon just this year. In keeping with your mantra of irrelevance, she seems the perfect pre-holiday guest.
Maybe you and your bosses at NBC just want to continue down the path of becoming less and less relevant to your dwindling viewership. If that's the case, you're doing a bang up job. Mr. Gingrich provides just the kind of peripheral doddering that makes your show so singularly nauseating.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year!
Rick Gagliano
Publisher, Downtown Magazine
Thought Puh-leeze
http://thoughtpuh-leeze.blogspot.com
Dear Mr. Russert, executive producer Betsy Fischer and producers Michelle Jaconi and Rebecca Samuels:
Are you really as out-of-touch as you seem or are you just jealous that you don't have your own Grinch and needed Gingrich to take up your air and scare the little kids that may be watching?
Is Mr. Gingrich, who resembles the famous Dr. Seuss character, the "Grinch" in ways that cannot be measured by appearance alone, really the best guest you could find this week?
While it may be the case that Mr. Gingrich suffers - like the Grinch - from having too small a heart (the size comparison usually reserved for other Republican bodily parts such as the brain or certain "unmentionables"), those of us on the progressive front have noted a certain lack of relevance in the former Speaker's message and some distance and departure from the reality-based community.
It is noticeable (and ironic) that Mr. Gingrich has not held public office since 1998, but still thinks he's a viable voice for conservative politics. The notion that he's entertaining a run for the presidency would be humorous if it were not the case that he's taking it so seriously. There's a reason he's been out of public office for 8 years - he can't get enough people vote for him to win even a local election.
The problem with Newt may be that his heart is not too small, but that his head is too big - inflated, as the case may be, with the tantalizing notion of possibly becoming the most powerful man in the world. Yes, he's scary all right, but we're not living in Whoville, or Kansas, for that matter.
Maybe all other suitable politicians were out of town, too busy preparing for the upcoming 110th Congress, or had made holiday plans with their families, like most normal people. If that's the case, Newt Gingrich could be considered a solid choice, since he's not much of a "real" family man, having already been married three times (I can't wait to hear him fulminate over values and morals).
Speaking of available guests, Condi Rice (single) was probably looking for something to do this weekend. Why not her? She's proven to be completely ineffective in every office to which she's been appointed. As National Security Advisor she watched and did nothing on 9/11/2001 and as Secretary of State she's overseen the unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the horror of Darfur and the Israeli bombing of Lebanon just this year. In keeping with your mantra of irrelevance, she seems the perfect pre-holiday guest.
Maybe you and your bosses at NBC just want to continue down the path of becoming less and less relevant to your dwindling viewership. If that's the case, you're doing a bang up job. Mr. Gingrich provides just the kind of peripheral doddering that makes your show so singularly nauseating.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year!
Rick Gagliano
Publisher, Downtown Magazine
Thought Puh-leeze
http://thoughtpuh-leeze.blogspot.com
Labels: Christmas, Grinch, media, Meet the Press, Newt Gingrich, presidential politics
