January 17, 2022

"Someone told me — it might have been you — that Harris is warm and funny in person. But she’s a lousy politician..."

"... and it showed when she flamed out of the Democratic primary before the Iowa caucus. Fixing the border is not mission impossible. It requires a mix of tough-minded security provisions of the sort past Democratic administrations were willing to put into place; ambitious legislative proposals to create broader avenues for legal immigration; a willingness to accept 'Remain in Mexico' as an interim policy provided we help the Mexican government ensure humane conditions for migrants; and long-term security and economic assistance for troubled Latin American states."

Said Bret Stephens to Gail Collins, in "Welcome to the ‘Well, Now What?’ Stage of the Story" (NYT).

Collins responds: "We could have an argument about some of your details, but it seems sort of silly to pick a fight over the administration’s position on Mexico when there doesn’t always seem to be one."

Silly? Why is that silly?! I'd say it's desperately serious, and it's ridiculous to allow the absence of a position to avoid the question whether it's possible to take a good position. 

Collins and Stephens do seem to agree that the Democrats need a 2024 candidate who is not Biden and not Harris. That is, Stephens excludes Biden and Harris, and Collins proceeds directly to sorting through the possible candidates. She names Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg. She says when she tried to remember the name Buttigieg, her brain served up the name Peter Bogdanovich. Stephens says his brain did a similar thing: He wanted to say Gina Raimondo, but his first grope for the name got him to Gina Lollobrigida.

 

There's some old-school politics for you.

116 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Gina Lollobrigida is still alive. She is 94.

Dave Begley said...

Secretary Pete is certainly running. He's glib and gay. A Fake News darling. And a total fucking failure.

I'll be ready for him next time in Iowa.

Scot said...

... a willingness to accept 'Remain in Mexico' as an interim policy provided we help the Mexican government ensure humane conditions for migrants.

Wait a tick ... does that mean we still gotta pay for Mexicans who want to slip across the border, even if they don't? I object.

Dave Begley said...

Gina is 94? I think she should run for President. Not an American citizen? Who cares? She's famous!

tim in vermont said...

In person, there is always the possibility of some kind of sexual interaction, none is too remote for consideration by the male of the species when a girl is pretty, she would be a fun friend at a party, probably, but she is in way over her head.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Biden asked for illegal entrants to roll in. Now they are.

Some of them are terrorists.
Many of them are drug and human traffickers.
Some of them have covid.

Trump wanted a secure border. Most Americans want that, too. But, sadly, the collective Left hate Trump, and Hate trumps security and reason.

Mike Sylwester said...

Why isn't Gavin Newsome an obvious candidate?

More obvious than, for example, Amy Klobuchar or Pete Buttigieg

retail lawyer said...

How bad a politician could Kamala be? California handily elected her to be a US Senator!

Iman said...

Dementia Joe and Veep Throat.

Run, Joe, run!

Ron Winkleheimer said...

The Biden admin is shipping illegal immigrants to red states. Their policy is open borders, they just don't want the rubes to be aware of it.

Sebastian said...

"Fixing the border is not mission impossible."

But no Dem wants to "fix" the border. Appointing Harris faux border czar makes the point.

"it seems sort of silly to pick a fight over the administration’s position on Mexico when there doesn’t always seem to be one."

It is silly. There is no position, which is the position. There is no point arguing. Dems don't want a "position." They want illegals to flood in.

"I'd say it's desperately serious"

What do you mean? You abstained in 2020. You had no problem with opening the border then. Why now?

"it's ridiculous to allow the absence of a position to avoid the question whether it's possible to take a good position"

The absence of a position is the position. Sure, they'll engage in some public handwringing to mollify nice women. But Dems want the border erased. What you call desperate is their plan for America.

Big Mike said...

Gina Lollobrigida is still alive. She is 94.

And probably still has a beautiful pair of eyes.

Temujin said...

Her 'silly' comment was a perfect illustration of why serious problems, really priority problems, we're staring at here in America should not be left to news and opinion writers in Manhattan, or lifelong bureaucrats in Washington D.C. Neither of them are the kind of people who make things happen. These are not action people. These are cocktail party attendees, where they can harumph and chuckle at those with actual actionable ideas that may not have come from a Princeton, Harvard, or Columbia grad.

We have somehow allowed ourselves to be lead, for years, by this cocktail party club. The results are in. It's not good.

By the way, the only person less qualified than Kamala Harris to run a shoe store, let alone the country, is Pete Buttigieg, who would have been tossed out of South Bend, IN had he not jumped into the national political game via his being married to another man. THAT, I would contend, was his only qualification to enter the Dem race last time. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But it doesn't qualify you for anything in and of itself.

Kevin said...

Not just the who but the what — a great slogan

As usual the Dem conversation revolves around the who. The Party is, at its core, a cult of personality.

Meanwhile the Reps are focused on Trump's positions, no matter what particular politician is attached.

They would literally vote for a President Bot who algorithmically enacted their preferred policies.

Paul said...

Butplug? No... not him. He is a lightweight with more baggage than an Amtrak train.

Honestly the Democrat Party has gone so far left the only real candidate is...

Manchin! And his running mate Senema!

hombre said...

Harris is warm and funny and QuidProJoe is a “decent human being.”

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery.....”

Mike Sylwester said...

Why isn't Gavin Newsome an obvious candidate?

On second thought, I figured out the answer to my own question.

Newsome is a white, heterosexual male.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

What is one to do with a problem like Kamala kompounding their problem with already having an idiot in the top slot and a crucial election season closing in like Trump’s mythical walls were said to do? What a delightful quandary and so much more interesting than the plot of any recent movie. Glad I went long on popcorn already!

tcrosse said...

The Big Money will probably go to someone who's thoroughly venal, which could only mean Hillary.

PB said...

No policy? I think Biden said it all when he said, "Come".

PB said...

Buttigieg is a key example of what rises in politics these days, and what rises in business these days, as he worked for McKinsey. Feckless but full of self-importance. "Do what I tell you to do even though I've never done it myself and would never do it myself."

Wince said...

I love that line from the movie trailer...

"The voluptuary of the perfumed bath."

Lurker21 said...

She says when she tried to remember the name Buttigieg, her brain served up the name Peter Bogdanovich. Stephens says he brain did a similar thing: He wanted to say Gina Raimondo, but his first grope for the name got him to Gina Lollobrigida.

#OurIdiotMedia

I must say, though, the more I see of today's politicians, the more I admire Yul Brynner's Pharaoh. Decisive. Didn't pass the buck. Couldn't part the waters, though. But it's not like Biden could do that either.

If Harris were your wacky friend with the messed-up life, you might enjoy having coffee with her when she was in town. I think we could manage that and her kooky cluelessness might be endearing. But she doesn't do that well on a public stage or in work situations.

And, you know, what I said about Harris is probably true of many politicians. Strip away all the trappings of office and get a politician in an informal situation, a situation where you are equals and neither wants anything or expects anything from the other, save a few minutes companionship, and you might like to have a beer with them. But the office and the work situation are who they are, or who they have become. Strip them away and a politician is no longer the same person.

So essentially, while it may be true that many politicians are human underneath, that's not really saying much. The humanness is way, way underneath, and in public matters we're looking for something more than our leaders being people we could have coffee with if by some good fortune they weren't our leaders.

Michael K said...

Buttplug is where he is for the same reason Harris is. Identity politics. It has nothing to do with competence.

Iman said...

“Why isn't Gavin Newsome an obvious candidate?

On second thought, I figured out the answer to my own question.

Newsome is a white, heterosexual male.”

…and a greasy mofo…

Rory said...

"Gina Lollobrigida is still alive."

As are Sophia, Claudia, Ursula, and Brigitte.

Ice Nine said...

>a willingness to accept 'Remain in Mexico' as an interim policy provided we help the Mexican government ensure humane conditions for migrants;<

Baloney! We have no obligation to ensure anything to these people - be they on our side of the border, or Mexico's. They are pure economic migrants, mainly coming here for the wanton largesse of Democrats buying their inevitable legal or illegal votes. For that matter, we should have no obligation to them if they were political refugees. We've been there and done that, showing no shortage of compassion, but that is so last century. Time to put an end to all this nonsense. Merit-based immigration and nothing else.

wendybar said...

The synagogue terrorists family is wondering how he was allowed to travel to America with his CRIMINAL RECORD!! They must not know of Joe Bidens Open Border!!! Everybody is welcomed with open arms and plenty of free stuff courtesy of the American people who they are trying to keep locked down!!! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10408425/Blackburn-terrorist-Brother-Faisal-Akram-blames-mental-health-struggles-shooters-actions.html

Tom Grey said...

Yul Brynner with hair!
Yuliy Borisovich Briner born 1920 in Vladivostok ...
After his father abandoned the family, Brynner's mother took him and his sister to China, then to Paris, where he played guitar and sang gypsy songs in Parisian nightclubs.

After a brief career as a trapeze artist in France, Brynner moved to the United States in 1941 and began acting with a touring company. He made his Broadway debut in Lute Sang in 1946.
...
Brynner's romantic life included four wives, actress Viriginia Gilmore, Chilean model Doris Kleiner, Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume and ballerina Kathy Lee, as well as numerous love affairs with such stars as Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford and Ingrid Bergman.

Far more interesting that '22 speculation on Dems in '24. (D-none of the above)

Lurker21 said...

Fixing the border is not mission impossible. It requires a mix of tough-minded security provisions of the sort past Democratic administrations were willing to put into place; ambitious legislative proposals to create broader avenues for legal immigration; a willingness to accept 'Remain in Mexico' as an interim policy provided we help the Mexican government ensure humane conditions for migrants; and long-term security and economic assistance for troubled Latin American states.

In other words, it means admitting Trump was right. But Bret Stephens isn't willing to do that any more than Biden is.

Also, do we really need to hear any more neocon girlie men telling us to be tough or tough-minded?

Buttplug

The fun goes out of political humor when you find out what you've been kidding about is actually true. The awkward silence when "Ha ha, you must be gay" meets "No, I really am gay." Harris jokes have a similar problem.

ColoComment said...

"...a mix of tough-minded security provisions of the sort past Democratic administrations were willing to put into place; ambitious legislative proposals to create broader avenues for legal immigration; a willingness to accept 'Remain in Mexico' as an interim policy...."

EXCUSE ME?

Whose administration was it that had those policies in place? Policies that were obstructed, delayed, and fought every step of the way by... which party?

M said...

Even in the midst of her total failure they still have to try to prop her up by saying she is “warm and funny”. I wonder how many of the people she kept unjustly incarcerated found her warm and funny?

I would say she is a psychopath but she does not have even superficial charm. Although knowing she is a woman of negotiable affections seems to give her some kind of charm to some men.

William said...

I watched the trailer. The audience really got its money's worth. Back in those days, before all the OSHA regulations, you could kill a few extras during the battle scenes. Gina Lollobrigida's costumes alone are worth the price of admission. How can a gown be that diaphanous and still remain oblique enough to get by the censors?....Yul Brynner's intense stare hasn't aged all that well, but Gina's moves are timeless. I like the way her name trips off the tongue. She has a very sensuous name.....

Ann Althouse said...

"I must say, though, the more I see of today's politicians, the more I admire Yul Brynner's Pharaoh."

He's Solomon in that movie.

There is also a Pharaoh — played by David Farrar.

tim in vermont said...

Quid Pro Joe and his Quid Pro Ho.

rehajm said...

Collins and Stephens do seem to agree that the Democrats need a 2024 candidate who is not Biden and not Harris

WTF are they talking about. Biden and Kamala are the best they have. The cream rose to the top in 2020. It was curdled cream and smelled of shit but no matter…

exhelodrvr1 said...

Oh, cool! As long as she is warm and funny in person, who cares if she is any good at her job, or ready to be President if something happens to Joe!

Howard said...

The DNC automatons can't win the presidency.

rehajm said...

Remember the border is going exactly the way Democrats wanted it to go. Exactly.

Yancey Ward said...

"In other words, it means admitting Trump was right. But Bret Stephens isn't willing to do that any more than Biden is."

Bedbug knows who signs his paychecks.

Jamie said...

"I think this Moses shall have been a fool."

"So it is written, so it shall be done."

And then as Solomon, with a Pharaoh present?

How many times was Brynner Pharaoh or Pharaoh-adjacent? A weird kind of typecasting?

Achilles said...

Bret Stephens and Gail Collins

Just two stupid people who got degrees in something and have leveraged that into thinking they are smarter than people who actually have skills and knowledge on the subjects they stupidly pontificate on.

Journalists are below average on any subject they talk about.

rehajm said...

and it showed when she flamed out of the Democratic primary before the Iowa caucus

I’m still trying to understand this statement.

Charlie said...

Have any of you ever heard Klobuchar screech her way through a campaign speech?

Yikes.

Amadeus 48 said...

La Lollo!

Light of my life...

rehajm said...

How it started: more than 80 million votes

How its going: @SpeakerPelosi is seriously considering this person to serve as the chairwoman of the Transportation Committee

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Collins responds: "We could have an argument about some of your details, but it seems sort of silly to pick a fight over the administration’s position on Mexico when there doesn’t always seem to be one."

Silly? Why is that silly?! I'd say it's desperately serious, and it's ridiculous to allow the absence of a position to avoid the question whether it's possible to take a good position.


Collins' comment was incredibly stupid, and you were exactly on point.

Not to have a policy is to have a policy, one of flailing around. If you can't criticize that, Collins, it's because you"re a dishonest hack who's completely in the tank for the Dems

Joe Smith said...

'Butplug? No... not him. He is a lightweight with more baggage than an Amtrak train.'

I'm a live and let live kind of guy.

I don't care what people do as long as I'm not forced to pay for it, so gays are fine with me.

In fact, Richard Grenell would make a fantastic president and I'd fully support him.

But photo ops of Mayor Pete and his schlubby hubby cuddling on the couch will NOT go over well with a lot of the country, and certainly not African Americans.

rehajm said...

The fact she’s VPOTUS is prima facia evidence she is a decent politician.

If you watched CBS Survivor in the early years you might recall there was this contestant, Parvarti or whatever her name was. Two time champion but she took shit for being a lousy competitor. ‘Rode the coattails’ of the men, they said.

Again, two time champion.

Michael said...

If you were charged with border security you would hop on the most excellent VP jet and head to Texas and you would spend the next two weeks touring westward until you reached San Diego. You would meet with land owners, ranchers, border patrol people, politicians. You would be on local TV. you would visit jails and holding facilities and speak to the incarcerated. You would fucking learn something. And you might end up getting to be president. But it was too much trouble. Better to look at root causes.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

What a great trailer! Gotta love the dance number at 2:00. Four people on one giant drum! Chariots! Women in metal underwear!

Josephbleau said...

" She says when she tried to remember the name Buttigieg, her brain served up the name Peter Bogdanovich."

My brain served up a mnemonic also, but it was not anyones's name.

Readering said...

When you could tell the censors, But it's straight out of the Book of Kings!

Chris Lopes said...

"Gina Lollobrigida's costumes alone are worth the price of admission."

Much like Liz Taylor in Cleopatra. A lady with a lush figure, in her prime, in costumes designed to never let you forget that fact. Yeah, I'd risk an empire to be with her too.

Tina Trent said...

Gail Collins is used to speaking with David Brooks, who still doesn't know it's not 1822. So at least this is a step closer.

The Clinton Borg is rolling. It will be Clinton/Buttigeig if polling says get a pajama boy to attract the substantial B.A.city planner/performance art types. Of course a black VP would be preferable, but it would be hard for Clinton to attract a black VP. Some people, like journalists, willfully forget this, but at the majority of his campaign stops, Obama wiped the floor with Clinton by telling the story of his purportedly racist white grandmother fearing being mugged at the bus stop.

(As she went to work daily to pay for his and his mother's globetrotting lifestyles, while he and his grandfather hung out smoking pot with that commie pornographer. Obama also lied about how he and Michelle bought their first mansion: racist white grandma paid for the two adult, purportedly employed Ivy League lawyers, as she lived out her days in a modest apartment and was then universally Mayella Euwelled by her mind-boggingly ingrate grandson).

Fred Drinkwater said...

Speaking as one who suffered through Newsome's vivid briefings, I think the dems won't choose him through simple self-preservation.
Have you LISTENED to the guy do an unscripted speech? Makes me want to tear my ears off. He's incapable of using one word where one hundred can be vomited out. I've never heard a better example of a guy who loves the sound of his own voice.

Big Mike said...

As Greg correctly puts it, not having a policy is actually a policy. Except that I’m going to argue that the Biden administration does have a policy, and not just on the border — it’s the petulant policy of “whatever Trump did we will do precisely the opposite.” They were forced by circumstances to reinstitute “remain in Mexico,” but on the whole they’d rather see tens of thousands of their citizens (voters!) suffer than admit that Trump may have actually done something right.

Andrew said...

Weren't there people saying things like that about Hillary when she ran against Obama, and then later when she ran against Trump?

"She is warm and funny in person."

"If only people knew what she was really like."

"She just needs to be her authentic self."

"She's actually very clever and witty, but it often doesn't come out in public."

Sometimes what you see is what you get. Sometimes, there's nothing there. No depth, no substance, no personality, no charisma. Nothing. Except for a lust for power.

Andrew said...

Weren't there people saying things like that about Hillary when she ran against Obama, and then later when she ran against Trump?

"She is warm and funny in person."

"If only people knew what she was really like."

"She just needs to be her authentic self."

"She's actually very clever and witty, but it often doesn't come out in public."

Sometimes what you see is what you get. Sometimes, there's nothing there. No depth, no substance, no personality, no charisma. Nothing. Except for a lust for power.

Big Mike said...

@Michael, my take is similar to yours, except that the goal of the show is not learn something. It is rather to create a show about learning and listening and doing something. She holds meetings. She listens attentively, maybe takes a few notes. Then she establishes a special blue ribbon commission to study the problems and make recommendations — except they won’t make any substantive recommendations (beyond spending money!). The problem for the administration is to bury the problem of the border. It’s kabuki theater and the script is well known. It’s a black mark against Harris that she couldn’t be bothered to follow it.

Ceciliahere said...

Warm and funny in person but a lousy politician. Isn’t this what they also said about Hillary?

Jefferson's Revenge said...

I have said this before- General Milley as the D Presidential candidate with a Stacy Abrams-ish VP. He's done everything he can to position himself as a sjw D and, to the D's, nominating a general makes them look serious, especially after Biden. He would be acceptable to the white suburban women who elected Biden and the D's may kid themselves that he would win some working class whites back. To me it's that or Hillary or Kerry. I am not familiar with any D governors who can be realistic contenders, unlike Whitmer who has no chance, but maybe I am missing someone. Colorado???

narciso said...

why so blue, good grief gabbard was the only one with any empathy, and personality, yes you bought this pig in a poke bret, collins is dowd without the spunk

madAsHell said...

Newsome is a white, heterosexual male.

Heterosexual?? I'm not so sure!!

MadisonMan said...

If you can't recall the actual names of people that you think should run for President, that tells me two things. (1) You should retire. (2) They are forgettable people and they won't win.

William said...

What's in a name: I'm sure Lollobrigida is is the Italian phrase for lovely bosom. Not much appeal with Klobuchar. Has a kind of Wagnerian ring. The Klobuchars were the squat, ugly warriors who guarded the chastity of the Rhine maidens. Buttigieg would be a good name for a Rhine maiden with a cute derriere, but it's an unfortunate name for a gay politician....Trump had a name that kind of fits his personality. Biden's name is too pensive and hesitant for its carrier. Nadler has already been taken. Perhaps he could go with Naddled, as in someone who thinks negative, confused thoughts.

narciso said...

no it isn't, california is just the most rotten borough

boatbuilder said...

Stephens wants to fix the border? Who knew?

His prescriptions are Donald Trump's; without the mean tweets, so they are OK, I guess.

Skeptical Voter said...

Groping for a name? Please leave the groping to Biden. He's good at that.

And Kamala Harris as a successful politician--because she was elected Senator by California? California has been a one party state for almost 30 years now--and if being elected Senator by California is a mark of distinction, I give you Barbara "Call Me Senator" Boxer.

Not to mention that somehow California keeps sending Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi back to Washington D.C.

JPS said...

I'm skeptical that Kamala Harris is warm and funny in person, and it's not because I disagree strongly with her politics.

I'm glad Walter Mondale didn't become president in 1984, but he seems to have been a wonderful fellow in person. Lots of people who'd worked for him in roles major or minor, worked for others but interacted with him, or just incidentally crossed paths with him, wanted to share their stories of how kind he was when he had no need to be. It was just who and how he was.

Then you have this anonymous staffer's characterization of the current VP:

“With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”

boatbuilder said...

Was your line about old-school politics referring to Solomon and Sheba--or Collins and Stephens?

PM said...

Mike Sylwester: "Newsome is a white, heterosexual male."

That's why he'll pick a gay person of color and any gender as a running mate.
As of right now, unfortunately, Newsom's the only Dem shot. He's telegenic and has a good voice. Plus, if he's in, Nancy can resign and just dictate what's what over a secure phone.

Lexington Green said...

"The voluptuary of the perfumed bath."

Do we have anyone today worthy to hold that title?

Iman said...

Tina Delgado… no, wait… Gina Lollobrigida is alive, alive!

gilbar said...

Pete Buttigieg??
So, the demos decided a while ago, that they don't need working class whites...
Now they're going to decide, that they don't need black male votes?

Seriously, Who are the black males that would vote for Pete Buttifuc?
I'm Not saying, that they shouldn't vote for him, i'm just pointing out; that they Won't

narciso said...

these people are as fake as can be, and you've signed on with them bret, with your orange man and bibi derangement

robother said...

Shameless Fertility Rites! Gina Lolla with metal bra! Yul Brynner with hair!

Even the Hollywood Code had to bow before the Old Testament. Lord only knows how much seed was spilled upon the ground that night.

Iman said...

Just smoking out the SoCal peeps what remember the late 60s and KHJ radio.

Sebastian said...

"avoid the question whether it's possible to take a good position"

Remind us, which of Trump's "positions" were not "good"? Which one motivated Althouse to abstain from voting for him?

In 2020, who trumped what. So it did in 2016. And in 2008.

Dems know nice women reject Trump. Therefore, they will try to avoid the taking of positions, to fake normalcy, and play up the anti-Trumpism, aided by the Donald himself.

But now they have a problem: even their target audience knows things are not normal, and that Dems don't care about looking "serious," and that Biden et al. are taking some positions, including by taking no position, that are actually, you know, kinda crazy.

In 2020 Joe could appeal to nice women by selling nice and normal. Now they know he is not nice. Since Harris is even less nice and less normal, and can't project being "serious" the way nice women like their pols to appear, she won't be able to corral the target voter. What to do? Focus on you-know-who. Plus all the raaacissssts.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

rehajm said...
"and it showed when she flamed out of the Democratic primary before the Iowa caucus"

I’m still trying to understand this statement.


You didn't connect it with the title? "Someone told me — it might have been you — that Harris is warm and funny in person. But she’s a lousy politician..."

Black female Senator for the biggest Democrat State in the Country, and she couldn't make it to the first competition of the Democrat Primary?

That's a truly lousy politician

walter said...

Blogger PB said...
No policy? I think Biden said it all when he said, "Come"
--

Flood the zone
Watch the guy recoil as Creepy Joe leans towards him.
Promises made, promises kept.

I do remember him using the term flood in a different speech, but didn't find it.

Drago said...

The same playbook used to "humanize" hillary by making up lies re: her "wonderful warmth and sense of humor" is now being deployed for kamalalalala.

And I am certain it will be every bit as "successful".

rcocean said...

If Biden wants Kamala to replace him prior to 2024, she will be the nominee. IMO, the plan is still for Biden to resign for "health reasons"prior to Jan 2024, and for Harris to be POTUS.

SteveWe said...

Behold! An incredibly hokey movie trailer.

rcocean said...

Tyrone was supposed to Solomon but died of a heart attack age 45. brynner replaced him. Yule certainly was an amazing actor. He credibly played a: Cowboy, Indian, Eygptian, Jew, Russian, German, Mexican, Cossak, Siamese and a Killer Robot.

Bruce Hayden said...

“But photo ops of Mayor Pete and his schlubby hubby cuddling on the couch will NOT go over well with a lot of the country, and certainly not African Americans.“

But when the LA and LB ports started backing up, and dozens of massive container ships were anchored off shore, waiting to unload, where was the Secretary of Transportation? Pictures of him, at home, on extended maternity leave, “nursing” their new kids. I am not a fan of gay PDA, but the “nursing” was just beyond the pale, when his job was supposed to be making sure our transportation systems were working.

That’s why he is unlikely to get the nomination, and even more unlikely to win the election. He’s an extreme lightweight. He was given power, responsibility, and a chance to show his stuff. Instead he went on maternity leave, and refused to cut it short, as shortages sprung up. He really hasn’t done anything since then either.

Of course, Kamala was given opportunity after opportunity to jump in and take charge. She too decided to go AWOL instead. Contrast that with Crooked Hillary as Secretary of State, under President Lightbringer. She apparently visited more countries, and looked more miles in the air, in one term, than any previous (or later) Secretary of State. Sure, she did very badly, and skimmed hundreds of millions of dollars, but she did work hard at the job.

The Vault Dweller said...

Imagine being a Democrat politician and having to run for president in 2024. Even assuming the best circumstances where Biden and Harris agree to not run for whatever reason they give the public, it is still incredibly difficult run from a position of I supported the Democrat president who was so awful at their job they didn't run again and yet said nothing the entire time. They would have to distance themselves from Biden/Harris which means either dramatically moderating their policies or moving to a more extreme left-wing position. If they move one way they lose the left if they move the other they lose the middle. And when it comes to stepping down something tells me Kamala Harris is not the kind of person to go gently into that good night. Kamala lacks many qualities but ambition is not one of them. But many of the talking heads seem to have emotionally accepted that neither Joe Biden nor Kamala Harris have any reasonable hope of winning in 2024. That being said all this could change if the 2022 midterms turn out more favorably for the Democrats than many expect.

Narayanan said...

I admire all this pretending about winning elections when unspoken issue is "not possible to convincingly deliver 81 million votes again"

Jupiter said...

"Fixing the border is not mission impossible."

It is if the people charged with doing it think the border is working just fine.

Rollo said...

People usually find politicians they agree with warm, personable, winning and human. They think that the politicians are sincere and that their jokes are funny. All that is even more true when one is in the same room with the politician. Even if the politician is completely charmless, intimacy and immediacy and the feeling that one is privileged to be that close to power cast a spell and create a charm. If you don't agree with the politician, none of that is true.

gilbar said...

A Saturday post made by the Michigan Democrats on their official Facebook page said...
"The purpose of public education in public schools is teach them what society needs them to know, not to teach kids what parents want them to be taught..."
he Michigan Democratic Party’s post continued "The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public."


It's times like these, that i (Almost!) miss the days when we had some alcoholic Michigan liberal that would drunkenly defend the crazy stuff his democrat masters would say.
Almost

D.D. Driver said...

"Remind us, which of Trump's "positions" were not "good"?"

Oooooh! Oooooh! My turn!

Howzabout handing out endless welfare check to people who didn't need them leading to runaway inflation. Am I the only one who remembers that Lame Duck Trump got in a pissing match with his own party for not forking over even BIGGER welfare checks? Oh, I'm sorry, "stimulus checks." Does that count? Or does it only count when the Dems do it?

Howzabout a national eviction moratorium backdoored through the Centers for Disease Control? Does that count? Or does that only count when Dems do it?

Howzabout pushing through a boondoggle that took homes from families and gave them over to Taiwanese con-artists? Looking at him with his shovel! Mr. "Art of The Deal" got worked over by a company whose very name is "Fox" + "Con." Nice deal! (For the Taiwanese, that is). Does that count?

Mason G said...

"Just smoking out the SoCal peeps what remember the late 60s and KHJ radio."

Robert W. Morgan... Charlie Tuna... Humble Harve... The Real Don Steele...

Boss Radio- yeah, I remember.

Mason G said...

"The purpose of public education in public schools is teach them what society needs them to know, not to teach kids what parents want them to be taught..."

Or, in plain English...

"The purpose of government education in government schools is teach them what government needs them to know, not to teach kids what parents want them to be taught..."

Amadeus 48 said...

The first name that comes to mind when I fish for Buttigieg is Buttafuoco. Mayor Pete and Joey.

Yech.

Narayanan said...

Yule certainly was an amazing actor. He credibly played a: Cowboy, Indian, Eygptian, Jew, Russian, German, Mexican, Cossak, Siamese and a Killer Robot.
-----------
Yul was very fluid complextionally as far as Hollywood and audience was concerned.

did he do any Shakespeare?

narciso said...

I'm reminded of Rick Blaine's line 'I came for the waters,' mssier there are no waters in cassablanca

mikee said...

Norma Rae also is reputed to have given great BJs, but she could act. What political skill has Harris ever demonstrated?

Scotty, beam me up... said...

@3:47 pm gilbar said...
A Saturday post made by the Michigan Democrats on their official Facebook page said...
"The purpose of public education in public schools is teach them what society needs them to know, not to teach kids what parents want them to be taught..."
he Michigan Democratic Party’s post continued "The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public."

Apparently, the Pony Express has yet to bring the news to the Michigan Democrats from Virginia that a similar statement by Terry McAuliffe from five months ago cost him free room and board at the Virginia governor’s mansion for the next four years 2 1/2 months ago. Hopefully the same outcome in Virginia happens in the next Michigan gubernatorial election.

Lawrence Person said...

Democrats have no policy to control the border because they don't want to control the border. They need an endless supply of unassimilated illegal aliens to amnesty as new Democratic Party voters and as additional clientele for welfare state polices that provide the main conduit of graft for the hard left.

Mason G said...

"Apparently, the Pony Express has yet to bring the news to the Michigan Democrats from Virginia..."

It would also appear that Michigan Democrats are somehow making a distinction between "parents" and "society". Probably confusing them with terrorists, what with their concern for how/what their kids are being taught by their betters, I'd guess.

Ann Althouse said...

“ Was your line about old-school politics referring to Solomon and Sheba--or Collins and Stephens?”

The former

Big Mike said...

That’s why [Pete Buttigieg] is unlikely to get the nomination, and even more unlikely to win the election.

@Bruce Hayden, much as I appreciate your trenchant analyses, there is a more fundamental reason why he will not get the nomination, or if he does, he will not win.

When he was mayor of South Bend his black constituents hated him. They felt he did not respect the black community. The new media might try their best to suppress that information, but in the event that Buttigieg is nominated the Republican candidate running against him will make damned sure it gets out.

narciso said...

Lizard lady, is going to lizard, see how her lieutenant nessel, dropped all charges about the flint water crisis, how she probably killed 20,000 in nursing homes, it's totes fine,

Michael K said...

Howzabout handing out endless welfare check to people who didn't need them leading to runaway inflation.

As usual, DD has his presidents mixed up.

wildswan said...

In Re Kamala

She won't be the nominee in 2024 if they can't use her now to replace Biden. And they can't use her now. Kamala is regarded with such horror by good Dems I know that Hillary was dug up and "fixed up" the way the undertaker fixes up the face of a corpse and sent out as a designated replacement. But she's already been sent back to wherever she was before. The problem is simple: the Dem candidate must hate America to be acceptable to the left, while also being acceptable to a majority of Americans who are center-right and love their country; the candidate must be competent without any record of any achievement; the candidate must be a victim but a leader. Watching Dems try to run under their current rules is like watching movies of soldiers trying to run across the battlefields of the Somme under German machine gun fire. It can't be done but the soldiers don't know it and they keep trying. If the candidates weren't Dems and calling me racist and terrorist with every other breath they take, I'd pity them.

PM said...

"Just smoking out the SoCal peeps what remember the late 60s and KHJ radio."
Robert W. Morgan... Charlie Tuna... Humble Harve... The Real Don Steele...
Boss Radio- yeah, I remember.

Thanks, boys. That's what made Quentin's "OUAT...in Hollywood" so delightful. Especially being in El Coyote again.

Gunner said...

Boo these people.

Rollo said...

Being a White guy wouldn't disqualify Newsom from being the nominee. But Kamala would have to self-destruct or withdraw. He can't be seen as forcing her out.

Klobuchar is also a possibility -- a New Mondale For The New Century -- come to think of it, the old Mondale is still alive and probably not busy.

If Sinema or Gabbard runs, it could be interesting.

Jupiter said...

"Collins and Stephens do seem to agree that the Democrats need a 2024 candidate who is not Biden and not Harris."

Biden and Harris were both specifically chosen for their abject malleability. Neither one of them has ever held a position he was not willing to abandon in an instant if instructed to do so. So what these two navel-gazing Democrat apologists are saying is that the Democrats need to find a candidate who has not yet been diagnosed with the Democrat disease.

Jupiter said...

Kamala Harris is a stupid whore. The one thing she has ever done well is suck cock. Collins is probably jealous.

Joe Biden, in his prime, was a perennial Senator from a State distinguished primarily by the facility with which its statutes service large corporations. In his prime.

I doubt that Stephens is jealous of Joe Biden. But he has made his bed, and apparently it contains Gail Collins. Lie in it, Bret.

~ Gordon Pasha said...

Brenner was a marvelous gentleman. Met him in the late 70’s in St Louis, a revival of the King and I. I advised him to quit smoking, you know the rest.

Bunkypotatohead said...

The problem is we need political leaders who are not politicians.
We need the opposite of politicians. But how do you get people with no interest in money or power elected?

Mutaman said...

"But, sadly, the collective Left hate Trump, and Hate trumps security and reason."(sic)

Seems like a lot on the right hate Trump too-
"EXCLUSIVE: Trump is demanding to know Ron DeSantis’s booster status, and I can now reveal it. He was a loyal booster when Trump ran in 2016, but then he learned our president was a liar and con man whose grift was permanent. I hope that clears things up."

Ann Colter
1/17/22

Stephen St. Onge said...

wendybar said...
The synagogue terrorists family is wondering how he was allowed to travel to America with his CRIMINAL RECORD!!
_______________________
        That's simple.  He filled out an online form, and in it he lied and said he had no criminal record.  It is standard procedure that NO ONE CHECKS these forms against data bases, so here there he was.

        For further information, ask the White House, State Dept. and Justice Dept. about the procedures and the reasons for them.

D.D. Driver said...

As usual, DD has his presidents mixed up.

As usual, Trumpers bury their heads in the sand and deny reality when faced with facts. Trump started the endless welfare checks that have led to runaway inflation. He fought for even BIGGER checks but McConnell had at least some backbone and told Trump enough is enough. But, the endless "stimulus" checks were Trumps idea. Biden picked up Trump's baton and ran with it. And now, here we are.

The greatest trick Trump pulled was convincing his followers that stealing private property and bribing voters with welfare checks is a "conservative" position. Trumpers are big government, welfare queen, eminent domain loving, private property hating RINOs.