October 17, 2024

Getting testy.

 

Why "testy"? Of course, I don't believe these writers independently arrived at the same word. I presume they got the same message. But still, the message-writer chose that word, so the word is important, albeit not as important as it would have been if these characters had all determined on their own that "testy" was the mot juste.

"Testy" might make you think of testicle, but the etymology is a word for head — "teste." Think "headstrong." An obsolete meaning — I'm reading the OED — is "Of headstrong courage; impetuous; precipitate, rash." But the current meaning is: "Prone to be irritated by small checks and annoyances; impatient of being thwarted; resentful of contradiction or opposition; irascible, short-tempered, peevish, tetchy, 'crusty.'"

That's not very presidential! 

Not everyone decided she was testy. Mark Cuban wrote (on X): "The beautiful thing about the @BretBaier interview is that @KamalaHarris understood and responded to each question. She used examples of policies. She gave real world context. When Brett went hard after her. She didn’t call him names. She didn’t quit the interview. She didn’t make things up. She never once complained the questions were tough. She never played the victim card. She didn’t lose her temper. She didn’t take the bait to diminish or talk down to Trump supporters. She stood up to him with force and never backed down.... She is everything her opponent is not and will never be. Strong, Smart and Measured."

Why is it "beautiful" that the candidate "understood and responded to each question"? That's an awfully low standard. It describes the most basic interview. So patronizing. Of her and of us. And I didn't think she answered the questions at all. I'd say she avoided each question. She didn’t call him names? An absurdly low standard. She'd better keep her cool. She's offering to stand up to Putin. Bret Baier should be child's play. And as for "She didn’t quit the interview" — she did quit the interview!

AND: Cuban got testy recently:

160 comments:

rehajm said...

Cuban is not a serious person but he’s the new Musk since Musk dumped them…

Christopher B said...

Seminar callers
Seminar commenters
Seminar journalists

rehajm said...

Kamala evaded questions by dumping a family-style sized word salad on Baier’s head and running out the clock. The Kamala handlers describe that as testy…

exhelodrvr1 said...

"She used examples of policies. She gave real world context. "
No, she didn't, Mark!!

Left Bank of the Charles said...

‘And as for "She didn’t quit the interview" — she did quit the interview!’

How would you know, you said you quit halfway through?

henge2243 said...

"understood and responded to each question"?

Isn't that the praise that dr. Jill heaped on President Silver Alert after his disastrous debate?

Kevin said...

Responded to? That’s like saying she put something down for every question on the test, even though she got no correct answers.

John henry said...

Testy is a good word here.

She took a test and failed.

On to joe Rogan!

John Henry

Limited blogger said...

They're not saying Kamala was testy, they're saying the interview was testy.

James K said...

I thought “testy” came from testosterone or testes. Though it seems to be characteristic of female presidential candidates. Hillary didn’t like being challenged either.

Howard said...

It's the headline in the talking points memo distributed by Kamala Harris' handlers. Testy could also mean not quite a test... a quiz, perhaps?

Kevin said...

She talked far more about Donald Trump than herself.

Rocco said...

Testa is the Italian/Sicilian word for head.

Modern Romance languages evolved from the local dialects of Latin rather than the Classical Latin we are tought in school. The local dialects were called Vulgar Latin. "Vulgar" simply meant of the common people, and only later aquired the meaning it has today.

The word "testa" meant a type of cooking pot in Latin. It was a slang word for the head at first before becoming the literal word for a head later.

As another example, "equus" was the standard Latin word for a horse. But most people back then were more familiar with a "caballus", which was a working horse used to pull carts, etc. That became caballo/cavallo in Spanish/Italian.

Kevin said...

She also said she watched the rest of it later.

I did end up watching the second half of it just now. Everything she said was something I have heard her say before, and it was nonresponsive to Baier’s questions so there was no value to having a good interviewer. It merely exposed her as someone who has absolutely no intention of answering serious questions.

Dixcus said...

"I presume they got the same message

Yes. They get it off "Journolist," a private Discord where a group of about 400 media members (all Democrats) get together on-line to determine how best to advance a narrative that helps the Democrats rig our elections. Many of them are Deep State operatives within the CIA\DOJ\FBI.

Oh, by the way, they've all agreed that Kamala Harris will be announced as the winner of the 2024 election whether she wins or not and then they'll see what Trump does and classify any moves as "Fascist" attempts to "overturn" election results.

Just like they did for Biden in 2020.

Ann Althouse said...

"How would you know, you said you quit halfway through?"

When I wrote my post, I had quit halfway through, but I did later watch the rest of it... some parts more than once. And I have half a mind to blog the transcript.

Dixcus said...

This is why women make horrible politicians. They can't take the back and forth and they turn into mindless vicious people like Hillary whenever they're caught in a lie, or forced into a corner where they reveal they don't have the chops to run with the big dogs.

Dixcus said...

Notice how he never says what those policies are, though?

Dixcus said...

Now THAT sounds juicy! Please do. (This next sentence exists merely so that blogger will print my comment.)

Dave Begley said...

We need a good Althouse fisking of Harris.

michaele said...

Obviously, she and her team knew the topic of illegal immigration was going to be big in a Fox interview. Since Joe was the one who signed the executive orders on Day1 that undid all the Trump ones that were making the border so much more secure, why didn't she calmly and forthrightly answer the question of "how many" and admit the undoing of the Trump policies resulted in an invasion. That was a big opportunity to show she is not a Biden clone. Frankly, border security should NOT be sacrificed on the altar of fixing our immigration system and I have no respect for politicians that use the security part as a bargaining chip.

Dave Begley said...

As to Cuban’s comments, she also didn’t pull out her Glock and shot Brett dead on TV.

rehajm said...

Sure, gahead…

Dixcus said...

Daily Mail, quoting Baier:

'I'm talking like four people waving their hands like "it's got to stop,"' Baier described to his panel about how the interview ended after it wrapped up. 'I had to dismount there at the end,' Baier shrugged.

What this shows is just how fake and scripted these appearances are. Brett Baier played a role here. Or he would just have said to Ms. Harris, on camera ... "Why are all your staff over there trying to wave this interview to a close?"

But of course he never said that, did he?

Dixcus said...

She doesn't own a Glock. Just like she's never worked at McDonalds. EVERYTHING about Kamala Harris is faked.

Christopher B said...

Baier also explained in the follow-up panel that she came in 15 minutes late for a 20 minute interview to be aired at the top of the hour, and said his awkward outro was due to 4 of her handlers calling time after 15 minutes.

rhhardin said...

Wm. Empson taught Eng Lit in China

I remember a Chinese student who put in an essay on the Scotch ballads "The ballad must be simple and vulgar." Most of the essay was spent in laborious praise of the Scotch ballads, which he felt to be required of him, but I gather he felt they were like popular works in China which a proud scholar would despise. That is, he knew the word had two meanings, and wanted to use it to drop an insinuation. The mistake was, therefore, an extremely marginal one; it was merely that he took "of the common people" to be the head sense, under which "coarse" could insinuate itself as an Implication (equated to the head sense, perhaps). But this is a definite mistake; whatever the political or literary views of the reader, he will feel that there has been a ridiculous collapse of an attempt at tact.

_The Structure of Complex Words_, p.404

Christopher B said...

and don't get testy there, Lefty

Christopher B said...

Harris wasn't part of the interview?

rehajm said...

Fox News are Beltway insiders just like the rest of em. They play the game, too. They play ball…

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gilbar said...

they got the same message..

that's the Neatest Thing of ALL!
EVERY mainstream media person, ALWAYS speaks the Same Words.. With the Same Mouth.
It's ALMOST LIKE.. They're ALL the Same Person!!

Meanwhile, over on "X"..

Kevin said...

But of course he never said that, did he?

If you watched the interview, he did.

Linda said...

She simply can not answer a question - I was tempted to yell ‘shut up’ many times when I watched the interview - although it wasn’t really an interview or discussion because she never answered anything he asked. She started her ‘answer’ to the first question before he actually asked a question. She is good at talking without saying anything. There is no way she could make it 2-3 hours on Rogan - while it would be fun to watch it would also be extremely painful.

Linda said...

She simply can not answer a question - I was tempted to yell ‘shut up’ many times when I watched the interview - although it wasn’t really an interview or discussion because she never answered anything he asked. She started her ‘answer’ to the first question before he actually asked a question. She is good at talking without saying anything. There is no way she could make it 2-3 hours on Rogan - while it would be fun to watch it would also be extremely painful.

Dixcus said...

Quote EXACTLY what he said, please. And then I will deconstruct it for you to show how what you are claiming is FALSE.

Kate said...

Someone so brat wouldn't have been testy; she would've been salty.

I guess journolist thought "salty" would look too obviously coordinated.

Dixcus said...

Kamala Harris has been told, explicitly, NOT TO ANSWER any questions. If she answers a question, that's a GOTCHA. And they know it. There are no questions she can answer because the answer is a trap. No matter what answer she gives.

Dixcus said...

You know what else are salty? Balls.

They don't want Kamala Harris and balls in the same sentence because of how she got her start in politics fondling Willie Brown's.

Tom T. said...

It's a strange word choice, because it comes across as effete and weak.

Balfegor said...

Why is it "beautiful" that the candidate "understood and responded to each question"? That's an awfully low standard·

We've seen this before: "Joe, you did such a great job! You answered every question, you knew all the facts!"

boatbuilder said...

How could a candidate for President of the United States not have a prepared answer for ANY questions about immigration--which is obviously one of if not the most important issue in the view of voters? As Harris would say--"C'mon!"

Kevin said...

How would you know it was false if you don’t know what he said?

Dixcus said...

But I do know what he said. And he didn't say what you claim he said. Now quote him. I dare you.

Dixcus said...

Why spend time preparing when the outcome is pre-determined?

Kamala Harris didn't need to prepare, debate, have her views tested for weakness, win any primary elections. All that takes time and effort when alternatively she could just hang out with her sex pals on Call Me Daddy and get her drunk on.

She knows the elections are fake and fixed. Why try?

Big Mike said...

Anybody know what interview he was watching? If the same interview I saw, then what drugs was he on?

gilbar said...

as Dixcus said.. Kamala Harris has been told, explicitly, NOT TO ANSWER any questions. If she answers a question, that's a GOTCHA..

it's NOT that she was not prepared to have an answer..
it's that she was prepared NOT to have answer

Balfegor said...

More seriously, I think she had a couple objectives in the interview. To the extent her objective was to win over Trump skeptics in the audience, it was probably a failure. But her other two objectives were probably (1) do a "hostile" interview so people will shut up about her being too scared to do one, and (2) avoid saying anything that will end up getting used against her. From her perspective, (1) was achieved. And (2) was a mixed bag, but responding to every question with canned talking points, whether they were responsive or not, helped avoid the worst case scenario, which is splitting her fragile electoral coalition by picking one side over another. If she directly repudiated her 2019 positions (as opposed to having the plausible deniability of random anonymous aides claiming she's repudiated them), she'd run the risk of dampening enthusiasm among the fringe who support her extreme positions from 2019. But if she embraced those extreme positions, she'd be throwing the election to Trump. Her team has clearly judged that it is better to keep things in a state of uncertainty than articulate a clear position. I don't think the failure to respond is (entirely) a result of laziness or incapacity on her part. I think it's a deliberate strategy. They haven't loaded up her teleprompter with a clear position either, after all.

Kakistocracy said...

She won the argument, she lost it, such fun to see the two sides pitching their utterly opposing visions of reality. Shame it all has to stop on 5th November.

Maybe not. Will it be just chads left hanging?

RideSpaceMountain said...

Oh journolist...never change.

Money Manger said...

Herman Rorschach smiles.

mindnumbrobot said...

Why is it "beautiful" that the candidate "understood and responded to each question"? That's an awfully low standard. It describes the most basic interview. So patronizing.

With all do respect, I don't understand why people have such a difficult time understanding this. They believe women will vote for them because of abortion. That everything else is irrelevant. They believe you are an idiot.

Caroline said...

The only game Kamala has is to whine about Donald Trump in that preachy tone of hers. She is truly nails on a chalkboard. I don’t see how that motivates the low-level voter she’s looking for.

Iman said...

I wonder if she’d take it to her testa to make some $$$ ?

Iman said...

“fisking”? After that performance, a fisting would be much more appropriate.

Iman said...

Harris was all Schweddy.

Disparity of Cult said...

The surname Mezzatesta likely has interesting origins...

Big Mike said...

"Testy" might make you think of testicle, but the etymology is a word for head — "teste." Think "headstrong."

So I learned something today. Given the modern meaning I had associated it with someone who lets their testosterone get in the way of their cognitive function — and hence inappropriate to apply to a woman.

Donald Trump might be sui generis, but it seems to me that their policies are so disliked by ordinary citizens that people like Harris have no choice but to demonize their Republican opponents. The mud they’re throwing at Trump is mud that they have to throw at all Republicans.

Aggie said...

A fisty fisking of a testy tasty word salad !

Iman said...

lol, Aggie.

Aggie said...

How would you have done it then, knowing that you would like the opportunity to interview other professional politicians and notable public figures at some point in the future? 'Scorched earth' works once when you're a journalist.

Bob Boyd said...

When things get testy, Kamala gets flunky.

Aggie said...

I think that's accurate. My impression was that she maintained the gibberish-level answering that is the hallmark of her campaign. Her supporters will interpret this consistency as a success, whereas her detractors will see the consistency as a reinforcement of their criticism.

D.D. Driver said...

Pshh. Whatever. That was the easiest softball interview I ever saw. The answer to every single question was (obviously) "but what about Trump"? I thought he would as a least one question that didn't have the same obvious answer. When will Kamala face a real interview?

Aggie said...

"...the candidate "understood and responded to each question" they said, without evidence.

D.D. Driver said...

Also, Kamala seems to be the type of woman that tears up when she gets angry. It's bad optics. There's no crying in baseball.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Now Hear This...

https://x.com/attackdogX/status/1846860779288510916

Dogma and Pony Show said...

The problem isn't simply that she doesn't answer questions. A lot of politicians never quite answer the questions that are put to them. The issue with Harris is that she refuses to offer any rationale for voters to ignore the record of the B-H administration or the extreme leftwing/woke positions she's previously staked out on various issues. Anything having to do with the B-H record, she immediately changes the subject to the "real issue," which is Donald Trump. Anything having to do with her past position, she brushes off with a "That was five years ago" and/or a really vague allusion to her values, e.g., her being from the middle class.

mikee said...

Remember when GWBush lacked gravitas, and supposedly chose Dick Cheney as his VP to get some much needed gravitas on the ticket? Nobody seeks gravitas in current candidates, or bemoans lack of gravitas, anymore. Trump hasn't got gravitas, he's got mere "showmanship" at best. Harris hasn't got gravitas, she's got a braying donkey laugh and the depth of an oil sheen on hot pavement, all the reason she needs to be testy when challenged in the least.

Musk's SpaceX thwarts gravity, but that's completely different.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Heh, I was screaming BULLSHIT - ANSWER IT at the screen.

Bob Boyd said...

"Donald on the other hand …"

I've been wondering why they burned a major asset and went after Diddy and why now? I haven't been following the story, but...
Will this be the October surprise? Trump was at a Diddy party?
I read that lots of posh people went to the Diddy party's, but the decent among them left at midnight, unless they wanted to participate in the freaky stuff.
I doubt they have anything serious about Trump along those lines or they'd have used it by now, but all it would take to change the election outcome would be one male "victim" making an accusation. Kinda like Brett Kavanaugh.

Rocco said...

"Testy" might make you think of testicle…

A Ferrari Testarossa does not mean “Red Testicle” in English.

Kakistocracy said...

Mark Twain said that experience is a hard teacher but that a fool will learn from no other. Twain was also a careful student of American politics and history.

Twain also said the American people get what they vote for — usually good and hard.

planetgeo said...

That would be a quizzy, not a testy.

Original Mike said...

"why didn't she calmly and forthrightly answer the question of "how many" and admit the undoing of the Trump policies resulted in an invasion."

Because they intend to keep doing it. If she wins, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Christopher B said...

That's as accurate as most of the stuff you post, Bich. Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. H. L. Mencken

Dixcus said...

Head as in "headstrong." Or head as in, "I got my start giving a married politician head."

Jaq said...

Here is a pretty funny take

https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2024/10/16/now-we-all-know-why-kamala-would-only-do-softball-interviews/

In the post, these are all links to parts of the interview.

- Her & Biden’s bad record is Trump’s fault
- What are you turning the page from?
- It would have allowed 1.8 Million illegal immigrants into the country every year and much more
- This is a Democracy!
- When did you first notice Biden wasn’t stable?

Balfegor said...

It didn't, but I'm sorry -- now that you've said it that's always going to flicker through my mind when I hear "testarossa."

Blair said...

Who are they kidding? There's nobody on the Democrat side with testes...

Phaedrus said...

Probably one of the dumbest decisions in my life was not to go to work for Cuban back in the early 90’s when his little start up, Broadcast.com was poaching talent from the satellite (the really, really big dishes) content delivery and he was doing it over this new thing called the “internet”. I thought satellite was where the real money was.

Ohhhhh… wait! Well, I was 30 years premature!

He had god status in Dallas, much like Musk now does and still has it to a degree due to his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, his charitable works and local business ventures. But there’s also an “other” side to him that flitters through the chattering class in the high society class and business community. Which is really irrelevant given his own body of work and generally over looked because he says the right things and aligns with proper political thought.

I kinda wish both he and Musk would lighten up a bit on that stuff but both certainly have the right their opinions as well as their choices to broadcast what they think. As long they keep making stuff work, live and let live!

Jaq said...

I just learned on YouTube that there were Latin speakers on the Dalmatian coast up through the Middle Ages.

Peachy said...

The collective left is a hivemind.

doctrev said...

It's quite easy to abandon fringe positions: most Western politicians do it effortlessly. Donald Trump is committed to reducing immigration, which the oligarchy hates, therefore it is "fringe." But Kamala is implementing her fringe policies in the Biden regime, while trying to run away from them in the campaign. Few politicians are that stupid, but then the illegitimate abortion occupying the White House is trying to make its Vice President defend her record while promising "independence."

Bob Boyd said...

Apparently, it does mean red head.

Peachy said...

He's rich and obedient leftist. All the left need.

Kakistocracy said...

HT for the correction CB

William said...

I saw parts of the interview. I wouldn't describe her as authentic, but, on the plus side, she's not as patently phony as Kerry. I also wouldn't describe her as likable, but neither is she quite as off putting as Hillary. It's difficult to see where she differentiates herself from Biden, but she's quite vehement and outspoken in her position that she's not Donald Trump......She looked like the woman who won only a scattering of votes in the Democratic primaries four years ago. This time, however, she;'s not running against Democrats but against Trump. I can't see any reason to vote for her, but she's got a good chance of winning. The interview didn't do her any harm among the faithful who believe that the more important thing in politics is to be against Trump.

Kakistocracy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aggie said...

They've exhausted their lawfare bag, and most of these have been fizzles that will be overturned after the election, so it wouldn't surprise me to see the Progressive War Machine dredge up something like this. I think the problem is, though, that it will only harden positions that are already established: Republican voters know Trump well enough, to know that the Stormy Daniels myth was disproven and resolved in his favor, that the other suit, that old fossil, was a case of laws being fabricated in order to prosecute on a trivial, and likely untrue, matter. Lawfare, like the Kavanaugh matter. And finally, they believe that Trump really is a pretty good family man. Of course, the other side will continue on their spittle-flecked, ranting path.

But Independents? I think it's likely they'll see this is as more-of-the-same, from Democrats. The Dirty Game. I don't think it will help Independents decide for Kamala.

Kakistocracy said...

It’s been almost a day since Harris last had the courage to sit down with a biased MAGA right-wing cable outlet.
Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement over election claims ~ AP

Jaq said...

A "scattering" or a "smattering"?

Here her hope is to cash in on the ten year unrelenting firehose of lies, half truths, and out of context smearing misquotes of Donald Trump. Remember that repetition does not strengthen the truth value of an argument, but it does increase the belief on the part of the listener that they are hearing the truth.

Jaq said...

"Mark Twain said that experience is a hard teacher but that a fool will learn from no other."

I am pretty sure that that was Ben Franklin, and well, we have had four years of Trump, which, prior to the pandemic cooked up by Fauci over in Wuhan, were pretty good years, and four years of "Fire Marshall Joe" Biden, who has set the world ablaze with his beloved little wars.

The question is was Gore Vidal right in his book "The United States of Amnesia," or are we going to simply forget what the world was like before Biden got hold of the reins. If Americans "dare to remember," then Harris has no shot. If they simply believe the lies, and not their own "lying eyes," well Harris wins.

Quaestor said...

Since Althouse raised the subject, a little discussion on word origins is appropriate. Fake etymologies are almost as common as fake news on MSNBC. I once heard someone confidently declare that a witness in a Roman criminal trial had to cup his balls in his right hand whilst giving his evidence. Everything said by a drunk is said confidently, but this guy wasn't drunk, just absurdly credulous. This same person also said that George Washington died of syphilis, which he claimed was "common knowledge".

Yes, testify and testicle are related but not through such a risible gesture. Testify does come to us indirectly from Latin, specifically testificor ("I bear witness") the pro forma preamble to evidence given before a magistrate. Testicle come from testiculus, the diminutive of testis, in other words, the little witness of manhood.

Narr said...

Why 'testy'?

Because I used the word here a few days ago.

Duh.

Jaq said...

What you don't understand is how unconvincing your little jibes are. That never went to trial, did it? The billionaire owners of Fox simply stuck their wet finger to the wind, and figured that it would be worth a billion dollars for them to suck up to the Democrats and settled, before discovery, even.

Grandpa Publius said...

Why they booked her on FOX is a good question. The better question is why did they intentionally open the border for all of 2021, 2022, and 2023 and invite an unprecedented flood of unvetted migrants. Neither Bill Clinton nor Barack Obama in their primes could sell/defend such lunacy.

If there is ever a 2nd bona fide interview, Kamala should be made to defend two try-breaking votes to borrow-and-spend trillions of new spending that predictably caused the highest inflation in over 40 years.

But then again, every Democratic incumbent seeking reelection should be asked to defend these two pillars of shame of the Biden years.
G-Pub

RCOCEAN II said...

Testy is a way to dimminish what happened. I read it as "annoying" or low-level hostile. You have "Testy" interactions with the Hotel clerk, or someone at the DMV.

As for Cuban, I find him boring in the same way I find so many Leftists and MSM figures boring. They don't give you an honest opinion. There is no "I've looked at this from an independent perspective and come up with X". There are consistent beliefs.

Cuban starts with an objective: He wants to help Harris, she's a Leftist. So he sits down and writes his most persuasive defense of her. The truth is irrelevant. Because Cuban and other Leftists are smart they'll often POSE as being objective. But they aren't.

Its the same reason why the writings of the Leftwing SCOTUS judges are so boring. They start with the decision they want, the best thing for the Left. Then they write their opinion. It doesn't matter is its nonsense, or has nothing to do with Constition or Law being considered. Or condridicts what they just wrote last year in another opinion.

RCOCEAN II said...

I dislike BB, but I was shocked he brought up the border and immigration and asked tough questions. Thank God, that Fake Leftist Chris Wallace left for CNN.

Phil B said...

"You answered all the questions, Joe!" The gold standard for Dem candidates

Bob Boyd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jupiter said...

""The beautiful thing about the @BretBaier interview is that @KamalaHarris understood and responded to each question."
I have to admit, it would be fairly impressive if kamala Harris were to understand and respond to a question.

Sebastian said...

"Of course, I don't believe these writers independently arrived at the same word." Right. No one believes that. Yet they do it openly, shamelessly. As if they are members of a team. As if their priority is to help the team. As if nothing else matters.

Bob Boyd said...

"The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy."
- Edwin Edwards during a successful election campaign for governor of Louisiana in 1983

Rocco said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christopher B said...

As numerous people have pointed out, Harris won NOTHING in the 2020 primaries. She ended her campaign in December 2019 before any votes were cast in either primaries or caucuses.

Bob Boyd said...

Question for Joe Biden: "When did you first notice Kamala Harris' mental faculties appear diminished?"

Rocco said...


Balfegor said…
“It didn't, but I'm sorry -- now that you've said it that's always going to flicker through my mind when I hear ‘testarossa.’”

I’m sorry that happened, Balfegor. Here’s some links to get your mind back on track:

Club Alfa: https://www.clubalfa.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Ferrari-Testarossa-storia-2.jpg
Emma Stone: https://www.teenidols4you.com/blink/Actors/emmastone/emma-stone-1405436623.jpg
Automobile Mag: https://www.automobilemag.com/uploads/sites/11/2020/04/1986-Ferrari-Testarossa-_0.jpg

Rocco said...

Quaestor said…
This same person also said that George Washington died of syphilis, which he claimed was ‘common knowledge’.

I have heard speculation that syphilis is why George Washington never fathered children of his own. But I haven’t heard any serious historian actually state that he even had syphilis.

mccullough said...

Trump has Musk. And Kamala has Cuban. Sad

mccullough said...

Trump has Musk. And Kamala has Cuban. Sad

Former Illinois resident said...

"Testy" is more polite term for "unbecoming of a future president", or "in manner of irritated wealthy woman angry to get pushback", or "patsy puppet-candidate confronted by reality of campaign".

"Testy" is sugar-coated excuse for a failed political performance. The woman has no gravitas. Pouty face, eyerolls, and prissy rejoinders don't demonstrate strength of character and competent leadership skills.

The woman is a train-wreck. Biden may still have been the better candidate to defeat Trump. Me, I'd like to vote for Vance for president; he seems the only grown-up in the tickets.

Jersey Fled said...

Interesting take from Chris Stegall this morning. This from someone who has done hundreds if not thousands of interviews over the course of his career.

1. His overall take was that Harris had no intention of responding to Baier’s questions. Her objective was to show how brave and tough she could be in a difficult and adversarial situation.

2. To that end she provoked Baier by arriving more than 1/2 hour late for the interview. She was due to arrive at 4:45 and arrived at 5:17. Then the sound, lighting, and so on had to be set up. The broadcast had to start at 6:00 pm. But it’s not as simple as filming and filing. There were at least three cameras involved. This requires editing the tape to show the right shot at the right time, among other things. Remember that the interview would now end after 5:47.
This put tremendous pressure on the crew, and by extension the set.

3. Given the time pressure, Baier couldn’t afford to wait through Harris’ long off topic, evasive answers. So he tried to move things along, whenever he could get a word in edgewise.

4. Harris responded, as planned, by getting loud and angry. That was her goal: to show how tough and testy she could be. For her base. And as a collateral benefit, to limit the number or questions she would have to answer.

As proof, Stigall offered the response by the lefty press, which led with how brave and tough she could be in a tough situation. As planned.

I don’t know if Stigall is right, but I’m not sure he’s wrong.

Lazarus said...

"Testy" means she didn't do a good job. Her performance didn't rise to the level of "feisty." Harry Truman was "feisty." Tom Dewey was "testy." "Testy" implies defensiveness and fragility. "Feisty" behavior isn't so different, but it's a word applied to winners and people one likes.

JournoList is still going on, but under another name. I thought that might be Journa.host. It isn't. That's just retired and unemployed journalists who still want people to notice them. One poster writes:

Many worried that going on Fox News would be a mistake for Kamala Harris, but the interview showed a well-informed, quick, and intelligent human being, who is capable of of keeping the misinformation in check.

This was a knight walking straight into Mordor casually saying, "Is that really all you've got?"


In the days to come, we may be hearing a lot more about Baer's "misinformation" and feisty Kamala's walk to Mount Doom.

Ice Nine said...

>D.D. Driver said...
Pshh. Whatever. That was the easiest softball interview I ever saw.<

Well, your superlative is not accurate but it was indeed a reasonably easy interview. Everyone seems to think Bret did such a great job but I think it was simply a little better than adequate. He failed pretty badly at cutting off her filibuster "answers" and he failed to drill down on the points of his questions that she was dodging.

hombre said...

Vagueness is the point. What are they going to say, "Kamala got stupid!"?

Will Cate said...

I think they picked that word because they wanted ppl to think of test. As in, she was tested by appearing on FoxNews; or, she passed the test, or whatever newsmedia wants us to think along those lines

AZ Bob said...

Chris Plante (WMAL) played a montage of at least 10 journalist all using the word "testy" to describe the interview.

I want to know how do they all get their marching orders? Can't they look at a thesaurus? Or do they just crib from each other?

Kakistocracy said...

Bret tried to trap Harris into saying a sentence that could be used as a sound bite for Trump ads. She refused to play his game. Smart woman. She will make a good President.

Michael K said...

More lies from the liar.

Bob Boyd said...

@ Rocco
That first one has Montana plates.

Kakistocracy said...

This was not a debate. If it was, Baier's mic would have been muted as he repeatedly interrupted. We see this style of questioning in Congressional hearings and now by journalists.

Harris was more than up to the task and handled his questions well. All Baier did was remind women of the many, many times they are interrupted by a man.

Michael K said...

My understanding was that Dominion planned to subpoena Rupert and he is getting senile. Fox settled to avoid that.

Lazarus said...

Harris's poor performance is the story now. I thought Baier did "drill down" well enough and persistently enough -- with much more drilling, the story would have been about him and his hectoring or bullying.

Kakistocracy said...

Let me break this down in a way the cultish conservative brain might understand:

Democrats largely aren’t watching Fox.

Harris got one-on-one time to promote her policies and win over your voters.

Even if it was the worst interview ever (it wasn’t), she’s not losing votes.

Michael K said...

Washington was an example of a genetic condition that results in sterility. Klinefelter's Syndrome.

Lazarus said...

"Fiery Harris Vows Break with Biden in Testy Fox Interview"

Was she really "fiery"?

Was it a fiery, yet mostly pathetic performance?

And did she really vow a break with Biden?

Michael K said...

Agreed. I expected softballs.

Michael K said...

The liar w

Yancey Ward said...

The problem with the narrative being put out is this- she ran away from interview at the end. Nothing else they can say makes this cowardly act go away.

rehajm said...

MT plates? Ah yes, the classic Montana LLC ‘dodge’. Problem with it today is the lovely Corporate Transparency Act makes it REALLY scary…

Bob Boyd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JaimeRoberto said...

When I lived in a small European country I would see various journalists socializing with each other in local bars. Literal smoke filled rooms. It's no surprise that their stories ended up resembling each other. I imagine those smoke filled rooms have moved online and are easily manipulated.

Original Mike said...

"Harris was more than up to the task and handled his questions well."

Really? Then tell us, his first question to her; how many illegal immigrants have been admitted to the country during their administration?

Do you think this is an illegitimate question? Do you think the voters do not have the right to know?

Hassayamper said...

"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that; for, it is true, we may give Advice, but we cannot give Conduct."

That's from Ben Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanack. So, two misattributed quotes in one post from Rich, bravo.

("Dear" in this context means "expensive", which is still UK idiom, but no longer used in American English.)

D.D. Driver said...

It' well documented that Trump attended Diddy parties. Here's a news story from 1990s:

https://www.nancyjosales.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DonaldTrump2.pdf

Does this mean he participated or knew about the freak offs? No. But he has a history of cavorting with scumbags: Diddy, Epstein, Bill Clinton. Something about the company you keep. Just trust him: he knew nothing.

Has he gone on record about his relationship with Diddy? Don't you think he should? If Tim Walz or Doug Emhoff went to Diddy parties would you not have *any* questions about it?

Darkisland said...

Did anyone notice Harriss use of the word "cakewalk" last night? I learned the word in high school from a Dave Van Ronk jazz album. Here's an earlier version with Louis Armstrong and Sydney Bechet https://youtu.be/6zOc9kTJ6EE?si=_VbCk3vrV_1wWZ6n

This morning I was wondering about the origins. I knew cakewalking originated in slave quarters. I wondered if it was considered racist.

It turns out that it is.

We need to call Kamala Harriss out on this.

Yeah, I know, doing so is a bit ridiculous. Screwm. They do stuff like this to President Trump all the time, let's do it to her.

John Henry

Hassayamper said...

The mud they’re throwing at Trump is mud that they have to throw at all Republicans.

No kidding. It's far beyond mud slinging though. Half of today's Democrats want to put us in a gulag for holding dissenting opinions. Do you remember the eliminationist shit they were saying back in the COVID days about executing anyone non-compliant with government orders and putting our kids in foster care with compliant leftists?

They're a menace to civilization, by far our worst enemy on the whole planet, and I suspect that if I don't live long enough to be forced to take up arms to defend myself from them, my son and grandchildren probably will. Particularly if we fail to elect Trump, or he fails to take the opportunity to use all his powers to smash the Deep State and destroy the capability of the Left to oppress the rest of us.

Kakistocracy said...

Could anyone imagine any other world former leader and current candidate peddling watches, shoes, and the bible for economic gain? Embarrassing and pathetic.

I love they way MAGA people dismiss this is as "just Trump" like it's not a window into his shallow, crass, self-before-country, carpetbagging nature.

Rabel said...

Ann Althouse wrote:

"I believe she disqualified herself last night."

What do you plan to do about it?

The Vault Dweller said...

Seminar callers
I miss Rush.

Former Illinois resident said...

Biggest news from Fox interview was Harris' full-throated support of Israel. Yup, more weapons, more cash, more war. Defense! Defense! Defense of Israel...

Kamala, kiss Michigan good-bye. That's the Michigan Republican campaign sound bite of note. Trump's message is more palatable to single-issue Moslem vote, a consistent "stop it now; stop it first week in office".

Former Illinois resident said...

Yes, but rather that Team MAGA swag than Harris-Walz campaign substantial spending on "rent-a-crowd" agencies, for hired warm-body people to serve as her audience at her campaign and media events. That's been confirmed now for many Harris-Walz events, even at whistle-stop restroom breaks, where it's reported the venue is emptied of real people so that the "joyful" audience-actors can fill the space before Kamala and/or Tim arrrive.

Michael K said...

Never. Even a flatworm learns to avoid pain.

Michael K said...

More misinformation from the liar.

Michael K said...

OT WaPoo has a teary obit on the Hamas guy today.

Lazarus said...

You talk like that's a bad thing. Look at the Clinton Foundation, the Biden family's influence peddling, and Obama's Netflix deal. Trump looks a lot better selling things to people than the others do selling out the country.

Jim at said...

supposedly chose Dick Cheney as his VP

If I recall correctly, Dick Cheney chose Dick Cheney as his VP.

Jim at said...

biased MAGA right-wing cable outlet

The fact you think FOX News is some sort of MAGA mouthpiece is hilarious.
FOX lost any and all support of Trump voters when they called Arizona early on Election night.

Either know what you're talking about or shut up.

The Godfather said...

Way up thread Althouse said: "And I have half a mind to blog the transcript."
Thanks for not doing so.

Jersey Fled said...

“Democrats largely aren’t watching Fox”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/580171-more-democrats-watch-fox-news-during-primetime-than-cnndata/

Article is a few years old but I believe this is still true.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Are you really that stupid, Leftie?
The planned length of the interview was announced before hand.

It was less than that

Because Harris bugged out

The Godfather said...

The first Presidential Election I remember was 1952. I was much too young to vote, but I remember my parents saying, after the Democrats nominated Stevenson, that with Ike already picked as the Republican nominee, "the American People can't lose." Looking back on it, I think they were right.

In 1960, it was Nixon (R) v. Kennedy (D). At age 17 I was STILL too young to vote. But looking back on it, from a later perspective, yeah, it really didn't make a difference. They both would have led us into an unnecessary war, and both would have invented and expanded unnecessary domestic programs.
In 1964, Johnson was challenged by Goldwater, the first election in which I could vote. Practically NO ONE voted for Goldwater. He allowed himself to be roped into an anti-civil rights position. Too bad! On Viet Nam, Barry wanted to limit US involvement to air strikes. I wonder how many families today would have living grandparents, if Barry had been making policy?
We'll never know, of course.
Policy changes are always easier in retrospect.

Michael K said...

Driver, you link goes to a hostile article about a party in a restaurant. Public place. Nice try, though.

D.D. Driver said...

There was *nothing* hostile about that piece. It was a (sorry) puff piece that made Donald look cool...in 1999. But, it makes him look a lot less cool in 2024.

They were friends. They hung out. Puffy visited Mar-a-Lago. Did you miss the part about Puffy "allegedly" "getting busy in the sand with an unidentified woman" at Mar-a-Lago? Trump was invited to Puffy's birthday party featuring "stripper girls." There are plenty of stories, pictures, and videos of the two of them. (Just like with Epstein.🤷‍♂️Nothing to see there either. Let's not ask any questions.)

This story came out in the 1990s. It's a PDF because it's so old you can't find it on Vibe's website anymore. Trump and Puffy used each other for access to each other's rich friends. Read about Trump's forgotten foray into hip hop. Aren't you curious how they met? Where did Donald Trump meet Sean Puffy Combs? Probably through Mike Tyson or Don King, right? Don't you want to know how often they hung out? Was it just for publicity or was it a genuine friendship? How many other dirtbags they hung out with? Whether Puffy committed any crimes at Mar-a-Lago?

I bet if it was Hunter Biden going to Puffy's parties, you would have sooo many questions. Wouldn't you? I certainly would.

D.D. Driver said...

Michael also missed the part about a seventeen year old Ivanka bragging about Puff being in Donald's booth for the US Open and Donald taking personal phone calls from Puff at the Grammy's. It was *not* a one-off photo op. They had some dealings. Also, fucked up that Donald let his teenaged daughter hang out with Puff Daddy. Simmer on that thought.

Rusty said...

It always cracks me up watching lefies lose their shit over Elon Musk.

James K said...

" I once heard someone confidently declare that a witness in a Roman criminal trial had to cup his balls in his right hand whilst giving his evidence."

Actually the basis for that comes from Genesis. Abraham asks Eliezer to swear an oath by putting his hand under Abraham's "thigh." That is generally taken to be a euphemism for the genitalia (though not all commentators agree on this).

Craig Mc said...

"Why is it "beautiful" that the candidate "understood and responded to each question"? That's an awfully low standard"

Cue Jill Biden's "You answered every question!", in her "aren't you a big boy" voice.

veni vidi vici said...

Headstrong? Headstrong = "ballsy".
So, back to what you were saying about "teste"/testicle, I think we've solved the problem.