FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 ...a problem like Candidate Trump: Should David Muir have said what he said about the last election? We refer to some of the things Muir said during last Tuesday's presidential debate. Along with a colleague from ABC News, Muir served as moderator of the debate between Candidates Harris and Trump. It's likely to be the only debate the candidates have. Midway through the forum, Muir introduced a new topic: MUIR (9/10/24): I do want to focus on this next issue to both of you. Because it really brings us, this into focus: Truth in these times that we're living in.  ..read more

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 We still say, Pity the child: A few years back—we're not sure how many—we watched The Manchurian Candidate (1962 version) maybe four or five times. We came away thinking that it's a very deep, complex film. More and more, we find ourselves thinking about that film as we watch JD Vance in action. We still recommend that you pity the child—the child who grew up in the profoundly dysfunctional family culture Vance described in his best-selling 2017 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. After Vance was selected to run for vice president, we scanned his memoir again. It wasn't as we ..read more

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 ...a powerful empire fought back: When Candidates Kennedy and Nixon debated, they did so at the dawn of the modern political era. In real time, Theodore White had a complaint—a complaint about the new shape of the public discourse as this new era came into being. As we noted yesterday, this was the general shape of White's complaint: White thought that Kennedy's initial statement about Quemoy and Matsu "was probably one of the sharpest and clearest responses to any question of the [four] debates." But the candidate had only been given two-and-a-half minutes to stat ..read more

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 Aging Fox star proves the point: It's been a while since we looked in on the moral progress of the aging star who sits at the helm of the Fox News Channel's primetime Gutfeld! program. That star grew up in a sunny land. Last week, he turned 60. Having reached the age of majority, would he begin to show moral growth? Inquiring minds wanted to know! Last night, he was accompanied by a standard type of panel—one former professional wrestler, a pair of flyweight D-List comedians, plus consultant Erin Perrine, who ought to know much better.  The first two pan ..read more

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 Dozens of bomb threats have followed: Was our flailing nation's public discourse once a different critter? In 1960, the Kennedy-Nicon TV debates marked the start of the modern political era. Our national discourse was perhaps different then. Consider what Teddy White said. Theodore White, age 46, was smart and highly experienced. Writing in a famous old book, he offered this observation about the candidates' second debate: WHITE (page 292): Kennedy’s response to the first question on Quemoy and Matsu was probably one of the sharpest and clearest responses to any q ..read more

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Scribe doesn't get it right: Can anyone here play this game? Over at the Washington Post, Dana Milbank was doing the highly unusual. He was describing the eternal spotlessness of the Fox News viewer's mind. Hic column appeared last Friday, three days post-debate. Its dual headline said this: Fox News cleans up another Trump mess After the debate, the network worked to keep the MAGA faithful in a state of blissful ignorance. Unheard of! Milbank was describing an important component of the Fox News Channel playbook. Its viewers are routinely kept from hearing the trut ..read more

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Pepperidge Farm remembers: Long ago and far away, Hans Christian Andersen blew the whistle on an emperor who was wearing a new suit of clothes. There was an obvious problem with the ruler's new ensemble. But as Andersen capably reported, citizens of the empire in question seemed unable to spot the problem with their emperor's new suit of clothes. (Something we were withholding made us weak, Robert Frost once alleged.) Is it possible that we the people, right here in this country, are having a similar problem today? Is our public discourse—"our democracy," our politi ..read more

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 Pepperidge Farm remembers: We're losing a chunk of time this morning. We won't be posting until this afternoon. At that time, we'll continue with this week's discussion—with a discussion of our flailing society's unmistakable new suit of clothes. It was Hans Christian Andersen who recorded the history of the emperor who was mal-adorned in that famous manner. As Andersen noted, it was hard for citizens of his empire to see or acknowledge the problem with his suit of clothes. To what extent are we the people failing to see the suit of clothes currently being paraded a ..read more

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 Possibly not for Harris either, but also possibly yes: In our view about who to vote for this year, we differ from the New York Times' Bret Stephens. We're going to vote for Candidate Harris. Here's what Stephens tells Gail Collins in this week's episode of The Conversation: We Cannot Go One Like This [...] Bret: Can I vote for Trump? Never. Will I vote for Harris? Maybe, but she hasn’t sealed the deal with me yet. Gail: Hey, at least you’re moving in the right direction.  What hasn't Harris sealed the deal? Earlier in their conversation, Stephens offers a l ..read more

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 Could he have imagined these clothes? Could "our democracy" possibly die in disorder?  As we float that question today, forgive us if we ask you to think about Theodore White again. Quite literally, White wrote the book about the presidential campaign which inaugurated the modern political era. Even today, his famous book bears a famous title: The Making of The President 1960 White was 46 years old when he wrote his famous book. That said, who was Theodore White? The leading authority on his life offers this instant thumbnail: Theodore H. White  Theodore H ..read more