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Wolf Blitzer
"If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you" begins Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If," extolling the virtues and principles he hopes his son will learn as he grows into a man. CNN's Wolf Blitzer would have made Kipling proud Tuesday, doing an admirable job keeping his head during an off-the-rails interview with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
The House's top-ranking Democrat was on Blitzer's CNN program The Situation Room to talk about the latest developments in the negotiations for a new stimulus bill to provide economic aid to Americans struggling during the pandemic.
Blitzer pressed Pelosi to explain the reasons why the bill had stalled, pointing out the many Americans who were "waiting in food lines for the first time in their lives."
Pelosi fired back, telling Blitzer he should be asking that same question to Republicans. To be fair, the lack of a bill is a bipartisan problem, with Democrats controlling the House and Republicans the Senate.
But Pelosi went further, accusing Blitzer of being an "apologist" for Republicans multiple times, not reading the various versions of the bill, disrespecting members of Congress, among other combative comments.
The segment ended with Blitzer talking about being sympathetic to people he saw begging for food, and Pelosi responding sarcastically to ask if he had fed them.
Throughout it all, Blitzer maintained his composure and even gave Pelosi several opportunities to walk back her more outlandish comments -- opportunities she disdained. |
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 | MEDIA LOSER:
Nick Cannon
Media coverage of people who are openly racist or holds other bigoted views can be tricky, finding a balance between shining a spotlight on important issues but avoiding unnecessarily amplifying their personal messages of hate.
Nick Cannon badly failed at finding that balance in his Columbus Day interview with white nationalist Richard Spencer on his podcast, Cannon's Class.
Spencer, who is credited with creating the term "alt-right" is well-documented as espousing anti-Semitic, racist, and other white supremacist views, and frequently promotes conspiracy theories.
Cannon invited Spencer on his show to debate the merits of celebrating a holiday in honor of Christopher Columbus, allowing Spencer to praise Columbus as "amazing" and dismiss any critics by saying that people also died during the Haitian Revolution.
That was a complete non-sequitur, but Cannon didn't have the research or knowledge to seriously counter Spencer on the merits on this or other issues that were raised.
One exchange between the two had Spencer defending "statues of losers who were clearly on the wrong side of history," by saying "they were great," and Cannon replying, "great losers!"
The Lincoln-Douglas debates this was not.
There is a valid debate to be had about Columbus' legacy, but why not invite a history professor or someone with actual knowledge on the topic, instead of a guy who openly has racist views? Cannon's lack of serious pushback served only to give Spencer a platform and audience he craves. |
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| SCOTUS-palooza continues It's the third day of the confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and everyone has been calm and professional.
Just kidding. It's 2020 and there's an election happening in a few weeks, so this has been a partisan circus. Grab some popcorn and catch up...
There was an Amy vs. Amy clash, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar confronting Barrett about whether Roe vs. Wade was a "super-precedent," and some old Trump tweets.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse had lots of posters and other props but no questions.
Vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris had her opportunity to question Barrett, and won praise from former Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Sen. Lindsey Graham had an awkwardly-phrased question about the "good old days of segregation."
Sen. Ted Cruz seemed unaware that Charles Manson was dead, inspiring a swarm of Zodiac Killer jokes.
Cruz also clashed with Sen. Dick Durbin when he criticized Democrats for not being physically present at the hearing. Umm, there's this pandemic thing happening, maybe you've heard of it?
Many of the questions Barrett simply did not answer, following a tradition set by other nominees wanting to avoid commenting on how they would rule on hypothetical cases. Among the questions Senators asked but she did not answer: should Trump commit to a peaceful exchange of power, can a president issue a self-pardon,
Barrett pushed back hard on the suggestion that she should recuse herself in a potential case challenging the November election results, saying she did not want to be "used as a pawn to decide this election" and arguing that no one could say she had signaled how she might decide such a case.
Watch the hearings yourself here.
Dueling town halls
After the plans for the second presidential debate fell apart over concerns over Covid-19 precautions, Democratic nominee Joe Biden agreed to a town hall with ABC. Wednesday, NBC announced their own town hall with Trump -- scheduled for the exact same time.
CNN's Brianna Keilar was among many who criticized the scheduling. CNN media analyst Bill Carter slammed it as a "disservice to voters."
SEAL smacks down Trump tweet Not The Onion: Trump retweeted a utterly insane conspiracy from a QAnon supporter that SEAL Team Six didn't actually kill Osama bin Laden, but instead knocked off a body double of the terrorist leader.
One of those SEALs, Robert O'Neill -- who, it should be noted, is a Trump supporter -- loudly objected to Trump's tweeted nonsense.
O'Neill was there, Trump was not, and this whole thing is so bonkers it's embarrassing it's even a story. Bin Laden is fish food and we're all the better for it.
"It's so stupid"
Speaking of bizarre Trump tweets, the president also shared a meme mocking Biden with a poorly photoshopped image showing him in a wheelchair at a nursing home.
Reaction was bewildered, considering Trump's cratering support with senior voters, a must-win bloc for the Republican incumbent, especially in swing-state Florida.
Out of touch?
CNN's Poppy Harlow took California Rep. Ro Khanna to task on the failure of the stimulus bill negotiations, asking him if members of Congress were too wealthy too fully empathize with Americans' economic struggles. See the response of one of the richest members of Congress here.
Trek the Vote
Tuesday night, 19 current and former Star Trek actors got together for an online "Trek The Vote" event to encourage their fans to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket, and to donate to their campaign.
One highlight: Rosario Dawson endorsing Biden -- in Klingon! 6.5.0 |
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| You're in front of the camera, darling! Americans have had to make lots of adjustments during this pandemic, and that includes members of the media having to operate their own camera systems broadcasting from home -- occasionally leading to amusing results.
That was the case with Wednesday's episode of The View, as Joy Behar was photobombed by her own husband.
The accidental guest was attempting to help his wife by adjusting the screen that let her see her fellow co-hosts when he ended up in the camera's view.
Check out the funny moment here. |
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