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FEBRUARY 27,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

FUTURE LEADERS OF AMERICA? – Remember the song, "Fight Fiercely Harvard"?  I guess it's out of style.  From College Fix:   Harvard has decided to close a 17-year-old campus police station because students said it made them feel “intimidated.”  According to The Crimson, Harvard University Police made the move regarding the Mather House substation last week, which long has been the subject of student derision.  Mather resident Faith Woods said she is “well aware” police are “not there to keep [her] actively safe.” Having a cop car parked outside the residence means nothing, she added, saying it actually “implies” residents are being “watched and policed.”  Student Eleanor Taylor went further, alleging the substation is “violent”: “The real effect that the presence of the HUPD substation has […] is simply a violent, visual intimidation tactic that students are forced to see every time they enter the house.”  Gender studies and sociology major Kai DeJesus (who uses “she/they/siya” pronouns) agreed, saying “’It’s really important that we keep these violent institutions outside of residences” as the HUPD still “disproportionately targets Black and Brown people […] on campus.”   Compare please with the young people of Ukraine.  We have work to do. 

February 27, 2022       Permalink

DON'T IGNORE DOMESTIC POLITICS – OVERNIGHT:  President Biden delivers his first State of the Union address Tuesday night.  I can feel your excitement.  The president will speak in the midst of one of the greatest international crises of recent times.  I don't expect either eloquence or brilliance, but I hope his speech is not an embarrassment. 

Behind the president on the rostrum will be the vice president, Kamala Harris, assuming she shows up.  Next to her will be Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, who will be celebrating her 130th birthday in a few weeks. 

Never before have so many owed so little to so few. 

Hanging over the proceedings will be the political status of the president and his party.  The word is "grim."  From The Washington Examiner: 

President Joe Biden's handling of the economy is dragging down Democrats' hopes in the midterm elections just as he prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address and grapples with the war in Ukraine, according to a new poll.

The ABC- and Washington Post-commissioned survey gets worse for the Democrats deeper into the crosstabs. Three-fourths of Americans say the economy is in bad shape, and 6 in 10 say they are feeling the brutal boot of inflation — now at a 40-year high. A paltry 17% say they are better off under Biden. And Republicans have a staggering 20-point lead among voters asked which party can best steer the economy through the current challenges.

"Post-ABC poll finds a deeply pessimistic nation, worried about the economy and Biden’s leadership," the normally Biden-friendly Washington Post headlined its story on the poll.

As primary season ramps up, generic Republican House candidates have a 49-42% lead over Democrats among registered voters. The gap expands to 54-41% when sorted for registered voters who say they will turn out in November.

It's not just his handling of the economy that has Biden's job approval hitting a new low of just 37%, including a stunning 61% disapproval among independent voters. He is below 50% for his handling of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has fallen on his pandemic response, and more and more voters are questioning his mental state.

Even Democrats' support for Biden is faltering. Nearly one-fourth either disapprove (19%) or are withholding judgment (4%) of his performance.

The numbers, as well as the spiraling situation in Ukraine, present a dismal backdrop to Biden's Tuesday State of the Union speech. Only former presidents Gerald Ford and Donald Trump had approval ratings as low as Biden's on the eve of their first addresses to the nation.

The party affiliation numbers have shifted rapidly and dramatically since late 2021. In four ABC/Washington Post polls conducted last year from January through September, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by an average of 7 percentage points. Since November, it's been just one percentage point.

COMMENT:  It's true that the midterm elections are eight months away, about 20 lifetimes in politics.  Yes, things can change, but it's hard to see how Biden and his party can make enough progress to make a difference.  The president is set in his ways, tied to policies that are clearly unpopular.  His party has taken a sharp left turn.  Traditional Democratic groups aren't so traditional any longer.  Hispanic voters, in particular, appear largely alienated by Democratic leftism.  There don't seem to be any good breaks on the horizon.

Read the rest of the numbers in the story.

February 27,  2022     Permalink

FEBRUARY 26,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

HOW PHILOSOPHICAL, HOW DEEP – FROM GATEWAY PUNDIT:   Joe Biden sat down for a face-to-face interview with social media influencer Brian Tyler Cohen on Friday to discuss Putin, Covid and challenges Americans are facing due to his horrible policies.  Biden claimed that he has made the economy better but people are still “psychologically” unable to “feel happy.”  “There’s a phenomenal negative psychological impact that Covid has had on the public psyche and so you have an awful lot of people who are not withstanding the fact that things have gotten so much better for them economically that they are thinking, but how do you get up in the morning and feel happy and happy that everything’s alright,” Joey said in the interview that was released Saturday.   Yeah, well like, sure, I mean it all makes sense when Joe says it.  I sleep more soundly knowing he's in the White House.  Choke.

February 26, 2022       Permalink

CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN – OVERNIGHT:  Time out for a moment from war coverage.  CNN has a new chief, and we cautiously note that he seems to be having a positive impact.  From Newsbusters: 

In an interesting “scoop” published Saturday, Axios reported that CBS’s executive vice president of Special Programming Chris Licht, who was tapped to replace ousted CNN boss Jeff Zucker to lead the third-place cable network, wants to get back to CNN being a straight news outlet and cut back on the liberal screeds that dominate prime time and their newscasts in general.

The Axios headline said it all: “CNN to dull its liberal edge.” “Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will dial down the prime-time partisanship and double down on the network's news-gathering muscle,” reported Mike Allen and Sara Fischer.

According to Axios, Licht was picked by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav because “[r]atings are secondary to credibility[.]”

Both of which are foreign concepts to CNN currently.

“Axios is told that Licht and Zaslav share a view that CNN was chasing prime-time ratings at the expense of the brand,” the writers said in their “between the lines” section. “Zaslav wants to move CNN back to the middle.”

They also noted Licht’s history of making some popular programming, seeing as he’s the “showrunner of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’” and “succeeded with three very different programs.” Those programs included Colbert, the “ratings jolt” for CBS Evening News, and “co-creator” of Morning Joe on MSNBC.

COMMENT:  We've commented that CNN's coverage of Ukraine has been very solid.  If this reflects the influence of Mr. Licht, more power to him.  But it will be a long struggle to win back the battalions of viewers that CNN has lost.  And there will still be pressure from some parts of the journalistic establishment to continue the liberal slant that has weakened the network.  We'll watch Licht's journey carefully.

February 26, 2022       Permalink