Isn’t There A Zebra Carcass Chuck Todd Should Be Hovering Over?

After the release of the fantasy book by Michael Wolff, NBC’s Chuck Todd reported, "Welcome to a five-alarm dumpster fire for the White House or shall we call it Bannon’s rebellion? The Russia investigation has been blown open in dramatic fashion. Not by the ‘fake news media,’ not by the ‘deep state Justice Department,’ but by Steve Bannon!"

The nation's journalists cover this obvious nonsense because otherwise, they'd have to enter what to them is uncharted territory: the truth.

If there's anything substantial in Wolff's tales of chaos in the early Trump White House, it shows nothing more than this:  Those of us who thought the political neophyte Trump was unprepared to take office in January were correct, and Trump’s response—that he would learn in office and appoint the "best people" to help him—was equally correct.

We are watching our mainstream news media collapse. They leap with reckless abandon on any fake news that might make Trump look bad and then are forced to retract it. They are, at least to this observer, not reporting actual news but their own sick and twisted fantasies.

We were also treated to CNN’s Brian “The Nation’s Hall Monitor” Stelter’s declaration Trump’s latest tweets were “madness” and asserted as fact that the President is mentally unfit to serve. Stelter’s evidence of Trump’s mental health was not based on medical evidence, but solely on the President’s tweets.

How, for the love of God, can anyone take this dolt seriously? I ask this because in 2016 Stelter agonized over concerns that were raised when his Queen exhibited a pattern of documented medical episodes, including a concussion and a “life-threatening blood clot”.  When more questions arose in August 2016 after her prolonged public coughing fits it was Stelter who dodged the issue strongly suggesting the state of her health should be referred to her doctors.

A couple of days ago, Newt Gingrich penned an op-ed for Fox News.  In his piece Gingrich noted:

There could be no greater contrast in leadership on the world stage and in interpreting reality than President Obama’s “lead from behind” model in Iran versus President Trump’s “lead from the front” model.

When the Iranian people demonstrated against the nation’s dictatorship in 2009, President Obama was weak and quiet. He was so interested in getting a nuclear arms deal with the dictatorship that he did not want to irritate Iran’s leaders.

President Trump represents a remarkably different view of reality. He believes weakness begets weakness. He believes bad regimes are bad. He believes leaders look for opportunities and move aggressively and courageously to advance their vision of the world. He believes America is big enough and strong enough to provide real leadership.

In his address to the United Nations in September, President Trump said: “The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most. This is what causes the regime to restrict Internet access, tear down satellite dishes, shoot unarmed student protestors, and imprison political reformers.”

Note that President Trump, who the elite left insists is ignorant and dangerous on national security and foreign policy, was describing the potential for the current popular demonstrations three months before they started.

Now that as some courageous Iranians have risked prison and even death by standing up to the dictatorship, President Trump is once again proving that he represents the opposite of President Obama’s passivity and weakness.

[SKIP]

David Ignatius, one of the most respected columnists on foreign affairs and national security, wrote a recent column in The Washington Post headlined: “Trump is right to tell Iran the world is watching.”

When President Trump starts getting “Trump is right” headlines in The Washington Post, you know something big is happening.

A Small And Petty Chuck Todd Utterly Filleted By Kellyanne Conway

Fake News Alert: Chuck Todd’s Russian Hacking Rant

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
of the Russian Federation

Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

Mr. Chuck Todd, Political Director NBC News

30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10112

Dear Comrade,

As purveyor of your Kapitalist ideology, Ayn Rand once noted, “The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow. They come to be accepted by degrees, by precedent, by implication, by erosion, by default, by dint of constant pressure on one side and constant retreat on the other—until the day when they are suddenly declared to be the country's official ideology.”

We at the Kremlin were intrigued by your interview with Reince Priebus this morning.

The Washington Free Beacon uploaded a video on YouTube™ documenting your President World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer publicly pleading lying 36 times promising if Americans liked their doctor they could keep their doctor.  If they liked their healthcare plan they could keep their healthcare plan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpa-5JdCnmo

Two years ago your panty-waist leader, in an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly during your Super Bowl, tried to put behind him the scandals that hung over his second term suggesting his administration did not mislead the public on the Benghazi attack and astonishingly went so far as to say the IRS targeting scandal had “not even a smidgen of corruption.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWQ6UiEnDj0

Your former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, blamed an “awful internet video” for the deaths of four Americans in the terror attack in Benghazi just three days after the assault on the compound that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-BWzaYp3qc

Comrade, only two of your intelligence entities—the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—have weighed in on this issue, not 17 intelligence agencies [as Bolshevik Hillary had claimed]. And what they said was ambiguous about our government’s involvement in the election where your goddess failed to ascend to the presidency.

We are having great difficulty understanding why you doubt the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation when we vehemently deny hacking accusations or “rigging” the election in favor of President-elect Donald J. Trump.  Perhaps we have underestimated your Ministry of Propaganda.

As our esteemed President, Vladimir Putin once noted, “Those who fight corruption should be clean themselves.”  Perhaps you should consider sending your résumé to RT (Russian Television).  Kulaks would rejoice and Comrade Schultz would be glad for the company.  He often complains of the bitter cold in our gulags.

Best regards,

Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov

NOTE FROM OUR ATTORNEY:  Neither the image of the letter to Chuck Todd nor the text of the letter shown in this post is an actual letter.  It is political satire.  The links to the videos however are authentic.

Bad At Political Theater?

I predicted in a previous post that press poodle turned host of Meet The Press, Chuck Todd, would not ask The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer about the scandalous stand-down order that resulted in the savage death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.

Chuckles did ask one question that revealed the cold-bloodedness that so dominates his persona. 

TODD:  I got to ask, so—so during that vacation, you made the statement on Foley. You went and golfed. Do you—do you want that back? 

THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS COMMUNITY ORGANIZER:  You know, it is always a challenge when you're supposed to be on vacation. Because you're followed everywhere. And part of what I'd love is a vacation from… 

TODD:  Yeah, you want to… 

TWMDCO:  …the—the press and—and—because… 

TODD:  I promise you, 2 1/2 years, I think that happens. 

TWMDCO:  Because the possibility of a jarring contrast given the world's news, is always—there's always going to be some tough news somewhere—is going to be there. But there's no doubt that—after having talked to the families, where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain that they were going through, after the statement that I made, that you know, I should've anticipated the optics. 

You know, that's part of the job. And you know, I think everybody who knows me, including, I suspect, the press, understands that that you know, you take this stuff in. And—it—it's serious business. And—and you care about it deeply. 

But part of this job is also the theatre of it. A part of it is, you know, how are you, how, how are you, well, it's not something that—that always comes naturally to me. But it matters. And I'm mindful of that. So the important thing is, in addition to that, is am I getting the policies right? Am I protecting the American people? Am I doing what's necessary? 

And when it comes to the policies, when it comes to the actions we've taken, I have no higher priority than keeping the American people safe. I think I've done a very good job during the course of these last, close to six years, doing so. And I intend to continue to meet that responsibility or meet that duty, for as long as I have the privilege of holding this office.

Noah Rothman opines, “A charitable interpretation of Obama’s remarks would allow for the possibility that he was expressing his genuine regret for the hard-edged display that followed the Foley speech in an artless manner. Obama played pundit, as he often does, and sounded callous by making an assessment of the political implications surrounding what the public saw as a lack of empathy for those wounded by Foley’s execution. But the president’s implied scolding of the media for amplifying that criticism indicates that this interpretation of his remarks may be a bit too forgiving.”

Didn't "theater of politics" -- and then-Sen. Obama being "good at it" -- initially propel him at 2004 Dem National Convention?

— Ed Henry (@edhenryTV) September 7, 2014

Will The Public Remain Less Informed Than It Would Otherwise Be Chucky?

The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer will be Chuck Todd’s first guest as the new moderator of "Meet the Press," NBC announced Thursday.

Todd told The Washington Post, “I’m as pissed off as anybody else is at Washington.” His plan:  make sure he’s well versed enough in every topic to knock people off their talking points and to highlight more news from outside the Beltway.

It will be the first appearance of our semi-retired president on “Meet the Press” since December 2012, when he discussed negotiations on the fiscal cliff and his second-term priorities.

Chris Cillizza brainstormed with fellow WaPo sycophants a “handful of questions Todd could ask that might elicit interesting or illuminating responses.”

What, specifically, is your timeline for making a decision on using your executive authority in regards the nation's millions of undocumented immigrants? 

You've taken a lot of heat for your summation of your foreign policy as "don't do stupid shit."  So, what sentence (or two) better describes your overall approach to foreign policy? 

Despite suffering some setbacks during his time in office, Bill Clinton reshaped the Democratic Party. To what extent have you done that, and which of these changes are most likely to outlast you once you’re gone?  

Should you have gone golfing after saying you were "heartbroken" about James Foley’s execution? 

Did you discuss the Ferguson riots with your daughters? What questions did they ask and how did you respond as a father?  

Would you change your approach to dealing with Congress if Republicans win the Senate this fall? How?

With the upcoming release of the book “13 Hours:  The Inside Account Of What Really Happened In Benghazi”, perhaps one of those questions Todd should be asking would be why were the five commandos who were guarding the CIA Annex in Benghazi ordered to “stand down” from any rescue attempt?  That would certainly be fertile ground for a tough question.

Instead, little Chucky will doubtless ask the burning question about the president’s bucket list visit to Stonehenge and his intellectual comment, “How cool is this?”

I hope I’m wrong.  I strongly suspect that Todd, like his predecessor, will ask inane softball questions.  There was a time when landing an interview with the president was considered an achievement.  That is no longer the case due to the shameful willingness of the poodle press to conduct fluff interviews and the American people, as a result, remain less informed than they might otherwise be.

NBC To David Gregory: You Don’t Have To Go Home But You Can’t Stay Here

CNN’s Brian Stelter reports NBC named Chuck Todd the new host of "Meet the Press" on Thursday afternoon, beginning a revamp by network news managers who say they want the iconic program to be the "beating heart of politics."

The announcement confirmed widespread speculation that David Gregory, the moderator of the Sunday morning public affairs program for the past six years, would be replaced by Todd, the NBC News political director.

Not only is Gregory leaving "Meet the Press," he is also leaving the network. His next career move is not yet known.

The way NBC is treating David Gregory is horrible, disrespectful, and incredibly appropriate.
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) August 11, 2014 

@iowahawkblog Gregory's record of achievement far outpaces most Howdy Doody look-a-likes.
— K Fields (@BHatkat) August 11, 2014

I leave NBC as I came - humbled and grateful. I love journalism and serving as moderator of MTP was the highest honor there is . (1 of 2)
— David Gregory (@davidgregory) August 14, 2014

(2 of 2) I have great respect for my colleagues at NBC News and wish them all well. To the viewers, I say thank you.
— David Gregory (@davidgregory) August 14, 2014

Mr. Gregory, The Doctor Will See You Now

Bless NBC’s heart.  They’re in a bit of a pickle.  They seem to be a small gherkin in a jar of large dill pickles.

“Meet the Press”, the longest running Sunday morning talk show is No. 3 and in the midst of a three-year slide. During the first three months of this year, the program finished behind perennial rivals “Face the Nation” and “This Week With George Stephanopoulos”.  Viewing among people aged 25 to 54, the preferred demographic for TV news advertisers, fell to its lowest level ever in the last quarter of 2013.

“Last year, the network undertook an unusual assessment of the 43-year-old journalist, commissioning a psychological consultant to interview his friends and even his wife. The idea, according to network spokeswoman, Meghan Pianta, was to get perspective and insight from people who know him best.’ But the research project struck some at NBC as odd, given that Gregory has been employed there for nearly 20 years.”

Odd indeed.  NBC is now disputing the Post story, referring to the resource called in last year as a “brand consultant”.

"Do I want to be No. 1 in the ratings?" Gregory said in an interview with the Post. "Every week I want to be No. 1, and we fight like hell to get there. And it’s tough right now. It’s a fight.

"I’m not just trying to sell you—well, I am trying to sell you—but I’m not going to B.S. you, either. Yeah, it’s hard. I see what our challenges are. But we’re going to fix our problems."

I guess the “brand analyst” was called in to see if the tat on David’s ass of the logo for The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer needed to be re-inked.  It’s bound to have faded a little though you’d never know it based on the way he kisses the ass of Democrats and is full of piss and vinegar (note the pickle theme) when interviewing Republicans.

Paul Farhi, who wrote the WaPo piece, said he checked with NBC twice on Sunday about the term "psychological" and that they had no objections at the time.

With NBC willing to allow information like this to go public it’s easy to see that the writing must be on the wall.

Dr. Freud will review the id, the ego and the superego with David.  It’s OK though.  NBC has deep pockets.

UPDATE:  I love what Vodkapundit had to say.

“NBC is in a real bind here, because who is there better to replace Gregory? NBC’s bench is so shallow that he really is the best they’ve got to host TV’s longest-running program.” 

“So the bad choices are to suffer the shame of canceling TV’s longest-running program, bringing in one of the D-listers from the MSNBC farm team, or keep Gregory as captain of the sinking ship.” 

“Honestly, it couldn’t happen to a nicer group of shills.”

David Gregory: “Subject Of A Now-Popular Police Investigation”

Dylan Byers, one of the groupthink poodles over at Politico (I refuse to link that site), priggishly wrote as only Dylan can, “NBC's David Gregory, the subject of a now-popular police investigation, is on vacation and will not host this Sunday's edition of Meet the Press."

“The Washington Metropolitan Police Department launched an investigation this week into whether Gregory and NBC violated city laws when he displayed what appeared to be a gun magazine on last week's show. Today, the police issued a statement, saying NBC had been told before last Sunday's show that it was ‘not permissible’ to show a high-capacity gun magazine on air.”

“Gregory's vacation was scheduled prior to last week's show, according to NBC. [Sure it was.] He is scheduled to host the Jan. 5 edition of Meet the Press." [He will if he’s not still on the lam.]

NBC News has declined to comment on the investigation.  Clearly the Peacock Network’s shyster lawyers are stalling for time to see if they can conjure up some sort of journalistic privilege loophole.  They can’t have their precious end up in prison wearing a red wig and being forced to be mindful when bending over to pick up the soap he dropped in the shower.

The bottom line on the Gregory swirl is the DC cops have every right to know how he got his hands on both of the magazines he waved in front of the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre and what has happened to them since the show.

I’m sure you already know that Mr. “Subject of A Now-Popular Police Investigation” sends his kids to a Washington-area school protected by armed guards; the same school, incidentally, that his O’liness’s kids go to.  Oh. The. Irony.

I’ll close this post with this thought from a fellow blogger and add that I wish I had said it:

“Mr. Gregory’s journalistic irresponsibility is one of the reasons why I’m pushing for a high-capacity magazine ban. No one has any legitimate reason to need a copy of Mother Jones, The New Republic, or Time with more than 10 pages.”

That is all.