Sunday, May 19, 2013

A talking point and nothing else - Hot Air: "About those 'doctored' Benghazi emails."  I know this administration expects/depends on the media to parrot their silly lines but, after the AP spying, I think those days are over.

17 comments:

Mitt Ticulous said...

Last year: The President failed to say a particular word fast enough!

Last week: They altered their memo! We can't trust a rewrite!

Today: Exact wording, exact shmurding. Why are people so hung up on "quoting," man?

Eric said...

"Last year: The President failed to say a particular word fast enough!

Last week: They altered their memo! We can't trust a rewrite!

Today: Exact wording, exact shmerding. Why are people so hung up on "quoting," man?"

I fabricated this quote. Can you spot how?

The path to political success said...

Please proceed, Governor.

CNN polling:

March 15-17: President Obama's approval rating at -3 (47 percent approve, 50 percent disapprove).

April 5-7: President Obama's approval rating at +4 (51 percent approve, 47 percent disapprove).

May 17-18: President Obama's approval rating at +8 (53 percent approve, 45 percent disapprove).

Anonymous said...

Those numbers will surely help him move his agenda.

CNN poll: 59% approve of GOP handling of Benghazi scandal

Anonymous said...

Those numbers will surely help him move his agenda.

If the adults in the room keep pushing the super-criminal, worse-than-Watergate "let 'em die" Benghazi coverup, Obama's approval rating might hit 60%.

Cause and Effect Quiz: how'd the Clinton impeachment pan out for the GOP in 1998?

Surely this is an unrelated coincidence: the Republican Party's unpopularity with voters is now at its highest level (59%) since CNN first started polling the question back in 1992.

CNN poll: 59% approve of GOP handling of Benghazi scandal

Hmm, how does that 59% break down?

Democratic: 41%
Independent: 57%
Republican: 88%

Eric said...

Uh-huh. Obama better savor his big second-term victory of getting Chuck Hagel confirmed.

Spite is so much better than winning said...

As long as the United States economy somehow remains standing, no iconic U.S. city is abandoned to drown, and fewer than 2,000 soldiers' lives are wasted in Iraq, the ol' Obama second term is certain to be a thrilling success.

Eric said...

And there it is - the "Godwin's Law" of any "discussion".

Circling back to our original dispute: the Washington Post gives Obama's "doctored talking points" nonsense Three Pinocchios.

Anonymous said...

And there it is - the "Godwin's Law" of any "discussion".

Calling the waaaahmbulance.

It's forever hilarious to see the timeline sticklers who dismissed the 1990s economy as a bubble, wanted to move 9/11 to Bill Clinton's ledger, pushed the "Obama recession," and demanded credit for killing Bin Laden being so insistent about living in the moment.

Despite the strenuous rhetorical effort of the right, the voters have had no qualms about "blaming Bush" where appropriate. "It must be Bush's fault!" is a generic yok-yok punchline among the conservative blogosphere, but the rest of the country has a very different idea about what, or who, was the joke.

If that reality stings, go stare at one of those adorable "Miss Me Yet?" billboards until you feel better.

Eric said...

Three Pinocchios.

Anonymous said...

The WaPo Factchecker doesn't dispute the email inaccuracies. The fearsome Pinocchios are about the unsubstantiated claim that they were a deliberate tactic to "smear the president."

For insinuating otherwise and for kissing off universally acknowledged misquotes as "silly Obama nonsense," I'm going to have to give you one and a half Jiminy Crickets. You shouldn't always let your conservativism be your guide.

Eric said...

Insinuating the State Department into an email chain almost exclusively about how the State Department is trying to massage talking points = "doctoring" emails.

Twelve revisions to said talking points = "stylistic" changes.

Anonymous said...

Insinuating the State Department into an email chain almost exclusively about how the State Department is trying to massage talking points = "doctoring" emails.

Putting "quotes" around "words" doesn't automatically make them more "ominous." Besides, who needs "accuracy"? When a fishing expedition goes this cold, sometimes you need to restock the lake yourself.

Who's that with a rod and reel? Why, it's political handicapper Charlie Cook. How are the fish bitin' today, Charlie?

"One wonders how long Republicans are going to bark up this tree, perhaps the wrong tree, while they ignore their own party’s problems, which were shown to be profound in the most recent elections. Clearly none of these recent issues has had a real impact on voters yet."

YET! That means it's about to happen!

Eric said...

Yep, the polls are bitin' tonight!

"Fully 55 percent say the Obama administration is trying to hide the facts [on Benghazi], while just 33 percent say it has honestly disclosed what it knows of the incident. It’s not just Republicans crying foul: Six in 10 independents and nearly three in 10 Democrats say the administration is not being forthright."

Anonymous said...

Yup. And according to multiple polls, Obama’s approval has edged up at the same time. The GOP’s approval has simultaneously edged down. But how?

It isn’t that the American public is unaware of the details and allegations. And it’s not that they approve of them, or think they’re nothing. It’s because “Republican” has become a noxious turnoff.

Who could possibly have foreseen that crying “woooooollllllffffffff!!!!” for five years straight would be a dumb, losing strategy?

Here’s where you are today, after campaigning against Make-Believe Obama since 2007, and then regurgitating Benghazi drivel for half a year. Two genuine, legitimately shady scandals drop right into your lap. But hardly anybody cares what your team has to say. That’s inept.

Eric said...

Well, I'd love to continue knocking down your straw men all day, but it gets exhausting after a while. If I start debating THIS you want to bring up THAT.

The "doctored" email (singular) is such an embarrassing reach that everybody has given it a collective eyeroll. Watch the video: even Dan Pfeiffer didn't believe his own crap.

Anonymous said...

If I start debating THIS you want to bring up THAT.

Apologies for going off topic. Your posts, in order:
1. The reports on the "State Dept." emails were correct in spirit. The liberal media is about to turn on Obama.
2. Insistence on accuracy in reporting "verbatim quotes" is absurd if the mistakes are compatible with my opinion.
3. Ha ha, Obama is a powerless lame duck.
4. Bringing up Bush's second-term failures out of nowhere is desperate. Also, the Factchecker spanked Dan Pfeiffer.
5. Ha ha, Factchecker.
6. It was okay to rewrite those emails, but not for them. because their use of slanted rhetoric is bad. Also, they “massaged” “talking points.” Also, “twelve revisions” is not a talking point.
7. Hey, look at (this part of) the polls!
8. Dude, you’re all over the road. No one, not even Obama’s own staff, believes their crap.

Good spot on Dan Pfeiffer’s body language; it could never stand up against Darrell Issa’s earnest quest for truth.

How any of this represents a key moment for the Republicans in getting Benghazi traction and finally making gains with the public on the subject, only you and your fellow bloggers' fan fiction can say.

Until then, keep calling out those straw men... and keep pushing Benghazi!