I stopped reading Politico about a month ago, but I stopped by to sicken myself with their coverage of the White House Correspondents’ dinner. Their new, post-Michael Calderone “on media” blog is really something to behold. Highlights:
This week, “Meet the Press” unveils its new set, tailored to incorporate more multimedia elements and to prepare for the Sunday show’s move to high-definition television.
Host David Gregory gave POLITICO an early look, which includes separate tables for both one-on-one and roundtable interviews, as well as an extensive book collection.
[…..]White House correspondents typically feel The New York Times has a privileged relationship with the Obama administration. So it’s funny that the Times doesn’t attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — the height of elbow rubbing between reporters and officials. This morning on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” Times reporter Jeff Zeleny told host Chuck Todd that the Times sits out the dinner so as not to appear too “cozy” with the White House. Isn’t it ironic?
[…..]Boss man John Harris has a great interview with Jay Leno up.
[…..]So, you aren’t going to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. But why not grab a bucket of popcorn, invite your friends over and treat it like the Oscars?
You may think I picked the stupidest parts, but the whole thing is pretty much like this.
I have to wonder if Michael Calderone was forced out for trying to be a real reporter.
Update. Et tu, Josh?
When news first broke yesterday evening I was at the White House Correspondents Dinner, and in eyeshot of several top administration officials.
Phoenix Woman
Politico: Owned and operated by Republicans. End of story.
beltane
Can’t these people do us all a favor and go take a swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Geez, why do they think anyone cares about their junior high school style blathering. The stupid, it burns.
The Grand Panjandrum
I take it the current author isn’t even making an attempt to be a real reporter?
OT: It will be interesting to see what happens to the Washington Times now that they’ve been cut off from the Moonie gravy train subsidy. Can a paper with such an obvious right wing bias make it in the “free market” of journalism? Worth watching. Or will a new wingnut financier step forward to save them?
mistermix
My opinion of the NYT just went up.
dr. bloor
If I spent four years of my life and six figures of daddy’s money at J-school and found myself tapping out shit like that on my keyboard, I’d blow my brains out.
Then again, I am cursed with self-awareness.
Mike Kay
O.T.
Time Square bomber: suspect a white male in his 40s (via WSJ).
I would like to note, that I was the first to call this, last night:
El Tiburon
I wonder if they know that we are all laughing at them?
They really are a joke, a bunch if incestuous, inbred fucktards who like to revel in their own self perceived glory and importance.
beltane
@Mike Kay: And when we learn this fellow is a big fan of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, will we be permitted to call him a terrorist, or will that term still be limited to terrorists of a swarthier skin tone?
The Grand Panjandrum
@Mike Kay: I’m still waiting to assign blame or motivation. Plenty of white, male, 40 somethings are Muslims, Christianists, or what have you to start pointing fingers. This is much like the census worker found dead in Kentucky. Things may not be what they appear to be. I just hope whoever did this is brought to justice through old fashioned police work.
Dean Wormer
… why not grab a bucket of popcorn and GFY!!!!!
sukabi
@beltane: holding lit flares.
Omnes Omnibus
@beltane: Disturbed individual, unfortunate situation, nothing to see here, buy gold.
KG
@The Grand Panjandrum: I’ll take Newscorp as purchaser for $10 in the pool.
Mike in NC
Correction #1
Correction #2
JBerardi
Well, I consider it irrelevant and stupid and am completely ignoring it, so… mission accomplished.
These people really think of themselves far too highly. Treat it like the Oscars? Guess what? You’re not celebrities or movie stars, you’re a bunch of stupid boring assholes that no one cares about.
Was that hateful enough?
beltane
@dr. bloor: They are on par with the Goldman Sachs dimwits who thought they were so worthy of million dollar bonuses because they knew Excel.
JGabriel
What are they gonna do, make Sarah Palin read?
.
gbear
@JGabriel:
All of them!
MikeBoyScout
Forced myself to watch Fluffy today to see Sec Clinton.
The remodel of the set is something Fluffy is very proud of. I was especially impressed with the bookcase backdrop. As if anyone goes there to read a book.
All I could think of was deck chairs on the Titanic.
Mike Kay
For the first time in years, I watched “This Week” and “face the Nation”.
FTN did an adequate job. But, boy-o-boy, “This Week” was on fire. They had Sharpton, Katrina vanden Heuvel, and Bill Maher on, and they pounded George Will, BP, and AZ into the ground.
AhabTRuler
The Washington Times is fucked. The only people that read it, especially in Washington, are Conservatives who are trying to piss off the libbies.
A “serious” conservative reads WSJ, or has his balls massaged by the NYT and WaPo Editorial Boards.
Quiddity
From what was billed by Politico as “Boss man John Harris has a great interview with Jay Leno “:
… the logic of Leno for this particular occasion is obvious: The Correspondents’ Association knows precisely what it is getting.
There is no chance that Leno will die on stage …
… he will get respectable laughs on personalities and themes that anyone could guess simply from watching his show in recent weeks.
Popular, profitable, predictable: Leno is the McDonald’s of humor.
He aims squarely at a middlebrow mass audience …
Leno’s political humor … is often the equivalent of a pie in the face or even a whoopee cushion. The humor comes not so much from the jokes themselves as from giggly repetition of familiar zingers aimed at familiar targets.
You know them all — and surely you will hear them all again if you are present on Saturday or watch on C-SPAN.
This lowest-common-denominator political humor is harder than it looks, because it requires not assuming too much. “You know, the trick is not to know more than anybody else,” Leno said in the interview. “The trick is to know exactly what everybody else knows.”
Asked during the interview if he often has to throw jokes away as too provocative, he answered “every day” …
During the interview, Leno made a not-terribly-surprising admission: He likes nearly all of the politicians he lampoons. “I am one of those naive people who believe everyone goes into this for the right reasons,” he said. “I mean, I like to think that these are decent people who, for whatever reasons, have this point of view. And I try to understand what they are, whether I agree or disagree.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Water finds its own level, my grandma liked to say.
DougJ
@JGabriel:
Ha!
gbear
You know, I’m almost tempted to go read that just for the OMFG value, but not quite. I’ll just hope for a Wonkette version.
Edit: …or I could just read the Quiddity version.
Scamp Dog
I read the article, and it was about what I expected from this post, but what struck me as seriously disturbed was the comments. They were seemingly all from people talking about either how the program was lefty propaganda, or that the Times bomber was a Muslim terrorist, and that the Obama administration “didn’t believe in terrorism”. Bizarre.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Stephen Colbert also has a fake library on his set. But he knows it’s all part of a big running joke.
Omnes Omnibus
@gbear: Don’t do it. You’ll thank me later.
Mike Kay
@Scamp Dog: That’s the way it was during the election year. They’re basically “Drudge” readers.
JGabriel
@Quiddity:
I prefer to think of it as center-low.
I mean, a mother-in-law joke? Jeepers. I thought those died out in the early 1960’s.
.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Scamp Dog:
Standard talking point, straight outa Dick Cheney Junior’s spew hole. I always want to ask these people, if the “GWOT” has been such a corking success, why is something like this (if their wet dreams come true and there is some connection, however tenuous, to someone calling themselves AQ) still happening?
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle
@Phoenix Woman: Bingo!! And if anyone wonders about the particulars. you can think Glennzilla:
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2007/05/04/politico_funding/index.html
JGabriel
Scamp Dog:
Terrorism is dying! Clap louder! You have to believe, Or Terrorism will fade away!
What would conservatives do without terrorism? You’ve got to belieeeeve! And clap louder!
.
arguingwithsignposts
OK, Politico is lying, because David Gregory was walking through his set for Morning Blow last week. And the Morning Joe coverage of the WHPC Dinner sucked so much ass it was not even funny.
Mike Kay
@JGabriel: more like non-impact. I mean, the audience was all liquored up, ready to laugh at anything, and Leno still bombed.
JGabriel
Politico:
No, it’s not ironic. It’s called professionalism. You might want to try it sometime.
For example, it’s just possible that the Times gets preferential treatment because the administration feels like dealing with adults instead of gossipy insecure little brats.
.
Polish the Guillotines
There is just no reason on God’s green earth why an independent, First Amendment-protected press should be sucking political cock. Period.
If the Founding Fathers had a time machine and traveled to the present to witness this swinger’s club of political douchebaggery, they’d go back to there own time and surrender to fucking Cornwallis.
+1 (ESF +3)
Kris
Ugh.
As Ben Smith’s neighbor he had a brunch (still refuses to paint his damn house and clean up his yard) and Jonathan who also works at Politico came by with Betsy Fischer. They are an item apparently. It would definitely explain all the MTP/Politico lovey dovey shit that has been happening recently.
Just sayin’
Also: Ben, if you read this, please paint your house, it is the most hideous looking one on the block.
de stijl
It’s like rain on your wedding day.
Violet
Does Josh’s official membership in The Village coincide with TPM’s becoming less interesting and insightful? I used to go there regularly for news I didn’t get elsewhere. I find I don’t need to bother most of the time now.
Mike Kay
@Kris: what city?
Just a thought, maybe you could take some photos of his house and post them on the net, which could embarrass him into painting.
Nellcote
Have any of the reviews of Leno mentioned how badly he bombed? About half way through he couldn’t get off stage fast enough. Nobody was laughing. It was a countdown to flop sweat. Not to mention at least a couple of ‘jokes’ that were highly offensive bordering on racist.
On the other hand, the Prez kicked ass. His hit on Politico nailed them. I suspect Axelod and Plouffe were venting a bit. Heh.
Island in Alabama
I’ve been studiously ignoring this year’s Quislings of Versailles dinner, but did enjoy watching Good Night and Good Luck on the local public channel this evening.
I can’t remember the last time I graced Blolitico with a click, which is how I like it
Kris
@Mike Kay:
Brooklyn.
Bill Murray
@Polish the Guillotines: and sadly, Leno’s jokes would be stale and hackneyed to the Founding Father’s, so they wouldn’t even have a good laugh. Unless Leno did a fart joke — those are timeless
Mike Kay
@Kris: which part of brooklyn has front yards?
Kris
@Mike Kay:
Victorian Flatbush
Kobie
@dr. bloor: As someone who still works in “old media,” it amazes me that I’m eminently more qualified than basically anyone who reports at the NYT.
mistersnrub
Is that Politico blog written by Jackie Harvey from The Onion?
Jinx
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
My first thought exactly. Gregory is jumping Colbert’s train without even a hint of irony.
Wolfie1974
Meet the Press on HD? Why? To enhance John McCain’s political backflips?
Jacel
Give Josh some credit. The TPM table was packed with foreign policy heavy hitters from several decades. That showed good modeling of who ought to be considered celebrity “gets” at a journalistic event like this.