Because Agnes and I are still on the road and can't plan on having an Internet connection available when we need it, I won't necessarily be able to identify cringe-worthy ass clowns in the current news; as a result, I've penned this award well in advance. It may not be up-to-the-minute, but it's well deserved nevertheless.
The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2019
is presented to
Chris Cuomo and Kayleigh McEnany
During his show on the evening of August 28th, CNN host Chris Cuomo asked Trump campaign press secretary Kayleigh McEnany: "Has the president ever lied to the American public?"
This question, and the several minutes of prevarication, verbal sparring, and mutual accusations of lying that followed, represent the worst of present day news coverage and analysis and political tap-dancing.
First, Cuomo asked a question to which he knew what the answer would be, and which was obviously intended only to set up the contentious argument into which the discussion degenerated. McEnany, for her part, would clearly never answer in the affirmative, regardless of the volume of evidence to the contrary. Cuomo's question was clearly intended to produce sound and heat, rather than to cast light on a serious issue. It was a spectacle worthy of the most cringe-inducing Fox News coverage.
Der Furor has a well-documented lack of acquaintance with the truth, ranging from the positive spin employed by every politician to the employment of out-and-out provable falsehoods, and he is backed up by a (publicly-funded) press office and a servile GOP ready to excuse the worst of his utterances. Unfortunately, the press does not aggressively call out Der Furor and his enablers for this, wrapping itself around the semantic axle of what constitutes a "lie" (generally defined as the presentation of a known falsehood with the specific intent to mislead or deceive the listener). The result: Der Furor continues to ride forward, propelled by a comfortable blast of hot air accepted as gospel by those who ought to know better.
And his efforts are immeasurably assisted by useless shouting matches like that which earns today's designation of Cuomo and McEnany as co-designees as the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September.
Have a good day. Expect better from your news media and your political parties, but don't bet your life savings on it.
More thoughts tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday returns.
Bilbo
The question should have been, "We know the president has over 12,000 lies to his credit. When do you think he'll hit 13,000?"
ReplyDeleteGood choice.
ReplyDeleteGiven recent events, I look forward to your thoughts on them and any European reactions that you encounter. My guess is the the majority are saying "Are Americans finally coming to their senses and getting rid of this clown?"