Primetime Thursday brings us the January 6th committee's televised hearing, which the broadcast networks are planning to take wall-to-wall. Whatever credibility the bipartisan panel maintains beyond the "resistance" crowd could be seriously jeopardized if Democrats insist on foolish partisan overreach. It's being reported that some Democratic members of the committee want to formally recommend, er, abolishing the electoral college in their findings – which would reek of frivolous left-wing wish-listing, as opposed to a sober-minded review of the facts (I'd argue that Adam Schiff's presence on the committee also deals a major blow to the group's above-the-fray billing). Idiocy:
In multiple conversations among committee members, [Jamie] Raskin has argued that the Electoral College should be abolished — that if presidents were elected by a popular vote, this would protect future presidential elections against the subversion that Trump and his allies tried to pull off in 2020…Cheney thinks the committee will burn its credibility if it pushes for radical changes like abolishing the Electoral College, according to a source with direct knowledge...Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has spoken up in the committee to concur with Raskin on the problems with the Electoral College, that same source added. However, Schiff is far more focused on changes to the Electoral Count Act — a reform that is much more likely for the committee members to agree upon.
Will they also endorse nuking the filibuster, packing the Supreme Court, and forcing a federal takeover of American elections while they're at it? Super serious, institutions-minded people, these guys. The fact that his dispute is real and spilling out into the open is proof positive that some of these people truly cannot help themselves. But before primetime Thursday, this evening will feature late-night Wednesday. Democratic strategist, self-appointed morality pope, and part-time comedian Jimmy Kimmel – who fills his days delivering partisan sermons and losing to Ted Cruz in basketball – will welcome President Joe Biden onto the show, for what promises to be a hard-hitting grilling. By which I mean a kid-gloves panderfest, of course. One wonders if Kimmel might get his questions for Biden directly from Chuck Schumer, given the established existence of that content pipeline.
Media critic Stephen Miller amusingly and accurately refers to America's late-night "comedy" shows (not named "Gutfeld!") as "group therapy for libs." I hope this forthcoming interview is therapeutic for someone, at least. Maybe Biden can finally unburden himself about all of his pent up, "seething" frustration he's said to be experiencing over the deep unfairness of his low approval rating, driven by voters rudely noticing his failing presidency. It's all so unjust:
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President Joe Biden and his aides have grown increasingly frustrated by their inability to turn the tide against a cascade of challenges threatening to overwhelm the administration...In crisis after crisis, the White House has found itself either limited or helpless in its efforts to combat the forces pummeling them. Morale inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is plummeting amid growing fears that the parallels to Jimmy Carter, another first-term Democrat plagued by soaring prices and a foreign policy morass, will stick...Aides need to quell the finger-pointing that’s been erupting internally and the increasing concern over staff shakeups, according to five White House officials and Democrats close to the administration not authorized to publicly discuss internal conversations. They also increasingly are trying to soothe the greatest source of West Wing frustration, coming from behind the Resolute Desk. The president has expressed exasperation that his poll numbers have sunk below those of Donald Trump, whom Biden routinely refers to in private as “the worst president” in history and an existential threat to the nation’s democracy.
The White House is denying the report ("divorced from reality"), but it sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Setting aside Kimmel's history of partisan hackery and under-informed bloviating, what's remarkable about tomorrow's sit-down is not that it's happening. It's that this comedy show chat will represent (barring something cropping up in the interim) the first time the president of the United States has subjected himself to a media interview of any sort since early February. Four months. A third of a year. Amid all these concurrent crises. Yes, Biden answers questions from reporters from time to time, but a full interview is a different beast. That format allows for questions, follow-ups, drill downs, and pushback. Biden has avoided all interviews for four months. And he's finally breaking that striking dry spell in a chummy chortle session with a fellow partisan. On my radio show yesterday, Fox News media analyst Howie Kurtz – who's been on this beat for years, including at the Washington Post and CNN – called the president's interview avoidance a "slap in the face" to journalism:
‘Slap In The Face’ To Journalism: @HowardKurtz Swipes At Biden’s Sit-Down Interview With Jimmy Kimmel After Months Of Avoiding Mediahttps://t.co/D5akmU5doz
— The Guy Benson Show (@GuyBensonShow) June 6, 2022
For what it's worth, I'll leave you with a programming note: I'm scheduled to appear on "Gutfeld!" tomorrow night on Fox News, opposite Kimmel's Biden interview on another network. Jimmy (broadcast network) almost always loses to Greg (cable) in the ratings, but tomorrow, the former will have POTUS, and the latter will have...me. You choose, dear viewers.
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