HOW WE GOT HERE: Jesse Watters, President Biden!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2024

Two of the ways we got here: Last evening, Candidate Harris engaged in some rude behavior.

She was making a major address—a speech which had been billed as her "closing argument." Rudely, the candidate let her comments extend into the 8 o'clock Eastern hour.

At that point, she was devouring time reserved for the Jesse Watters. At age 47, the Fox News Channel's primetime host is widely regarded as the silliest child ever let loose on the nation's failing discourse.

To its credit, the Fox News Channel had been airing the Harris address. At 8 o'clock sharp, the channel briefly interrupted its coverage to air this important alert:

"Fox News Alert: Kamala Harris is wrapping up a pretty tedious closing message in Washington. Let's listen in."

That was the Fox News Channel's "silliest child," messaging millions of viewers. At this point, the Channel returned to the candidate's speech, airing it through its conclusion.

Why have so many experts dubbed Watters "the silliest child?" Let's take a look at the record:

During the 5 o'clock hour, Watters co-hosts The Five, the most-watched program in all of "cable news." On a regular basis, he engages in towel-snapping interludes with fellow co-host Greg Gutfeld while the other panelists sit and watch.

According to experts, these dimwitted bromantic interludes have helped establish the channel's new culture—the culture now widely described as "Incel Chic."

So behaves Watters at 5 o'clock. At 8 o'clock, he's back for the full hour, on his own, hosting Jesse Watters Primetime in the evening's premium timeslot. As an example of what transpires during these nightly hours, consider what happened last night when the Channel returned to its broadcast of the candidate's speech.

More precisely, consider the chyrons.

Last evening, Watters broke in at 8 o'clock to report what viewers should be thinking as they watched the Harris address—but sad! Even before the cameras returned to the candidate's speech, the silliest child's producers placed this chyron on the screen:

KAMALA DELIVERS DARK CLOSING ARGUMENT

That's the chyron which appeared on the screen as the silly boy offered his warning about the "pretty tedious" speech. Just that quickly, though—still during the first minute of the 8 o'clock hour—that chyron was swapped out for this:

KAMALA PLEDGES UNITY WHILE ATTACKING TRUMP

At 8:02, the chyron changed again. The chyron now said this:

KAMALA MAKES HER CASE AFTER 4 YEARS OF CHAOS

At 8:03, then at 8:05, Fox viewers were messaged as shown:

KAMALA: ELECT ME TO FIX MY MISTAKES

KAMALA VOWS CHANGE AFTER 4 YEARS IN POWER

And then, incredibly, this:

KAMALA CLOSES WITH FEAR & FASCISM

Yes, that chyron appeared on the screen! But then, with lightning speed, the undisguised clowning of this:

KAMALA: AT LEAST I'M NOT TRUMP

It was still just 8:05 p.m.! All this messaging had been delivered as the candidate continued to speak.

For the record, the rude nominee continued to speak until 8:07 p.m. In the process, she gobbled seven minutes normally reserved for Watters. 

When the candidate finally stifled herself, the silliest child came back on the air, and the chyron was switched back to this:

KAMALA: ELECT ME TO FIX MY MISTAKES

So the chyron said as the child began to speak. Quickly, though, that chyron was swapped out for these:

KAMALA'S JOY TURNED INTO ANGER

KAMALA'S MOMENTUM IS PETERING OUT

KAMALA FALLS FLAT IN THE FINAL STRETCH

At this point, it was still just 8:08 p.m. On display was the essence of the Fox News Channel's corporate enterprise: 

No Messaging Left Behind!

In the past few weeks, a certain question has been popping up in Blue America. In our view, it's an important question—one which was captured in the headlines which sat atop two recent New York Times opinion columns:

David Brooks: October 17, 2024
Why the Heck Isn’t She Running Away With This?

Stephens and Collins: October 24, 2024
How Could the Election Be This Close?

In our view, there's nothing "wrong" with asking that question. There was nothing "wrong" with those two opinion columns.

Way back in 1988, a famous skit on Saturday Night Live presaged this modern-day question. 

"I can't believe I'm losing to this guy," SNL's version of Candidate Dukakis said in the famous skit. He said that after watching a fatuous statement by SNL's version of Candidate Bush the Elder.

You can watch that part of that skit simply by clicking this. Today, a version of that bewilderment is common in our own Blue America. During the Trump years, the question posed in those two headlines has been answered in various ways.

There is, of course, no single answer to that important question. But part of the answer lies in the clownish behavior we've just described—the pseudo-journalistic behavior which holds sway on the Fox News Channel all day long and then on into the night, as members of our finer news orgs agree to avert their gaze.

Last night, as the silliest child began to speak, his producers were beclowning his viewers again. As his viewers were being beclowned, the finer people in our Blue news orgs all knew they should look away.

Over at Mediaite, Colby Hall was one exception. His report started like this:

Fox News Chyrons During Kamala Harris Speech Reveal What the Network Thinks

Vice President Kamala Harris gave her closing argument speech at The Ellipse near the White House on Tuesday night, and all networks covered it live throughout. Fox News, however, opted to offer its own derogatory opinions of Harris’s speech through a series of increasingly unhinged and absurdly biased chyrons, or lower thirds as they are called in the biz, designed entirely to undermine Harris’s campaign.

"The immediate reaction to Harris’s speech on mainstream media outlets was largely positive," Hall reported. "Fox News chyron writers, however, spent almost the entirety of Harris’s speech appending lower thirds that mocked her address."

Hall included a listing of other chyrons served up during the Harris address. We don't know when those chyrons appeared; Hall presented them without any time stamps. (We switched over to Fox just before 8 o'clock.)

With the Internet Archive still down and out, we can't link you to videotape of the start of Watters' program. (If you have the right cable arrangement, you can watch the foolishness here.)

Nothing will change because of the pseudo-journalistic stupidity captured in last night's chyrons. That said, this form of stupidity rules the imitation of discourse offered by this counterfeit "news channel" every night of the week.

As the clowning rolls along, the finer news orgs agree not to notice. This is surely one of the ways we the people have reached the current place.

How can it possibly be this close? Inquiring minds in Blue America very much want to know.

In part, it's the work of the Fox News Channel. In part, it's also the concomitant silence of the New York Times and of other such news orgs run by a much finer class.

Harris was giving a tedious speech. A silly child, in a Fox News Alert, jumped in to offer that message!

This afternoon: The president does it again


28 comments:

  1. Charles Murdoch, Rupert's youngest son, after quitting the board of Newscorp, the parent company of Fox, offered up an explanation months later. He said that although it was important that opposing views be given in the media, he had no control over content as a single board member, and could no longer participate in overseeing an enterprise whose business model is disseminating misinformation. That sums it up quite well.

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  2. Somerby is unhinged todayOctober 30, 2024 at 11:18 AM

    "There is, of course, no single answer to that important question."

    One reason is obviously that her supporters (like Somerby claims to be) run a day-after blog post about Fox chyrons instead of examining the contents of her closing speech.

    How is Harris supposed to win an election when even her supposed supporters are engaged in this nonsense?

    If Somerby wanted Harris to win, he could have been talking about the various issues she has been raising and discussing her positions. He could have been examining the huge faux pas committed by Trump, especially at his MSG rally.

    Somerby clearly has no desire to help Harris defeat Trump. But then he has the gall to ask why she isn't further ahead. When men like Somerby cannot bring themselves to be enthusiastic about an excellent candidate like Harris, the obvious reason is sexism and Somerby should have the tiniest glimmer of self-awareness to understand that his own reluctance may be mirrored by other men nationwide, who should be pushing Harris but instead are a drag on her campaign.

    Don't worry. Wommen, minorities, unions, all of the traditional constituencies for Democrats will step up and take over for the dull laggards like Somerby who cannot figure out where their interests lie and are busy trying to sabotage the chances of our first female president.

    Somerby should be ashamed to have written today's essay, but like Trump, he will never apologize when he is wrong.

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    Replies
    1. Somerby's blog is focused on examining the media, specifically the disfunction in the media. Seems like you should've noticed that.

      Delete
    2. Again - Somerby’s beat is the press corps and the discourse itself, not the critique of politicians. There are plenty of other partisan spaces out there if you want to get your priors confirmed.

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    3. Somerby routinely takes position stances, sorry Charlie but the ‘’just following orders” type of defense does not apply.

      Delete
    4. Right. Somerby writes that Fox News sabotages Harris's speech through its use of chyrons, which 11:18 says is evidence of (wait for it) Somerby's sexism.

      Some people can find sexism in absolutely anything. And some voters recoil at those who find sexism in absolutely everything.

      Delete
    5. PP,
      I'm glad I came to witness Somerby completely whiffing on the media story of the election.
      The media pounding on Biden's age and gaffes, to the point they were suggesting he might not be "fit for office", while shrugging about "post-birth abortions", "Haitian immigrants eating pets', and dozens of lies from the Republican Presidential nominee.
      I know that some will say, if I want Somerby to stop distracting his readers from that important media story, by focusing on "comedians" on Fox News, I should start my own media criticism blog.

      Delete
  3. "Harris was giving a tedious speech. A silly child, in a Fox News Alert, jumped in to offer that message!"

    Once again, Somerby repeats the anti-Harris Fox News message but without any rebuttal. Was the speech tedious? No one else is saying so. It is being described by the media generally as a speech worthy of a sitting president. Does Somerby say so? Of course not. And then he has the nerve to ask why she isn't further ahead.

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  4. Where is that moron who thinks Biden was forced out by the elites? Yesterday he committed one of the most harmful unforced blunders in the history of politics by calling Trump supporters 'garbage'. He couldn't keep his mouth shut for one more week.

    And don't throw out any bullshit about how 'supporters' really had an apostrophe. In the audio it's clear it doesn't.

    He's a complete jackass.

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    Replies
    1. It seems to me he was defending the people of our country from Trump's unprovoked attack at the MSG. If you were Puerto Rican, you might feel differently about what Biden said.

      Biden is not running for office. Harris is not responsible for anything Biden says. Garbage is a very mild term for what the right has been doing. And if the President cannot say what he wants, who can?

      Note the double standard here. Trump can say horrible things about anyone but the President cannot correct the record and defend the maligned. That's ridiculous.

      Delete
    2. The quickest way to get Republican voters to support political correctness, is by telling the truth about them.

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    3. Biden blew-up David in Cal's theory that "all politicians lie", with that statement.

      Delete
    4. "It seems to me he was defending the people of our country from Trump's unprovoked attack at the MSG"

      Thanks, Hunter.

      Here's how the right will spin it, and probably are already:

      the MSG 'garbage' insult was made by a comedian with no official ties to the GOP about a particular ethnic group.

      Biden's 'garbage' insult was made by the head of the f-----g party and applies to ALL Trump voters.

      He wasn't even ad libbing at a speech or responding to a question. It looked like he was alone in his office, doddering his way through the day. Spin that.

      Delete
    5. Hector,
      So the people who think we should fuck our feelings, are having their feelings hurt?
      Let me try to spin it for you.
      You're a sucker, and you are easily led by the nose by Right-wing political operatives.

      How'd I do?

      Delete
    6. Biden is so old and out of touch, he thinks Haitians aren't eating our pets.

      Delete
    7. Hector,
      Does this make you want to vote for the guy who's Vice President thinks you get offended too easily?

      Delete
    8. Biden calling Trump calling Trump supporters "garbage" doesn't bother me. Nor does it bother me that comedian, in a joke, called Puerto Rico (not Puerto Ricans) "garbage".

      First of all this insult is trivial compared with the real issues at state in the election. Second, Trump and his supporters have been routinely called much worse things: fascist, Hitler, deplorable, stupid, etc.

      Delete
    9. "How'd I do?"

      Not so good. This is about political tactics the week before a razor close election, not cute little debating points about feelings.

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    10. Hector: Trump’s response yesterday to Biden’s “garbage” comment is very funny. Trump said “You have to please forgive him. Please forgive him! For he not knoweth what he said”.

      Delete
    11. Biden is not some doddering old man who doesn't know what he says. There is no daylight between him and Kamala and he's as sharp as ever. You should see him in meetings.

      Delete
    12. Hector,
      So that's why you're here? To discuss political tactics, and not debating points about the people who convinced you their feelings are hurt?
      Because, if so, i'm ready for the political tactics discussion.
      Do you want to start, or would you like me to?

      Delete
    13. Tony Hinchcliffe will go down in history as a hero to Dems, single-handedly bringing down Trump.

      Trump tried to pass the buck, saying “Tony who?”, but no, it turns out Trump was yet again lying, Tony was carefully vetted, with the Trump campaign taking out Tony’s reference to Harris as a c*nt (somehow that was a bridge too far for these clowns?).

      Since I am a Dem and not a snowflake Repub, I wasn’t all butthurt about Tony’s “comedy” and him trying to hide Republican racism behind “jokes”, but the fact that Tony sealed the deal, assuring Harris of the win, is just fucking hilarious.

      Delete
    14. There is some circumstantial evidence that Hinchcliffe was recommended to the trump Bund by none other than Joe Rogan.

      Delete
  5. The whining here is unbecoming Bob. If the entire Blue tribe a*hole media can describe Trump’s MSG rally as hate-fest, Fox can comment on Coup-mala’s speech in realtime. Moreover, those chyrons were funny and accurate. “Elect me to fix our mistakes” about sums up her whole campaign. And, Jesse Watters is funny.

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    Replies
    1. The funny thing about Jesse Watters is that he'll never forgive Joe Biden for the lowest unemployment rate in over half a century.
      Cracks me up, every time.

      Delete
  6. There has never been a litany of CNN or MSNBC outrageously partisan chyrons here. A simple oversight I'm sure.

    They have been doing it much longer than Fox, whose antics last night were quite entertaining.

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  7. TRUMP'S MSG RALLY COMES 85 YEARS AFTER PRO-NAZI RALLY AT SAME ARENA read the MSNBC chyron during coverage of the event.

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  8. Meanwhile, the Corrupt SC6 decided today that sometimes we're not a republic, specifically when Republican Governors violate the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, as Gov Youngkin in Virginia did. It is funny how every appeals court who looked at this voter purge decided Youngkin couldn't do it. Roberts cut his teeth suppressing votes, so it was a no-brainer to run to the Supreme Court.

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