IMITATIONS OF DISCOURSE: Krugman calls it a harmless gaffe!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2020

A statement of opinion:
Just for starters, let it be said:

Paul Krugman's assessment of Biden's remark is a matter of judgment—a matter of opinion.

Last week, Biden was speaking with a radio host who calls himself Charlamagne Tha God. According to the New York Times, the radio host "has been called out for his own gaffes and homophobic, transphobic and sexist comments."

Not that there's anything wrong with it! That said, Biden forgot the basic rule of modern outrage-era politics:

The politician has to be especially careful about what he says to someone named Tha God.

Ignoring this well-known rule, Biden proceeded to make a remark which had been made about three million times by blue-leaning pundits before him. Because we live in The Age of the Gaffe, this set off storms of complaint, largely among a certain subset of blue-leaning pundits.

Krugman was stating his view about this set of events. Midway through his column, he referred to Biden's fleeting remark as "a harmless gaffe"—but as he started, he stated his basic view of the matter:
KRUGMAN (5/26/20): Last week Joe Biden made an off-the-cuff joke that could be interpreted as taking African-American votes for granted. It wasn’t a big deal—Biden, who loyally served Barack Obama, has long had a strong affinity with black voters, and he has made a point of issuing policy proposals aimed at narrowing racial health and wealth gaps. Still, Biden apologized.

And in so doing he made a powerful case for choosing him over Donald Trump in November. You see, Biden, unlike Trump, is capable of admitting error.
Was Biden's off-the-cuff remark actually a "joke?" In the hubbub which has ensued, contradictory views have been stated.

Was Biden's possible joke "a big deal?" Krugman said the comment wasn't a big deal; he also said it was "harmless." Others expressed alternate views.

Last Saturday, the controversy hit the front page of the Washington Post. One day later, it led the National section of the New York Times—and in the Times, inevitability struck:

Readers were told that Biden's remark recalled Candidate Clinton's "hot sauce" remark. That remark touched off a gaffe watch during our last presidential campaign, the one which (ever so barely) sent Donald J. Trump to the White House.

So it has gone in our White House campaigns during this, The Age of the Gaffe.

During this, The Age of the Gaffe, our journalists have helped us that the gaffe can take many forms.

As we noted yesterday, there is the spoken gaffe. But there's also the wardrobe gaffe and the hairdo gaffe, and there's the gaffe of the cheese placed on the cheesesteak.

There's the spousal imperfection gaffe. There's the gaffe of what you order to drink while campaigning in a saloon, lounge, dive, restaurant, private club, hell-hole or bar.

Closely related to the gaffe is the question of whether the politician knows the price of a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. There's the gaffe of crying or seeming to cry, even if major journalists have to dream tears up.

Long ago and far away, when the gaffe was being invented, Michael Kinsley defined the emerging phenomenon. According to Kinsley's formulation, "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth."

Kinsley stated that view in 1984, a year in Walter Mondale was caught making accurate statements in public on at least several occasions. By now, the frontiers of the gaffe have been expanded. Indeed, the leading authority on the topic now offers this gaffe catalog:
The term gaffe may be used to describe an inadvertent statement by a politician that the politician believes is true while the politician has not fully analyzed the consequences of publicly stating it. Another definition is a statement made when the politician privately believes it to be true, realizes the dire consequences of saying it, and yet inadvertently utters, in public, the unutterable. Another definition is a politician's statement of what is on his or her mind—this may or may not be inadvertent—thereby leading to a ritualized "gaffe dance" between candidates...A propensity to concentrate on so-called "gaffes" in campaigns has been criticized as a journalistic device that can lead to distraction from real issues. The Kinsley gaffe is said to be a species of the general "political gaffe."
Etcetera and so forth and so on! We'll only note that this catalog of gaffes fails to mention a wide array of possible gaffes, including the wardrobe gaffe, the hairdo gaffe, and the gaffe which occurs when the politician tells a joke which is then excitedly treated as a serious comment.

(See Candidate Gore, September 2000, "union lullaby" joke. See giant mainstream press hubbub which followed. See subsequent extremely narrow win by Candidate Bush.)

Was Candidate Biden telling a joke on that radio show? Did he possibly author a jest or a jibe? Was his comment "harmless?"

Those are all matters of opinion. And Biden's remark was made in this, the tribalized era characterized by the deathless cry, No Offense Left Behind.

Because of the nature of the age, offense was instantly taken. This sent Biden to the front page of the Washington Post, the same front page which, today, is discussing the latest pathological insults delivered by the other presumptive candidate in our coming White House election, assuming some such election actually happens.

For ourselves, we wouldn't have made Biden's comment. We think so-called race is correctly regarded as a "suspect category," and not just under strictures of constitutional law.

We would be extremely loath to make joking remarks in the general area of "race." It's generally a bad idea for a pol to do so, even if he's talking to someone who calls himself Tha God.

For the record, we don't mean to criticize Charlamagne by making such comments. He isn't one of the people who turned Biden's off-the-cuff comment into a front-page gaffe.

Tomorrow, we'll look at a few who did. They were expressing their opinions, just as Krugman later did. Such behavior is of course allowed, though it may not always be helpful or wise.

We're going to close by repeating something we just said. For ourselves, we wouldn't have made Biden's comment.

His comment dealt with so-called race, and for reasons which are blindingly obvious, our brutal history has made that an extremely difficult topic. It's also true that people of various "races" are allowed to support Donald J. Trump.

Clarence Thomas' views, and those of the grandfather who raised him, are part of the American experience too. No group of people has ever agreed on any one topic. No group can sensibly be expected to do so, and no group ever will.

That said, long before Biden spoke, three million blue-leaning pundits had offered some version of his remark, often while killing time on 24-hour cable. Such remarks are occasionally part of the dumbness of Our Own Tribe.

Everyone says what Biden said! Still, a basic reason to avoid joking as Biden did was captured in the account given above:
The term gaffe may be used to describe an inadvertent statement by a politician that the politician believes is true while the politician has not fully analyzed the consequences of publicly stating it.
We'd advise against making a comment like Biden's because you know exactly how a bunch of people will quickly and loudly react.

Later in his column, Krugman expressed a view about Biden's opponent this fall, assuming we have an election. Intriguingly, Krugman said this:
KRUGMAN: Trump’s pathological inability to admit error—and yes, it really does rise to the level of pathology—has been obvious for years, and has had serious consequences. For example, it has made him an easy mark for foreign dictators like North Korea’s Kim Jong-un...
Is Biden's possible opponent caught in the grip of an actual "pathology?" We'd like to see some major journalist stand on his or her hind legs and examine that question in a serious way.

We'd like to see medical and psychological specialists consulted on that difficult question, but only if they're non-partisan. But until the time when someone is willing to take that route, gaffe culture is going to work its eternal will:

Over the weekend, it had the guy who doesn't seem to be mentally ill on the front page with the guy who apparently is. We liberals often refer to that as "moral equivalence," until we ourselves want to spout.

The age of the gaffe is the age of the quick declamation. Tomorrow, we'll ponder an historical question:

Which politician authored the very first modern gaffe? When was modern gaffe culture born? Who stands as its very first victim?

Tomorrow: Exploration of "the star-making machinery behind the Aperol Spritz," along with "a standout piece on [a journalist's] change of sides in the Kanye vs. Taylor Swift debate."

Plus, who authored the first modern gaffe? Does it go back to Muskie?

37 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Was Biden's off-the-cuff remark actually a "joke?""

      We have no idea, but we're extremely disappointed it still hasn't been analyzed and deciphered by millions of zombie-cult "fact-checkers".

      Delete
    2. ""Was Biden's off-the-cuff remark actually a "joke?"

      If you have to ask this question, it clearly wasn't a funny joke. But why couldn't Biden have been serious? The stats on black voting back him up.

      Delete
    3. "We have no idea, but we're extremely disappointed it still hasn't been analyzed and deciphered by millions of zombie-cult "fact-checkers"."

      Do you ever stop lying?

      Delete
    4. But of course he was serious, dear dembot.

      Like I said, in zombie-speak "black" is anyone with darker skin who's loyal to the zombie cult.

      And that's exactly what Rapist Joe said; no problem there.

      Of course as a career politician who hasn't done an honest day of work in his whole life, zombie-speak is the only language he knows.

      Delete
    5. You think Mao has unconditional love for Trump, now. Wait until Mao finds out Trump is a self-admitted sexual predator.
      Hopefully, they'll get a room, and spare us the visuals.

      Delete
  2. "The politician has to be especially careful about what he says to someone named Tha God."

    This is the kind of remark that would turn into a gaffe if Biden had said it. When Somerby says it, it is just snark.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's sure to end Somerby's political career.

      Delete
  3. "this set off storms of complaint, largely among a certain subset of blue-leaning pundits."

    It seems to me that nearly half of the "storm" is generated by right wing bots and the noise machine, to take advantage of an opportunity to smear a liberal candidate.

    This meme that Somerby pursued, that the left is super-touchy about being politically correct and will attack its own aspiring candidates over innocuous remarks, is just that, a meme. It serves conservatives and is pursued with more energy by the right than the left. These days, more than half of the twitter "storm" arising from this kind of thing turn out to be bots, not valid accounts. This is a conservative campaign tactic, that Somerby has been furthering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How? From the super-influential platform of his blog nobody reads?

      Delete
  4. "the one which (ever so barely) sent Donald J. Trump to the White House."

    Look at this! Somerby finally acknowledges that Hillary won the popular vote!

    ReplyDelete
  5. "There's the gaffe of crying or seeming to cry, even if major journalists have to dream tears up."

    Somerby forgets that this one, originating with Muskie, was created by Republican ratfuckers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "For the record, we don't mean to criticize Charlamagne by making such comments."

    And yet Somerby has made the same stupid comment twice in this same essay. What does he mean, if he isn't being critical?

    The problem is that you don't get let off the hook for mocking someone's name by just saying "we don't mean to criticize" when you are clearly being critical.

    So, it's a good thing Somerby avoids race, even if he then went on to make a racially tinged remark. Are we to think he isn't actually criticizing? What an ass Somerby is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cue deadrat: Maybe TDH really considers Charlamagne to be a god. You don't know what he is thinking.

      Delete
    2. No, I’ve got a fairly good idea of what TDH is thinking based on his words. He says the radio host isn’t at fault for the uproar, but that the blame lies with Biden for not realizing that jokes about race are hazardous for pols and for not knowing “exactly how a bunch of people will quickly and loudly react.” And with that bunch for their hypocritical reactions.

      Why is this so hard for you?

      Delete
  7. If Biden said this stuff about Republicans, TDH would call it a grievous partisan sin but it's only Black people.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "three million blue-leaning pundits had offered some version of his remark"

    How many red-leaning pundits weighed in? Inquiring minds want to know.

    If the left has declared a moratorium on criticism of Biden in order to defeat Trump, how likely is it that they will be riding this gaffe machine? How does Somerby determine which pundits are "blue-leaning" and which are "red-leaning"? Is he perhaps defining anyone who criticizes a gaffe as blue, without knowing what their actual leanings might be? Since he only quotes Krugman, who is anti-gaffe, where is his evidence that the left is persecuting Biden in violation of the anti-aggression treaty?

    ReplyDelete
  9. From Politicus: "President Donald Trump threatened to shut down social media platforms after Twitter, his communication tool of choice, began fact-checking his tweets."

    But Somerby chooses to talk instead of about blue-leaning pundits. In an example of the apocryphal phenomenon he decries, Somerby thinks it is more important to attack our own side instead of pointing out that Trump is threatening to dismantle free speech, as his last act before they drag him out of the White House, clutching his pearls and his favorite putter, leaving Melania to sweep out the mess of chips and burger wrappers on the floor around his bed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just a threat.
      If he shuts down Twitter, it will be a start.
      He doesn't get my vote, until he shuts down all of social media.

      Delete
    2. Sounds like your 'Politicus' is even worse a dembot than your Rapist Joe. So what?

      Delete
    3. Trump is just trying to distract from the questions about his murdering his assistant in 2000.

      Delete
    4. @David Stein
      That’s funny. He claims it’s about the “mainstream media.” When did “mainstream” come to equal “liberal” exactly?

      Delete
    5. OK, mainstream, but not right-wing. Pretty clearly, the focus is self-criticism of center to left media.

      Delete
    6. Those goalposts don't move themselves, right David?

      Delete
    7. Oh, but they move in a good cause, and to preserve the original point: TDH expressly labors to improve and possibly augment (wait for it!) "our team." The better to improve our win/loss ratio.

      Delete
  10. “No group of people has ever agreed on any one topic.”

    ...and thus there is room for the possibility that some people may have been genuinely offended by Biden’s remark. His statement, even as a joke, could be seen as indicating how he takes the black vote for granted, which is a criticism sometimes leveled at the Democratic Party as a whole.

    And when Somerby says “We'd advise against making a comment like Biden's because you know exactly how a bunch of people will quickly and loudly react.”, it isn’t clear what a “comment like Biden’s” means exactly. Somerby doesn’t say whether he thinks it was a joke or not, thus maintaining the possibility that it wasn’t. And there is another reason not to say certain things: because they are offensive.

    After all, Somerby was one of the bunch jumping on Hillary for her “deplorables” comment, even as others defended her. Guess that proves that “No group of people has ever agreed on any one topic.”

    ReplyDelete
  11. A conservative point of view. https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/john-kass/ct-joe-biden-you-aint-black-kass-20200527-whgc2l4m2zhmxay63o3oxcxlji-story.html?fbclid=IwAR37xCTCSzEMRuZ0dQUUgzHLL3Iuth5Mfu0pMa9bikQPd3s6FmSGRgP2Zw4

    ReplyDelete
  12. Biden's comment did not sound off the cuff to me. I think it was a prepared sound bite. The "tell" is that Biden's comment did not actually refer to CTG's comment. CTG was asking Biden about coming to New York. He hadn't mentioned Trump at all.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bob wrote "...a view about Biden's opponent this fall, assuming we have an election." I think there's a good change that Trump will NOT be Biden's opponent this fall. Not because there won't be an election. Not because Trump won't run. Trump might not be Biden's opponent because Biden might be replaced as candidate before the election.

    I think the best strategy for the Dems would be for Biden to select Klobuchar as VP candidate. Then Biden leaves the ticket for health reasons. Klobuchar becomes the Presidential candidate and chooses Booker as the VP candidate.

    Advantages
    1. A Presidential candidate who isn't too old.
    2. A Presidential candidate with fewer negatives that can be attacked.
    3. Midwest support
    4. Black support
    5. Female support
    6. Avoid nominating Sanders without alienating his supporters too much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Advise from a Trumpbot boot licker.

      Delete
    2. How is Biden supposed to leave for health reasons when he is not in poor health? This sounds like wishful thinking.

      Delete
    3. The only problem, David, is that the Republicans don't get to pick the Democratic nominee.

      Delete
    4. Meh. The liberal cult certainly knows how to make it look like a "robbery gone wrong" or something.

      Delete

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