FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2025
Dana Perino's complaint: What kind of attorney general will Pam Bondi be?
We can't tell you that.
That said, we were amused by one part of the caterwauling on last afternoon's The Five concerning Bondi's confirmation hearing. The caterwauling came from Dana Perino, who may not exactly know how old the future AG is.
As you can see by clicking here, Perino said that Bondi's selection helps show that Republicans don't actually hate women.
We'll assume that Republicans don't "hate women." Somewhat oddly, Perino then added this:
PERINO (1/16/25): It also is jarring, I think, for the senators to finally have a different generation to deal with, right? The age difference of the senators and the nominee is quite stark and noticeable, and the energy level is right there.
We were slightly puzzled. One minute earlier, viewers had been shown the usual (tightly edited) video clips of Bondi seeming to score points against three (3) Democratic senators. Here are the names and ages of the solons in question:
Adam Schiff (D-CA): 64 years old
Alex Padilla (D-CA): 51 yeas old
Mazie Hirono (D-HI): 77 years old
Those were their names and their ages. But just how old is the nominee? With great skill, we now give you your answer:
Pam Bondi: 59 years old
Bondi is eight years older than the one California solon. She's only five years younger than the other.
It's true that Hirono is a bit older—and Perino was quite insulting about Hirono's questioning style, presumably delighting viewers as she staged her complaint.
Hirono is slow and basically dumb, Perino pleasingly said. But as reported by Ruth Marcus, here's one exchange Hirono's failing "energy level" somehow managed to produce:
Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi: Qualified but questionable
The best thing about Pam Bondi is that she’s not Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s initial pick for attorney general, who blew up with supersonic speed. The second-best thing is that she’s not Kash Patel, Trump’s outlandishly irresponsible choice to head the FBI, who, based on Senate Republicans’ supine performance, looks likely to squeak through.
Bondi’s not-Gaetzness offers some comfort—but not much, judging by her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
[...]
Did she agree with Trump’s characterization of the Jan. 6, 2021, defendants as “hostages” and “patriots,” asked Hawaii Democrat Mazie Hirono.
Bondi: “I am not familiar with that statement, senator.”
Hirono: “I just familiarized you with that statement. Do you agree with it?”
Bondi: “I’m not familiar with it, senator.”
In her column, Marcus cited Bondi's absurd refusal to say who won the 2020 election. Later, Marcus transcribed the exchange shown above—an exchange in which Hirono asked Bondi about Trump's past statements concerning those “hostages” and “patriots."
Question:
Does anyone on the face of the earth really believe that Bondi "is not familiar with that statement?" Somehow, the slow and somnolent Hawaii solon managed to pry that obvious misstatement from the nominee, despite the solon's advanced age.
Perino almost seemed to be playing the fool—but then, doing so is the norm on that particular program. For ourselves, we recall Bondi from her years as a frequent guest on Fox News Channel programs before she became Florida's attorney general in 2010.
Bondi is 59 years old. She's technically capable in a way some others are not.
We can't necessarily swear that she's compulsively honest. Next time, she should possibly show a bit more respect for the truth when questioned by one of her elders—by someone of Hirono's vast age.
"Somehow, the slow and somnolent Hawaii solon managed to pry that obvious misstatement from the nominee, despite the solon's advanced age."
ReplyDeleteCalling Hirono slow and somnolent instead of deliberate (which is what she was) is the kind of smear that pushed Biden off the Democratic ticket. People like Somerby need to stop this ageist attack on people who are performing their jobs well.
It is no better when Somerby calls Hirono somnolent (which means sleepy) than when Trump calls Biden "Sleepy Joe" and the derogatory name-calling adds nothing whatsoever to this account other than to make it clear that Somerby is a bigot.
I'm sure he would say that he is exaggerating Hirono's age for effect, because despite her age she made Bondi look foolish, but that is not effect of such adjectives. The main effect is to undermine the credibility of our Democratic senators by directing attention to their age and away from their performance.
Hirono in particular has done a good job of pointing out the weaknesses of Trump's appointees this week. Perhaps that is why Somerby now here calling Hirono old and tired, as he did with Biden during that whole awful performance that eased Biden out of office.
Age is not the issue. There are much younger people than Trump and Biden who cannot perform well no matter how young, because they lack the skills, intelligence, expertise and experience to do the jobs they are being considered for. Hegseth didn't sexually attack a woman because he was old, or young. He did it because he lacks character. Age does not automatically disqualify anyone (look at Jimmy Carter) because it is health and functioning that determine capacity to do a job, not their years on the planet. Many people are too old to work at age 50 due to health issues. Some are too old at 65, but many are still functioning well at 70 and 80 and older. They need to be judged on their ability not their age. Bondi lacks the ability to serve as AG despite her youth. That is what Somerby should be focusing on, not how old Hirono is (who is not being appointed to Trump's candidate but was reelected the last time she ran for the office she currently holds.
Somerby should be ashamed to have smeared Hirono like this, but I imagine no one can talk him out of his ageism because he perthaps judges all other old people by his own situation, despite everyone being an individual. That is bigotry.
Bondi certainly doesn’t look her age.
DeleteSure she does.
DeleteAnonymouse 7:17pm, you have the coke bottle vision of complete partisanship.
DeleteBondi is a babe.
DeleteShe may have had some work done, but she has neck sagging and wrinkles around her eyes that a 30-year old would not have. Dying your hair blonde and wearing it like a teenager is not enough to make someone look young. Every 70 year old does that.
DeleteCecelia shows her illiteracy (or non-native speaking ability) again with "coke bottle vision." Coke bottle refers to thick lenses of someone with very poor eyesight. What Cecelia may mean is binocular vision because using binoculars limits seeing a broad view of anything, as might be true with "complete" (she no doubt means extreme) partisanship. Why don't they teach their trolls anything about the English language?
DeleteAnonymouse 7:37pm, unlike you, I was taught to think and to reason. Russia wouldn’t hire me if I wasn't an American. They’d hire someone like you to do that sort of nasty work, just as Soros has done with his anonymouse leftwing political zealots. Here you going after Bob and very likely other one or two inconvenient bloggers on other sites. Take a bow. You’re utterly suited as to what you do. .
DeleteDavid, you’ve shown a side of yourself that I haven’t seen before. I like it.
DeleteI’m an independent contractor. I work for both Soros and Putin. I don’t wear Coke-bottle glasses. I prefer Pepsi.
Delete"FRIDAY: What kind of AG will Bondi be?"
ReplyDeleteThis question seems to assume that Bondi will be confirmed. Maybe she won't be. Shouldn't Somerby maintain the fiction that Congress may exercise some independence in its voting process? Is Somerby similarly assuming that all of Trump's nominees will be confirmed?
Trump owes Bondi for services during his previous legal problems. Trump won't allow any Republican to step out of line and vote against her. So the obvious answer to Somerby's question about what kind of AG she will be is "bought and paid for."
DeleteBondi doesn't even know that the president has the power to tweet constitutional amendments into existence.
ReplyDeleteActually, he doesn't have to tweet. He can just think it.
DeleteGod is mad at Trump so He is limiting Trump's crowd size at his inauguration by sending the polar vortex with freezing temps just in time for his big day.
ReplyDeleteHe is probably mad at Trump for not lowering the flag to half-staff for Jimmy Carter, a particular favorite of God. "If you disrespect Jimmy, you disrespect me," God was overheard saying.
DeleteAn indoor inauguration is safer from an assassination attempt.
DeleteNo David, it is because of very cold temps. An alternative suggestion is that the crowds might be embarrassingly small, so better to be indoors where the place can be filled up more readily. The problem is that no one in their right mind wants to stand around in the extreme cold like that.
DeleteHere in Denver it is going to be around 0. In DC it will be 23 in the daytime, which is colder than the coats most people own will prepare them for. Winds are forecast to be 13 mph, which is enough to feel much colder than the nominal temperature. It takes about 3 years for someone to adapt to cold temps that occur on a regular basis, as in the Rocky Mountains here, but folks in DC will experience this as unusual, so their bodies won't be adapted to it either. Winter is nothing to fool around with. People would be miserable. They would gradually peel away, leaving Trump speaking to a greatly diminished crowd size and everyone knows how that would upset him. Plus there would be bad optics if no one showed up for his second term, given how low his popularity has dropped ahead of his swearing in.
DeleteAn assassin wouldn't want to lie in wait in those temps either. That is perhaps what the phrase "Come in from the Cold" means in spy parlance. What kind of rooftops does David imagine exist around the Capitol Building? What kind of security? That is one of David's sillier suggestions. Imagine an assassin fumbling to get his gloves off so he can whip out a handgun. Imagine how cold such a weapon would be bare-handed. Numb or shaking fingers might affect aim. This is too silly, David.
"In what kind of meritocracy is being a Fox TV host preparation for being secretary of defense? Maybe in the one Caligula fancied when he contemplated making his horse a consul."
ReplyDeleteJoe Biden just declared his German Shepherd a Supreme Court justice.