Welcome to the Commentary Magazine Daily podcast today is Tuesday March sixteenth, twenty twenty one, I'm John POD words the editor of Commentary magazine with me, as always: executive editor, a Green Waldheim, Hydra senior Christine Rosen High Christine. How John associate editor nor Rossman high on our agenda are April. Issue is up online incomplete in com.

We fully accessible to our subscribers at commentary magazine dot com so go subscribe. Super me the whole issue, including such remarkable entries as what they are, the Good NEWS. They won't tell you about race in America, by Wilfred Riley Joseph Epstein, on the phenomenon of the Polly Mass Michael Med VAT on how residents do when they seek office after the presidency really remarkable piece about the day that the chief rabbi of Ireland saved Kosher Slaughter in Europe in nineteen. Thirty four, a server, a remarkable story of an argument, one in the in the Irish Senate, great peace by Elliot, Kaufmann on on Helen Andrews Book Boomers,

We have that Jim mags on net neutrality, our own Christine Rosen on table the lorens and these social media reporting horrors that she perpetrates ah and many many other wonderful pieces. So that saw the April issue at commentary, magazines where we also have March for you worked shirts shirts bags months are coming and we have the new women's tee let us keep the candle burning on it. Of course, we have the crushing, were osity teacher sweatshirt so still there for your shopping pleasure at merge, DOT Commentary magazine dotcom, ok, so I was as I really do. I had on one of the morning shows

led by happenstance- and it was homeland security secretary, our humdrum Majorca us talking about the border crisis. We now know that the migrant unaccompanied our children, migrant children are filling up the facilities down by the border, totally spurred on by the changes Illustration, and apparently the the marketing of the line and Central America that TAT now you know from school. And so everybody should should should start pouring across the border because they'll be You know, there's out, there's a new were more liberal regime in town My orca said just the most astonishing thing. He he said

message he wanted to tell everybody the following: do not come now, give us the time to rebuild the system that was entirely dismantled in the prior administration, a nice wonderful system, too. Oh help, you went with your all of your illegal crossing of the border needs now. I was not the time quota quote says by workers. Obviously indicating that later will be. The time later will be a better time for you to come illegally across the border. Now I, as I've, said many times a dove on immigration policy. I think Migration is a not only a net positive, but an extraordinary, no positive for the country and all of that, but the notion that what that the policy prescription

of the by them. Restoration is just give us time to make it easier and more pleasant for you to violate american law and to come here and to you know, disappear with him in a way within the fifty states. Is staggering, it's a staggering thing to say: right is already defence of this possible. Now they're really isn't item. I can't I can't even think of her the public official ever saying anything other than to parents of children who they were voiced on coyotes swords bring themselves across the border it at great risk to their own safety.

Do not come said that very explicitly that democratic input and republican emancipations alike don't come, and I got was brought about this administration. Is that he's a phrase during the twenty fourteen crisis and an you starting to see even sympathetic Biden, people in the press say that this is now verging on a community are in crisis, what use those words yet but getting there, and maybe it has a little something to do with the incentive structure that we put in place here. Yeah me well, look the the the performative hysteria It is the migrant crisis of twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen, the kids in cages. The though the demonstrations about a Jacob sober off you now basically making

serve emotive displays on cable television. All of that you know store Mary amounts of coverage of this footage and photographs showing are horrible system comparing it to concentration camps and the Nazis. The turn out to have been taken in twenty fourteen and two thousand and fifteen during the Obama administration were things looked exactly the same and it which these cages of so to speak, work we're first at deploy, because you don't want to put people in walled facilities in hundred degree heat somewhere where there is no air conditioning or not sufficient, like electrical power to power, a sufficient, airconditioning and stuff like that

now it's interesting as there was this whole line, Adam Sir Worthy Atlantic use. It saying the cruelty is the point, the point about the Trump administrations, the trumpets cruel and the cruelty is the point, and you can see that in the way Jeff sessions and others talk about The migrant crisis, like they say, don't come here, you will go, you'll be thrown in jail, don't come here. We will throw you back, don't do this. You know we are going to make life is hard for you as possible, which was ugly and it was unpleasant and it was an unpleasant way to do it, and it was part and parcel of a general idea of of of of trumps. That you know intimidation is, it is a good form of political suasion, particularly when you're dealing with people. So the United States. However, if in fact it played a role in slowing down or mitigating this constant crisis about kids trying to cross

order and all of that then the cruelty might have been the point, but the unintended consequence, or even the antenna consequence of the cruelty was not having you know. Tens of thousands of kids in in you know in custody in the United States, who have no legal or even moral right to be here. There's there's you can, I think it's do deserve and to criticise the Trump administration. Fourth using child separations as a deterrent. In the words of then. the age Us Secretary of Kelly, because what they were doing was comporting with the law under the fourth floor as settlement, which means which compels the government to detain parents and then either put their children in a shelter separate ahead of for processing or release the family entirely to the end

the country catch her release. So what they were doing was competing with the largest rebranding it as some form of deterrence, which a was cruel and be didn't work. It didn't deterring body. So you can criticise the administration for a failed messaging strategy and I think that's perfectly deserve it. What they were met with, however, was this was when we got the campaign from people like MAX, waters and commentators in the illiberal commentariat to never let a trunk administration official heavy moment of peace outside of their own homes and some even inside the house. It was that prices that precipitated this changing of the terms of engagement, which was not due to would not proportionate to the sky, but the offence necessarily. But the trunk administration did try to leverage cruelty to a certain extent. It was just dumb because

there. We all they didn't. They didn't change a single ruler regulation. They were simply changing the messaging to be a little more jerky about it, while the irony now is that the binding administration, with with aided and abetted by the press, has up up till this week done the exact opposite they left they basically earned, are changing the message radically. But as the problem grocer me, some of these facilities are at like seven hundred percent capacity, their lawyers who are able to even observe what the conditions are there just reporting what people tell them, there's not even enough transparency in terms of what these facilities, how the

treating people that they detain, but the main problem seems to be an and I've noticed it, but you are no more, in particular, keeps talking about a refugee crisis, a refugee crisis there trying to actually change the way we discuss our border issues because they don't want to argue for a secure border because they don't believe that with secure borders should exist because that itself as a cruelty and end some sort of human rights violation. That's the point at which I think a lot of republicans are are correctly focusing on the crisis, but not also making the argument as John I think, you're correct to make like we want immigration. Immigration is good for this country, but we also need a secure borders. These are the reasons why, in years, how we go about it, so they I would fault the Republicans right now as well for just kind. Feasting on the disaster that that binds messaging is created, but not offering all that many solutions either this something else I think interesting about them. The messaging here, aside from the fact that it is a crazy,

to say in and of itself it is yet another example of the administration just lately unable and end and totally afraid to actually come down and says something of some sort of definite substance. You know they're they're, trying to find all these halfway measures between some sort of liberal democratic norms. and and the left and in places where, where no half measures really exists, you know so saying, don't come now, come later is is another one of those exact examples where you just you just have this administration just saying things that don't make sense in the real world. Aside from the view of the implications of the policy being crazy,

such a great Dakota ring for understanding just about everything. This administration has done so far at its probably applicable to just about everything: public health, national security, environmental policy that yeah just trying to the threat, a needle that it was impossible to thread. Well, I mean Look the central problem here is that their Disingenuousness is a mark of the way that people talk about immigration. We have been talking about it now for twenty five years, which is that there is a world of people on the right who say immigration, Illegal immigration is dangerous. It did you know. The security risk in it, damn it suppresses incomes in the United States and its a form of serve social support or come welfare support for for companies to get low wage wage workers. Who will do these jobs that they would have to pay Americans more to do.

And all of that. But what they actually think is that immigration is a cultural crisis for the country and that we are letting too many people in who are from a different culture that is not our own and that they are infecting our culture and disease and yet in some fashion or other, and that this is the bridge. True danger of it and their using the ECB Microsoft or science. Research somewhat, just ingenuously too tried up like broaden their case beyond this. That is a little too divisive people, and then you have the left, which acts as though any effort to retire to restrict or control or have some policy on immigration is Prima facie cruel, an awful, and that is itself Disingenuous because what happens? Is things like this?

border crisis and kids coming over with Israelis need to be processed. Something needs to be done with If they're like eleven years old and they're sitting there sitting at the border, what where they gonna go, who's gonna take care of them, they don't speak English, they we have a meal, they don't have the wherewithal to get food for themselves or anything like that at that, and that the unintended consequences of their suppose it humanitarian goals are, are absolutely you know her and and this is why, on the one hand, we are in desperate need of comprehensive immigration. Form and on the other, we will never get it, because people are not being honest about what it is. Culturally, that they that they are that they are up to

and that is that is something that smart yeah. That's not gonna, go away. Having said all that, here's where I disagree with you guys, I think Republicans have every right to wallow in the pleasure of this hypocrisy being exposed as quickly and completely as was now toll, idea that they had another way to do this. There were another way, a better way to handle this date for years of anti tromp anti immigration talking point and all that to come up with policy prescriptions and ideas that they could implement a day, one to help change the way that this was done and, of course they didn't do it because they don't have any ideas. Nobody knows how to deal with pride,

like this. There are no solutions to them. I mean there are all sorts of inventive ideas like macro economic ideas like improve the economies of Central America, so that people don't feel the need to leap, help, help them get rule of law so that these people are not threatened by drug cartels because they have a weak central government, the camp you know control itself or whatever, but those argued out. Those are solutions for a generation, not nodded you have not an immediate crisis period and them, and so they revelled in it, and they drove people crazy and they talked stuff up and they got suburban monster, hate Republicans and all of that and now let them let them have let them deal with the consequences themselves. They wanted power, they wanted it. They wanted the presidency, they wanted the Homeland Security Department and border patrol and ice. Everything like that lets now see them deal with the problem. Well, so far, what we ve seen is not dealing with the problem,

I examined. Will we haven't seen them not not just the administrations and come love a little later like put off your vacation plans, but also the members of the press and the people who were hounding Trump administration officials in restaurants, they're. Just nor is it well there you don't get away with that are not ignore. I mean it was the leads story on all three morning: news newscasts today, which means it's not being ignored. I mean it it. It really isn't that doesn't mean that its being handled the same kind of thumb, partisan. You know either the way that it was being handled in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen? But that put the but I mean, but there ungrudgingly allow, but the bite there and critically allowing the bite administrations message to be as follows: we knew how to do things. Traps

who did up and now we have this crisis, that's not of our own making an undue hostile smile and not, but I think, actually push back a little bit on your point, John, I think yes, there are definite these larger macro economic things we can do, but there are actual practical policies that could be implemented tomorrow. With the stroke of that presidential pen that Biden likes to euro scrawl on everything that has to do with race engender but doesn't seem to want to touch when it comes to immigration. You know they could set up. An Congress has you're too. Obviously, the primary role you could set up better processing facilities. You could have more judges at the border hearing gave hearing cases you could have you know as trumpeted, although he did it badly. The very strong message do not do not come to this country with their children. If you expect to be let it you will be turned around You can't reopen negotiations with Mexico about keeping more people on that side of the border. I mean there are a million little things that could be done, that binding. Is not able to do because of his left flank, and I think that's the part where

you dont want to say out loud what everybody can see and his progressive flank is getting. Ladder about pushing him on this and he's gonna have to answer to them, and not just to the american people more broadly, who generally are not happy with how he's handling immigration so far. If the poles are deeply, he believed so guys. Let me just ask you a question: what good is freedom without virtue? Do you want to answer that question? join: economists, religious leaders, writers, news makers and thinkers every Wednesday, four conversations that bridge the gap between good intentions and sound economics on act in line the flagship podcast from the act, an institute for the study of religion and liberty by demonstrating the compatibility of faith, liberty and free markets. Conversations on Acta mine reveal how economic freedom is essential to creating an environment in which religious freedom can flourish

but the market can function only when people behave. Morally faith and freedom must go hand in hand so to subscribe to act in line visit, act and dot. Org slash commentary were search act in line on Apple podcast, Google, podcast, Spotify Stature or wherever fine podcast or available. That's actin, dot, Org, slash commentary too, subscribe, one other, weird, dark, dark victory, lap that is being taken by by the Trump people involves a correction that was appended to Washington Post story yesterday, essentially retracting an account. they conversation between tromp at a lower level official in Georgia, the one where he well. What is it that he is alleged to have said specifically that got retracted amount I just lost the line: fraud

we are not only a national hero, you'll find the frog you'll be a national hero. So the Washington Post reported the story on the basis of a source and the stories been retracted, a tape has come out in which the conversation was taped. An trump said: neither thing a bet Adams over at the Washington examiner than did a very amusing tweet stream, in which he showed how organization after organization, following the publication of the story confirmed it with their own independent reporting, meaning either that they didn't confirm with their own independent reporting, and they were just

lying in saying they were confirming it or everybody, spoke to the same one person who was source for the store for the story that got it wrong, who himself or herself babe in playing a game of telephone like this atmosphere, right, like. The still does say what right? Where that? Yes, the confirmation of was the page or Papadopoulos is yet page proved that page was pages source or something, however- and this is a case of extreme malfeasance- and we should talk about that more, however, The the victory lap, people, including undoing Donald Trump himself, ah go too far because the central story involving Trumpet Georgia,

is unassailable and unambiguous cuz that we literally could hear the tape up, and that was his conversation with Fred Raffensperger, the Secretary of State, which he said you know he just wants eleven thousand eight hundred and forty to boats or whatever it was to get him one vote over and that browbeating that we heard this or constant, constant, constant browbeating that really did suggest a level of. Ah, you know I'd presidential effort to intimidate a lower level official into doing his will, despite the fact that he had already determined that there was no such thing. to be done. That story remains and that still remains unassailable because, as I say, we all heard the tape so that this is where it so frustrating why the press really should stop making just covering for itself and making excuses and apologies is that all the usual suspects now we're saying complete, exoneration, total income

He exoneration than others Her happened and obviously a lie, because but the press just doesn't police itself anymore, and if they did, you wouldn't have to have people on the right making these creating these elaborate fictions for themselves, because you'd have kind of building an apparatus at imposes accountability unsuitable. You can cite and source yeah well such as that its also, I think in such as covering its also the the simple fact of the matter that where tromp was Concerned- and this is a long term issue- standards flew out the window. I mean that that's. The central point is that it was deemed that Trump was Sir Prima facie guilty of almost everything that he

was charged with and therefore certain kinds of scepticism or whatever you call it about stories. That sounds too good to be. True, probably, you know the kind of scepticism that might and other circumstances, and certainly in the case of friendly, people for whom reporters are ecologically friendly or towards whom their ecologically friendly would greet. These with a certain degree of scepticism, was not created with scepticism. Will that's that'll at that's the scarier part, I think long term for a lot of us. Looking at this particular case, it's not just the day obviously didn't have a good source and that no one's gonna be punished for having spread. This lie, in the old days that whoever wrote that will either have to reveal their source or they'll get fired like. This is not the situation that you wanna, you know, and is it as an editor? It's the fact that, because from the very beginning trunk was, we were told, Trump was a unique threat to democracy.

And we, some of us, push back on that from the beginning. We said you know we don't like em, or will we don't like exe virus II that he does, but to argue that is unique threat to democracy, gave the media a lot of, running room to transform how they actually do their jobs, and now we ve seen that spread, not just in the trunk yours too tromp, but about issues about race issues, about class issues, about gender and and all of this has become a way for them to justify what they ve always had witches plenty of bias. No one's pretending they didn't, but they but its removed a sort of dampening effect that editorial oversight and standards would have had on that. Because of these suppose, it unique threat to democracy- and this is this- is our

having detrimental effects, but he's gonna have really serious long term effects. Are we look like the coverage of Russia? Gate was you know a scandal, because there were two hundred different plot lines that we were told it was like lost toward a different planet and said nothing ever resolved itself because it was mostly not true, I mean Arizona dream. Can we serve no was not true, I mean and Natasha Bertrand. It does at the Atlantic and

suddenly appalled at Buzzfeed those stories about tab. I mean I can't remember what which specific story they reported on breathlessly, that everybody then took his gospel. That turned out not the Europe that turned out not to be true. Yes, of course, started and twenty sixteen with the stuff about Michael Cohen, being in Prague, and all of that which you know Michael call. It now, I think, would probably be perfectly happy to say. Yes, I went to Prague to do Ex Whimsie for Donald Trump because seized.

that make the case that he is the person who knows more about trumped anything and clearly that story was not true or he would own up to it. Are we now he would reveal that it was true in something that made him a lot of money and again I can't like. I should go back and foot through art in a remarkable pieces by July Lake on these matters, so I can cite chapter and verse, but that was an entire feel people, one Pulitzer for their coverage and eight day they add at the allegation stories proofs of meetings and things like that did not happen and that, in fact, the leader of the main scandal that came out of that came out of this. Aside from

where's being a scandal, moral scandal that Trump was so bizarrely friendly to Russia which didn't deserve it. What was the misuse of the vice of courts, the hounding of american citizens by intelligence agencies that it should not have had the ability to do what they did, that misuse of the masking system, and all of that that showed a certain type of emotional governance out of control that the press simply in out just took you know swallowed? And nobody- and there has been no reckoning- I mean that's part of the issue here- is that Russia is that thee, there will never be a reckoning because it would all it would do would be to strengthen trumps hand somehow to prove that he what that they had been mistreated and use that the springboard to twenty twenty four they're, not gonna, give that to him. So there will be no reckoning and it's up to us and like us to be honest, but as as as no assess part

problem here is that you then play into the false narrative of trump exculpation, and there is no way to exculpate Trump on Georgia and the way he handled breath right, reference Berger and politically, that's a simple fact of you know his own misuse of his office or whatever and then politically to have created this the conditions and flora in Georgia that led to the Senate being in them chronic hands? This is weird: diameter have happened, you know what happened, because the set its democratic gains, which spend two trillion dollars, now- is the liberal on the liberal wish list, because Trump couldn't couldn't bring himself to acknowledge that he had lost an election that he lost

there's the I blame social media for this almost exclusively, because what happens is they get somethin wrong? They issue a correction and the correction back in the day would have been sufficient. But then what happens? If you get this professional enterprise on the right of veto critics who live? Who insists that the correction is an indictment of the entire enterprise and every journalist gets, there are calls up and they going up into defence mountain. I say: well this aspect and store. It was right and that aspect of sport was right in this report? Arisen nobles note, so all of them supremely unassailable vintage Newton? How dare you even go after them whatsoever and then the whole enterprise would have rallied around itself, and then everything essentially presented defence of the Iranian reporting happens all the time when it is so destructive to its own credibility. Would we always said that the correction itself is evidence of the of the sort of integrity of the of the

institution or of the individual. They did the right thing: they they issued the correction there. You know yeah yeah, it's the you know it's there. It's the definition of goods were right, you were You murder your parents and then you throw yourself on the mercy, the court for being an orphan you now, really sorry. I got a major fact wrong that that drove the news and and and had a significant impact on the way people think about something and and- and I was wrong- and you know a poor reporter. Ok, there's somebody so hard for you to admit that you were wrong and I thank you so much, but there's something else going on here in journalism. That's that that's happening parallel to this, but you know that The two paths will soon made and they have in a few stories here and there and that's the moral clarity, my truth, Brigade versus journalism journals

the recent about your moral clarity or your truth. There's truth that there's facts and there's not factors and fix it. There's universe both and their allies, and there was that there was a whole member all the consternation about whether non you could printed. The trunk was a liar that he told Why and then we have this entire new facade of so called fact checkers, who were who were obviously partisan, how strict their scrutiny is of statements of public officials of that. But I do think that the public is incredibly susceptible and look. We all are because moral clarity and my Ruth is a way of constructing a narrative in telling a story about facts that can be extremely pleasurable for people to listen to if they themselves are part of the victim class being described, and that, I think, is all that sort of sweet Lee sentimental version of of journalists. Is, is unfortunately, taking hold in newsrooms when it used to only exist on the up at packets and that's a whole problem with burning the source, which is what people are demanding:

because if you want to learn the source and declare them to be a liar, how could you possibly no parent where they got this information? What was in their heart when they told you where they just accidently misinformed, genuinely misinformed and relating their misinformation. Forthright and in good faith or what they trying to manipulate you deceive you. You don't know that you can't know that and to make better affirmative declaration in the press would be malpractice which, whether never have called honourable like in the first place the could noble. Isn't our found other sources that could confirm what they had reported from. That's all I mean I honestly never entirely understood the the? ocean all hunger to have. It stated flatly in Euro NEWS stories that tromp was a liar. What what honestly help me out here? What differ Does it make whether or not the story says the Trump wide, as opposed to simply revealing that the things that he said

not true to say that I'm saying like about its hand holding its Etsy, your being gaslight, listen, let us let us in comfort with you to explain to you how terrible this is because he's lying to you. It's like a therapist role, not after let's roll. I think there's that, but is also the that there is a kind of almost Lou brushes pleasure in moving the goalposts toward your understanding of the world. In a way that you know here's what has to happen, you need to change the basic compact between reader, an editor or something like that or the car. Pact between the institution and the reader in a way that it hasn't been really changed for many decades in order to satisfy my anger? And if you do that, I'm really gonna like you and you're, really gonna hurt. You know if you do that, then

you're the New York Times you're gonna, go from three million digital subscribers to six million digital subscribers, because You're really telling us what we want to hear and making us feel. So good about our own outrage, and so I think there is a knowledge that just like Trump wants to ban the Republican Party to his interests, the liberal readers and liberal activist and liberal everything in the night. They wanted to bend journalism toward their own view in order to be have the emotional satisfaction of having the reaction to Trump be that the Overton Window was moved in their direction, You don't you nowhere else. You see this in CNN tyrants that now you get. The feeling that you're, not you're, watching a different thing, called the news than than what used to be called the new

do you know the current read like should have angry outrage tweets on their there? fully editorializing. Then I will say I say this also about those that a lot of them, the ones that people have been capturing, involve the way CNN talks about Fox and in particular the way CNN talks about talker Carlsson, and there is a growing sense. The Tucker Karlsson might be the kind of person who could run into in twenty four from his star media platform, Tucker, whom I worked with twenty five years ago or longer than that of the weekly standard, hell tire of weekly standard is extraordinarily intelligent, able sophisticated and skilled purse, in many many ways, and so the that this now treatment have Tucker latest thing being questions about the up

The the war, readiness for battle, readiness of pregnant military officers or pregnant military personnel are that has now caused in other world down around his head. I'm watching this on CNN and I'm thinking to myself. Are they trying to get Tucker elected president? It's like their worst dream, rather, but the worst thing they could ever imagined given how they consume, the voice of white supremacy and monstrous, and all of this- and yet doesn't this- seem it's now three years before the election. Three and a half years ago, that doesn't seem like some weird at oh of of the way they elevated Trump and twenty fifteen, I've been there doing it like talkers there on Fox, is what every as they are taking of, thereby taking making their amplifying his thoughts and his

This is where megaphone they are making him the objects of liberal ire and hatred exactly in the way that he could use, or some unlike him, could use as a in as a kind of Jujitsu whip too. Rally the Republican based behind them. So out I mean I have this weird CNN. hi run feeling that we're gonna look back into twenty twenty. We might look back and twenty twenty five and say just like Jeff Zaka made Donald Trump President Jeff Zocor on the way out of CNN. You know, took some steps to making Tucker Karlsson President well viewer ship has been down since since trumps gone, so you know any anything to cook up another another trabants and you know hold the hold them hold them in their targets. You know twenty four hours a day.

yeah, I mean it also. It also has kind of a with less of like the elevating the reality star into the presidencies. It does like member the old, easy DC current thing between Edison and his rivals, and it all ended with topsy the elephant being electrocuted publicly like there's a sense of which this is becoming a it's. It's a media circus as much as it is a political one, and it would all depend on whether whatever you know, whatever tuckers private ambitions might be and with it, but if they are what? If he'd make the public, but I mean there's it there's a much worse desperate nation, to it on the CNN side, I think than there was when they were elevating triumphantly sites. The sense I get I dont want a lot of cable news, but it does seem desperate. It's so boring it is prohibitive. boring too obsessed silver. What one cable news host said so that that cable Is hostile obsess over what you said and you can stop little media fight like its FM talk, radio, it's just it's not the mission

unless the mission is to entertain and get your name out there, but that's not, but it was supposed to be well its prohibition. The mission of news, travels, to make money had seen and made a lot of money, so they all do make a lot of money. A lot of money is made em on fees paid to the caught the companies by cable companies. For you know the rights to run the channels. But I'm just saying this is an interesting thing, because CNN reap the whirlwind from the left and liberals in the last couple of years for its, you know for the role that it played in running Trump Brenda Ralph ISM, offering you know hundreds of millions of dollars or free publicity. I dont know that day

you know I'm just say I want to see what said about them. If Tucker you now comes out of the gate and whether they do then we just we just read somewhere about eight a newspaper in Ohio that has decided that it will not cover Josh men Dell statements about how the election was stolen so that their way of dealing with the fact that there is a Republican can they for office who says things that they don't like is to deny him coverage. So you know where we're going to see. All kinds of this is, of course, then consider perfectly acceptable right and they want praise for day there doing this. Did you know, and so that we are now in the suppressed the news if you can, but if you can't, then you know like stimulate in our lives.

we'll anger against the conservative target. That could have this very interesting, unanticipated consequence, but then there's a second set. The comes after that Ray I weird they stay declare they won't cover. Certain candidates are Kurt certain. You know arguments so those arguments. Kennedys start finding other platforms to do that, but then those platforms have to be suppressed because they're saying things that we would report a hotline, art outlet, I mean, there's a weird: it's it's not a healthy thing for democracy that this is because the debate, never habits what happens or these we're positioning in this bunker mentality on both sides right will look. It is. It is come time for the daily, for my my

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what's: a foundational act of western civilisation, which was the exodus from Egypt and the and the coming to independence of the of the hebrew people, it is it's it's just a very rich balkan. You know, given example: a seller, JAL Liebermann, says markers and brilliantly eliminate some of the big questions from the Haug about whose answers can define what constitutes a meaningful life, so that is for not just fruit juice or people who go to centres, but for everyone, so that, telling by Mark Person get it Amazon, Barnes Noble, you can download the audio books whenever you want to do to have yourself in Spain, At the end, and the illuminated by the telling ok, where are we now doktor fetch? You made you angry.

Am I correct, he did make me angry and I will jump into that in a second, but I promised twitter last night that I would bring this to the show just to annoy you, John ok, on this came across my transom late last night and political transition. Can I just want to read the sentenced to two and a half months in President didn't has surprise some of his former colleagues and allies with a largely free, Whitehouse debut after a lifetime of verbal stumbles,. He's been so gas free guys. He hasn't Smith's spoken once he hasn't said one thing:

turn? Let's have it right, but he's over he's transcended this habit and aim. I know you in particular have been very mistaken in your impressions of what Joe Biden says, because if you ve ever seen and guy you're just you wrong, while also this, he may not have gathered in the traditional sense of accidently, saying something true, because as we said before: there's nothing candid and anything that comes out of the administration will guide like Ebay. I just have this image of reeds. More like run claim is performed the jet. I mind trick on him and then they dont, let him they dont release him in the wild very often anyway. So where's this opportunity to have a gap is that I will not say a thing. We will cut the feed from the White House if you begin talking some previously in force, yet having given an opportunity, I mean not only the adjusted diamond

report, not only has he had no gas, but even if he had gaffes quote gas, don't using matter, even though the media covers them as if they do so even if this thing that never happened had happened. It wouldn't, If it happened, even though it never happened. Okay, so here's here's, a runaway success will annoy me. I think what we see here, because it annoys me, ok, whether eager, but I will say this- I think that, what's going on in Washington,

in relation to Biden is the following. There is intense relief among the you know: the chattering classes that Biden the trumpets gone and that Biden is president. The relief is I was gonna hasn't, is intensified by trumps relative absence from the scene and park as he doesn't have his twitter feed any more, although he can tweet. You know if he put statements all day that will still be on twitter and everybody will read them, so he himself seems to have made some kind of a shift somewhere, but he's not there he's not driving everybody crazy over simile, everybody and Biden is there and most presidents are boast administrations. What kind of want, particularly in the media, would want their star too

the star that was certainly the Obama administration, which you have no one, had a public profile. Aside from the president, I mean you know maybe Hilary a little bed, but you know I was above all the time, and it is the way it was all trump all the time, except for this are many villains created by the media and by the trump himself to some extent, to serve like stimulate more rage, Stephen Miller, Jason Miller and Daisy Miller and, as I keep saying so, they're playing this perfectly is one of the day they they were present. Dividing people were presented with a set of circles. dances that you can go any which way you want to with it, and they they decided in the middle of twenty nineteen that that a buying that was slightly an accessible away from the press not towed

You know out there at all times, pushing the envelope and all that, particularly when the when the fire, when the pandemic started and heat, they could literally pick and choose when he talked where and under what circumstances and totally control those circumstances I think, as a as eight as a political matter. They have reintroduced the idea that scarcity, is a value. That's the scarcity of a politicians presence. This is something that we don't think about it, Really culture at all any more of their work. four times in the nineteen seventeen ninety days, when the biggest stars like robber, Reverend people like that, would not be seen for a year in public that there were, there was no people more people magazine just started. There were no doubt gossip columns everywhere and entertainment tonight. In all of this, there

always mountain in Utah sit there and then he would come down from the mountains. Do some movie or something like that was like? Oh, my god, there's Robert Redford ACT. I love him. I never get to see him, and now everybody is exposed constantly twenty four hours a day on its there's, nothing surprising, there's nothing mysterious, there's nothing hidden! There is very little that a secret- and you know- as I think I said Before- but you know Ronald Reagan spoke maybe three times a week and that was it spoke three times a week. He was out three times a week for much of his presidency, and that was what was normal because You dont want to use your biggest asset and drain. of all of its majesty in power and bring it down to the level of a twitter star and trumpeted that for good and ill and by They are somehow reasserting in part, because

necessity, but also because they think they can only saw their results They are reasserting the idea that it is best when the president does not seem very much because it enhances is a thought well and then some I mean they're, really young. For aid I mean he hasn't held a press conference, write them. It's it's it's some kind of record. I think Then, since I don't know like Truman or something ever right for freeing it has known as gone this long in office without hold a press conference. Oh, didn't you see all the become a camera who said it? Maybe marker, maybe my person or or MAX router, something said or David from actually from that. I'm glad he's not having press conferences. You know why, because then people focus on the officials who are actually deploying the policies who will talk about policy as opposed to a press conference at the White House, where its reporters, who get rewarded for getting into some kind of a sound by tussle,

the president. So now it's good gag drifted speed. It also allows the binding ministration to do as it did last week when it was questioned about border policy to Pont and say I don't know ass the data skier ass. This part like to do not actually take responsibility for what they themselves in administration is doing so it's great for them. I will say that the funny one of the funny moments in the last couple new cycles is, you know, good bye. has been downplaying some of the ways that the abundant ministration rolled out, the last stimulus sort of saying he didn't promoted enough. Just didn't it just wasn't the best way and what we're gonna do so much better. And now you have a couple of sniping former Obama folks, like David, that run out, there's going well if it was the terrible. Why did you run on it like that? There's a there's a funny little like sniping going on in Obama World, because you know how dare Joe Biden, actually try to try to stop all of our legacy of stuff, which is which is sort of charming in its in the pre trump era, way that those things were for inside but way types

I mean that whole line is one of the most fragrantly ludicrous that is now. this notion that somehow what Obama got wrong was he didn't, sell the stimuli? was it the roll out? That was the problem. I mean what How would the stimulus was that it didn't work? That's what happened the economy with the next year and the stimulus didn't work, and if the economy has grown at twice the rate of dead, then he would have a dance around who called tried to call it recovery summer than recovery summer didn't happen, that's the story of the stimulus. Same stories. This stimulus, whatever credit he might get now, is Evan S at the whole question of whether or not it whether not the idea will stick that the stimulus was good for the country and help the country recover and improve and make things better

the worse, the Obama administration was actually a promotion, free administration, John and no point, was there any by ocean. Odin was only in any. If there had been promotion, it wouldn't have been so bad that there was no less than the Nobel Prize Committee Noah. He does he do it himself. If he didn't go on, you didn't go in the daily show or anything or admit that shovel ready job for a shovel ready ass. He thought that lifeline around like it, was literally a punch line. The extent to which the stimulus had not met expectation I think, by the way, a punch line that the president himself deployed and got laughs on, I think about I would say this about all sorts of bad policies. The time you would say you know, I think I failed in communicating to people just exactly why I was right about this. You know I think if I could have served, you know dumbed my genius down a little more and made more say in accessible of

the average American. I could have done it better job, communicating in other fruits obey on greatness. That's that's that's shot through his men. More really is the term here is that you know he had his ambivalence about power meant that he couldn't be a salesman in the way that other people might have been salesman and that that was a real enough. That was a real weakness for one of those check off characters who says things like you know. My problem is unto kind. That's like, in my mind my real issues, I'm too self effacing. I won't take credit for myself enough. Often that's real, that's a real issue, and you know what else is a real issue is how big tech, social meat, trying to curb our rights and freedoms. By attempting to de platform speech, they don't agree with. So what can you do, what you could deactivate your social media accounts, but that would be giving the left just what they wanted in the first place. So, instead of letting big texts, I try to control your speech.

Their right to your data and use the same service. I used to protect my online data. Expressway began when it was expressed, we ve anyone autumn as much of your online presence by hiding your ip address. That makes your activity more difficult to trace and sell to advertisers. What's more expressly pm crypts one hundred percent of your data to protect you from eavesdroppers on your network and the Ex recipe, an app couldn't be easier to set up you just one button on your phone or computer in your protected. So it's finally time say no censorship. Take back your online privacy with VP, and I trust that Express BP and Thou counselor, commentary by visiting my link, you'll get an extra three months of Express WP answers were free again, that's Ex Pierre S. S VP and dot com. Slashed commentary expressed, we ve ever comes less commentary to protect your data to day till I get that found anything in there. Just chuck acknowledging my blog post, witches should be like,

the time you get around to hearing this, this podcast listeners, so he was on MSNBC morning Joe this morning and was asked very plainly to water. The lessons that you ve learned over the course of the last thirteen months is the face of the covered response. and his quote. Was you just gotta, be completely honest and tell tee yourself? Anti is an honest intrude yourself into your principles. Even though you're gonna have to tell some people things that might be inconvenient truth, he added that those inconvenient truth might put you at odds with people and yet, nevertheless, you have to be a consistent scientist and a public health figure and there's a lot of things that you could say about. Doktor Anthony fancies teaching, but the extent to which he was consistent as a scientist is in dispute, the notion that he was consistent as a public health figure probably more accurate, but that's not

sincerity, a compliment when it comes to masking when it comes to the threat, by which we achieve heard humanity. When it comes the data around the efficacy of a first dose of the Pfizer Malaria vaccine versus the double dose. Country has admitted very publicly that what he was involved, then was a message in campaign designed to nudge the public toward his preferred policy outcomes, not disseminating the truth, as he understood it and feast at said, as much, and for him to go out sort of wallow in self pity in this sort of reflects a prob. that I think he is now aware of, and that we saw reflected in Washington Post right up. Other Franklin's focus group

found that, among these mostly republican voters, all of whom were vaccine sceptics, they all regarded doktor Van Anthony fetch. You with rank hostility, were very hostile towards him and particularly what they regarded as his dishonesty and flippancy. In some cases, in pursuit of ebony factories. Prime objective, now about the country's prime objective now is to get as many shots in as many arms as possible and to overcome this kind of nasty system that prevails on the right over this vaccine. Infamy about you may have become an obstacle to his own goal, and if that is the case, then spending as much time in front of the cameras as he does seems their productive. I was. I was wondering if you say after his after describing his morning Joe appearance and talking about how important was him for it to be a true tell that, then he was struck by a bolt of lightning, because I've actually found look. His false humility was kind of annoying during the height of the pandemic crisis. When he was like. Oh, I couldn't.

We accept your prayer or candle that was created for me or this cult of personnel. Your pose an style magazine poolside as your hero? I couldn't possibly ok, so whatever he gets the past because he became this anti trump pro public health figure. But at this point he's his he's enjoying the process of being the guy who reads the tea leaves that affect everybody else, and I say this in the context of my favorite hobby horse were discovery openings. If you follow the people who are kind of waiting with with hopes and fears about whether their schools can reopening him. Just casually mentioning three four three feet versus six feet, as guidance becomes a thing the people upset about four days, because The facts there lies in your right to use the word flippancy, because that's really his attitude at this point becomes does become offensive to people and not just that.

seen sceptics, he's enjoying that power and he's not treating with this year's, as they should be right. According to political. One of the reasons why you didn't want to endorse overruling of members of the president's covered response. Smear circle was that the aid the data was insufficient to justify that which is completely ballot, but be because it would be a public relations and messaging nightmare to change track. But that's happened all the time as it should. Our public health guidance regarding to this virus has changed very frequently, sometimes a hundred and eighty degrees in response to the data, as we see that, in fact, Anthony about himself has revised his. As you just said, judges, one exam there were many ways in which these revises recommendation, so he doesn't have a uniform standard that he applies here and he really does seem to embrace the idea that his role as too manipulate public opinion and guide the public towards outcomes that are for their very good

even if that means lying to them and that does describe the public health official. It doesn't necessarily describe scientist. Look, I think, as a study in our culture the end of the line is a sham. Anthony factory is an interesting test case. It is an outgrowth of celebrity culture that a people a fall in love with a doktor at a moment of crisis and that at the end- and we now have Now it is at the centre of everything, so its trump versus vouchsafe out she's there, but he's behind the say, he's trying to get the right message across what this in constant leader and all that or its Cuomo verses, tromp or its. You know, Newsome MRS Tromp or its dissenters versus Cuomo, or something like that and you know in China.

In a mobilization and serve Euro Arab national mobilization moment when All hands are supposed to be on deck, and everything like that all point is this: also to be larger than any one person or people and fell, sing on personalities is entirely beside the point, but this is the only way that we organise our public life anymore is around people rather around causes or around ideas or around you know, institutions, it's all people and no human being could have withstood the the ego boost. and the other. The creation of a myth about himself the way and they found she can't could not handle it properly. Nobody Could no one. We need a doctor when medicine woman actually Sheikh, but you know, I think, a victory

here too- I remember early in the in the pandemic, sending a text to either to all of you are just too you John on web, when I, when I saw the surf Cuomo stardom taking off, and I and I had to start an AIDS, that's when something like the greater the crisis. The more superficial the quality Americans seem to want in their leader, and- and that is why lifted com, a lot that is what lifted found she up it was an people, didn't want to think about what actually had to be done and about the. enormous task before the country they were when someone to make sounds that that suit them in one way or another, while this again gets to the question that is not answerable, because you can't go back and we run the pastor due account or go Contra positive or all that. But you know the two main questions which is if tromp had had had handled the virus

with consistency and constancy and soda, bouncing all over the map every day. I would think that the different and had he been a a tough lockdown person, would the Djinn Yang Oppositional Dynamic of american politics have meant that Cuomo and it out the Democrats would have become the open things up party and we got open things up, because Trump is using this to impose his logistic regime on all of us, restricting our civil liberties, restricting our rights restricting our freedoms to get us used to what he was gonna do in November, which was cancelled the election, and if you think that I am going too far in saying that,

in two thousand three. I was on a panel at the American BAR Association with Floyd Abrams and Kevin Buckley, who was them of the nation and a couple of other people, and in the course of this Kevin Buckley said very seriously that he believed the. Why that was going around in his circles was that George W Bush was going to cancel the two thousand for election and that this was the most pressing matter facing our country and that we really need to look at this, and I looked across

the appalling him, and I said you know I actually would prefer to live on the planet earth instead set of the planet blog on where you and your friends live. So that's what Trump might face or not or or he would have been constant and calm and determined and said we need to get this right. We need to deal with this virus, and this is what the science says, and this is what's happening, and there was that moment when he said at the press conference in April, twenty twenty or whatever he said,

we're gonna, go through a lot of pain to member this, we're gonna go through a lot of pain. That was the two weeks after the I am already projection, which, by the way was you know it was that one hundred twenty one and twenty two hundred thousand people were gonna die, and you know he now claims to save two million lives or whatever. But but I just I don't know the answer to this, had he been the kind of person that found she wanted him to be? Would american history, but be different party could be different because maybe he wouldn't won the election, but he also might not have been a bit o. I'm in Georgia might have done differently. You know I'm a guy Where were in this position, where arguably the most dangerous piece of domestic legislation in the last twenty five years was past. Largely the result of Donald Trump being a whiny crybaby loser.

And imposing his fantastical loser, Slime on the brains of people in Georgia, who then didn't turn out to vote in the election a yes, I'm insulting him and if you don't like it, Jim really sorry, but I'm staring down the barrel of the return, welfare, you know tens of billions of dollars to cities that have have been. I have a misapplied and misspent their own monies. God only knows what else ten thousand other things and that's trumps fault in every time that you look at this and say the spill is a disaster. If you are an honest person, you need to understand that the former

the United States. Depressing turn out in Georgia is the reason that bill is now long, so adapt rushing veracity. With that t, shirt, sweatshirt didn't get it marched out. Commentary magazine dot com. You can wear tomorrow when you are listening to the podcast another get into my tomorrow, but those of you those of you who have purchased staff place where it in good health and we will talk to Morrow for Noah, Christine that jump. John Podhoretz skipped cattle burning.