January 24, 2017

Is caricature a lost art?

This is the best The Washington Post can do?!



Note that the name of the new podcast is "Can He Do That?" It will be interesting to see how much the failure to ask that question with respect to things Obama did will affect the answer to the question now that they are roused to ask it.

ADDED: Interesting to use the word "can" — so famous in the Obama catchphrase "Yes We Can."

That could be an answer to WaPo's question about Trump. "Can he do that?" Yes we can.

Or does parallelism require Yes he can? If so, I need to ask where Obama got the "we."

And, of course, Trump himself likes to say "we." Many people pointed out that Trump's inaugural address had very little use of the word "I" and a lot of "we."

I'm just asking for consistency from the press if it wants to be seen as professional. It's so far gone that it hardly matters, but it's my self-appointed job to notice these things.

46 comments:

David Begley said...

As if there was any doubt beforehand, but WaPo is now the official propaganda arm of the DNC.

Matt Sablan said...

He probably also has a phone and a pen.

wendybar said...

Bahahahahaha!! Where have they been for the last 8 years??? Kiss asses for OBAMA!!

Sebastian said...

"It will be interesting to see how much the failure to ask that question with respect to things Obama did will affect the answer to the question now that they are roused to ask it." Interesting to you maybe, but irrelevant to them. And to us: progs gonna do what progs gonna do, any way they wanna do it. Their contribution to O's cause was hardly a "failure."

traditionalguy said...

Either the Washington Compost sincerely believes we have no memory, or that is their wishful thinking.

And then God Created the Youtube archives.

Jay Vogt said...

Pat Oliphant's still around. Who's better than he?

Matt Sablan said...

"And then God Created the Youtube archives."

-- Truly, the day politicians and political journalists remember the Internet never forgets will be a banner day.

rehajm said...

He's not bad, he's just drawn that way!

Lance said...

It will be interesting to see how much the failure to ask that question with respect to things Obama did will affect the answer to the question now that they are roused to ask it.

I don't think any of the editors at the NYT, WAPO, Politico, CNN, NBC, etc. see that as a failure. They will promote a progressive agenda generally and Democrat politicians specifically. They will uncritically attack Trump the same way they uncritically promoted Obama.

gspencer said...

Goose lovers meet Gander.

Don't like it.

YoungHegelian said...

"Can he do that?"

Wake me up after Trump invades & bombs a Middle Eastern country without an Authorization for the Use of Military Force from Congress, okay, WaPo?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Can Obama give 400 Million in unmarked cash on a pallet to Iran?

jv said...

At least 40 percent Rush Limbaugh.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Note that the name of the new podcast is "Can He Do That?" It will be interesting to see how much the failure to ask that question with respect to things Obama did will affect the answer to the question now that they are roused to ask it.

Very succinct and on-point post, Althouse. That is indeed the interesting part of their ill-chosen name. I really thought liberals were better at branding than this. They could have at least defaulted to an amusing phrase that fits Trump like, "Can he say that?"

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

AprilApple said...
Can Obama give 400 Million in unmarked cash on a pallet to Iran?


Let's play that.

Can Obama force nuns to pay for abortions?

BarrySanders20 said...

Can he do that?

If Obama they'd chant Yes He Can! Yes He Can!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Can Obama release gitmo detainees willy-nilly?

LYNNDH said...

Yep, he just did. Get over it.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Answer to all "Can Obama act like a dictator?" = Yes he can!

jaydub said...

David Begley said...

"As if there was any doubt beforehand, but WaPo is now the official propaganda arm of the DNC."

I don't believe the WaPo can hold a candle to CNN as mouthpiece for the DNC. Even on their "Money" site the other day CNN had six negative articles on Trump out of 8 total. But, I wonder what the over/under is for the number of days until both are competely written off by anyone outside the Washington swamp.

Michael K said...

Self awareness is not a strong suit on the left.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Can Obama kill foreign leaders without due process?

Big Mike said...

I'm just asking for consistency from the press if it wants to be seen as professional.

Glad to see that you recognizing you're wasting your time asking for it.

Big Mike said...

I surely wish they'd get the "preview" function fixed. I meant to type "that you recognize."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Can Obama kill American citizens without due process?

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Martin said...

In a fair world, which this isn't, and with a fair interlocutor, which WaPo isn't, it would be hard to imagine Trump doing something for which Obama didn't set a precedent.

What they really mean is, "Come here for your anti-Trump talking points." But that level of honesty would not be in keeping with their overall agenda.

robother said...

"if it wants to be seen as professional" sort of says it all Ann. As Big Mike observed, no one is kidding themselves that the MSM
is remotely capable of being unbiased or professional.

buwaya said...

Jeff Bezos interest in this sort of politics, the driver thereof, is one of the keys to teasing out the dynamics of the media phenomenon.

He bought the WaPo obviously as a political asset and he has used it that way over the last few years, a powerful tool, better probably than a similar amount spent directly lobbying or paying off Democrat interest groups.

The current line is a bit dangerous for him, as it does not protect him from, say, antitrust prosecution, given he is hostile to those who could prosecute Amazon. After all that was the reason Microsoft started its extensive lobbying operation and its initiation/subsidies of MSNBC, another political asset.

So, why? In all these things it is best to follow the money. Bezos does not seem like an unmoved mover in re the finances of Amazon. There is something else going on.

Earnest Prole said...

During the Obama years the media furthered the nonsense idea that the President is some kind of king, capable of sweeping unilateral action. Now that Trump is President we can expect a renewed interest in the separation of powers.

Gahrie said...

so famous in the Obama catchphrase "Yes We Can."

Cultural appropriation.....Obama stole that from the Mexican illegal immigrants...who ironically enough stole it from UFW, led by Cesar Chavez who hated illegal immigration.

Si se puede in the original.

walter said...

When considering names, they decided "OMG Trump!" too sensational for a "news" entity.

Hagar said...

A more interesting question may be: "Can he really get that done?"

The Kennedy brothers - being sons of their father - ran on a platform of economy in government, balancing the budget, and strengthening the national defense.

Thus one of their first actions was to declare a Federal hiring freeze and a 10% Reduction in Force.

The Corps of Engineers responded by laying off almost all of their field engineers and inspectors so before long the Federal construction projects across the country were going to hell and the contractors were calling their congress critters to do something!.
And presumably likewise in all the other agencies according to their available means of resistance.

So it did not take long before the Kennedy administration was in full retreat; everybody - and some more - were rehired, and the "deep state" went around chuckling that "I guess we taught those damn politicians a lesson, this time!"

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

The Washington Post creates an exquisite caricature of itself. It has been on a progressive slope ever since Water Closet overflowed.

n.n said...

Selfie-caricatures.

Earnest Prole said...

Hagar: Exactly. Washington is littered with the bodies of those who thought otherwise.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Can Obama and his press secretary lie about "It was the video" and his media back him up and let them get away with it? Yes he can!

William said...

Some observations about breasts, clenched fists and pussies as they pertain to poster art. The bared breast, as in Delacroix's painting of Marianne at the barricades, Was formerly used in poster art advocating revolution. Has this been now replaced by the clenched fist? A mistake in my estimation. If a woman truly wants to throw a succor punch, the body part to use is not the clenched fist but the bared breast.....As a revolutionary symbol, the pussy also has some obvious shortcomings. It is in the nature of pussies to be fucked over rather than to project power. Not fair, but that's the way biology works......The womb is perhaps the most empowering symbol at a woman's disposal. It creates and shelters life and, as such, is much more potent than the average penis. The problem is that there is no universally recognized womb symbol, and, if there were, it would show enclosed space and be seen more as a fence rather than a projectile........No, if women wish to project their identity onto the world, the bared breast is still the most potent phallic symbol.

mezzrow said...

Si, puede.

buwaya said...

"led by Cesar Chavez who hated illegal immigration."

Looking at it from within normal labor union logic, as he did initially, this was a given.

Until he was convinced that actual farmworkers were relatively few and represented little of the potential ethnic appeal of a politician of his talents, and that power came from ethnic politics.
I think he was a rather conflicted, irrational fellow by the end.

wholelottasplainin said...

William: " The bared breast, as in Delacroix's painting of Marianne at the barricades, Was formerly used in poster art advocating revolution."

*******************

In that painting Marianne is wearing a Phyrgian cap, long a symbol of liberty and its pursuit.

Pussy Hats don't work as an expression of any noble idea. Just the opposite: they represent a crude glorification of a body part.

As for a "succor punch", I think that's what Kellyanne threw when she came to aid of that guy being attacked at the Inaugural ball.

David said...

Let me know if it ever becomes interesting.

GRW3 said...

Well, they're out of practice since, for the last eight years, a caricature of the President has been racist.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Obama admin sent $221 million to Palestinians despite Congressional block

Wapo all over it... I'm sure.


Can Obama do that? Is that legal?

Gahrie said...

Can Obama do that? Is that legal?

The Congressional block was based on tradition, not law and so of course was ignored by a Lefty.