June 2, 2016

"I laughed out loud... when I heard Trump interrupt his press conference to tag an ABC reporter as 'a sleaze'—at which I am sure thousands of other radio listeners heartily cheered."

"It’s been a long time since any major politician had the chutzpah to tell the arrogant, double-dealing East Coast media what most of the country thinks about them."

Said Camille Paglia.
Trump’s boisterous, uncensored id makes a riveting contrast to Hillary’s plodding, joyless superego. Listening to her leaden attempts to tell rehearsed jokes is collective torture.... Trump is a stormily dynamic change-maker who will surely win this election unless the Democrats get their house in order and nominate a figure of honor and integrity. Bernie Sanders, who represents the wave of the future, is my first choice, but Joe Biden, with his international experience, would be a solid second. If the kamikaze party wants to nominate an ethically challenged incompetent like Hillary Clinton, then I’ll be voting Green for the second time.

62 comments:

Sydney said...

Can't agree with her about Biden and Sanders, but I also laughed out loud when Trump called out the ABC reporter.

Bill R said...

If Bernie Sanders is the wave of the future, I'm glad I'm 65.

Paglia is a terrific writer though. Every sentence is riveting

David Begley said...

I saw Trump four times in person. Every single time he pointed to the media in the back of the room and called the media " dishonest."

And I want to encourage more liberals to vote for the Green Party.

Anonymous said...

Bernie Sanders, the wave of Venezuela's future.

Brando said...

Not that I can understand a vote for Stein, but it is nice to see people rejecting the binary choice of Democrat vs. Republican. Both parties deserve punishment for sinking to this level that this is the best they each can offer. Just a shame they cannot both lose.

Wince said...

I loved Paglia's observation:

There’s an absurdist, almost Dadaist quality to Trump’s candidacy, like Groucho Marx satirizing high society swells in A Night at the Opera or the radical Yippies trying to levitate the Pentagon at their 1967 antiwar protest. Trump routinely deploys all the subversive transgressiveness that campus Leftists claim to value.

Nonapod said...

I gotta admit I was happy to hear Trump call out that jackass. There's a lot to be said for being reserved, polite, following the rules of decorum, and not stooping to an attackers level. They're all qualities that have been traditionally associated with being "presidential". But when your side has been relentlessly assailed for years and years and years by a dishonest press, it's truly cathartic to have someone be a little crass and brutally call out one of these hacks on their bullshit. The media has worn out most of my good will. They're not what they claim to be. They are not objective and they do not play fairly. And from what I've seen from various polls and surveys regarding peoples trust in the media and how it's deteriorated in recent years, it seems I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

JPS said...

A good thing about Trump: He will gleefully call a reporter a sleaze for being a sleaze.

A bad thing about Trump: He will gleefully call a reporter a sleaze for doing any reporting that might reflect other-than-glowingly on him.

What worries me (just a bit) about Trump: I'm not sure he can differentiate. I suspect for him they're the same.

Achilles said...

I doubt she is the nominee. But she will not go quietly. Nobody thinks they DESERVE the presidency more than Hillary believes it is hers by right. She will never be convinced she will lose to DJT. So the democrats have to take her out.

But how? If Obama allows her to be indicted she will blame him and spill the beans on his various scandals. His legacy will be in ruins mores than it already is and he could end up in jail. That is a true dilemma.

And note the drudge headline today. Obama is going to be passed.

D. B. Light said...

My wife and I laughed too. Trump's willingness to take on the Miss Grundys is one of his more attractive features. Forget the socio/economic mumbo jumbo -- standing up to the bullies is why many people like him and want to vote for him.

RMc said...

Trump is a stormily dynamic change-maker who will surely win this election unless the Democrats get their house in order and nominate a figure of honor and integrity.

Yes.

Bernie Sanders, who represents the wave of the future, is my first choice

Er, no.

but Joe Biden, with his international experience, would be a solid second.

Oh, *hells* no!

traditionalguy said...

The bright light of Donald Trump is shining truth and justice into many old and dark places. And they are in panic mode. We can expect a counter offensive from the reigning Media Whores...but where is it? There will soon be no media narratives left standing unless Trump's attacks on them can be muzzled.

Is no Establishment Power Narrative sacred in Trump's revolution?

PB said...

I enjoy reading Paglia, but god help us if Bernie and socialism is the wave of the future. It might be, as we have so terribly mal-educated our young people as the radical left has taken over schools.

Michael K said...

" Joe Biden, with his international experience, would be a solid second."

Anybody who believes this is delusional and should vote Green so she does no harm.

Alexander said...

A bad thing about Trump: He will gleefully call a reporter a sleaze for doing any reporting that might reflect other-than-glowingly on him.

Maybe. As soon as we have a reporter who isn't a sleaze, we'll be able to test this hypothesis.

Amadeus 48 said...

Camille Paglia says so many interesting and true things--and then--it never fails--she says who she supports and it is always crazy. I have taken to thinking that her declarations of support for Bernie or Biden are protective coloration for her otherwise iconoclastic demolitions of the cultural left.

Nonapod said...

Paglia is at least honest about the various hypocrisies of the left. She's extremely foolish if she believes socialism is what America needs now. You wouldn't give a patient with the flu the bubonic plague and expect them to get better.

Alexander said...

Nonapod,

It's been scientifically proven that patients with bubonic plague stop sniffling and sneezing up to weeks before those suffering from flu!

They stop doing a number of other things too, but that's what equality is all about.

eric said...

Here is why you should always vote Republican.

Trump will complain about the media and the media will push back. Isn't this the way it should be?

Democrats complain about the media too. Hard to believe,but yes, they say the media is biased and out to get them. The media then fawns all over them to prove their love.

Which sort of media is better for the nation?

There is another reason to vote Republican also, no matter what you think of the candidates. Republicans have no excuse. A black friend from high school on Facebook posted a meme about Obama yesterday. It said something like, first President to be scandal free and hated by white Christians because he is black.

The point is, Obama can't be blamed for anything. Any criticism is because he is black and we are racist.

The same will be true for Hillary. Any criticism will be blamed on her gender. And dismissed. She will have the second scandal free administration. And the media perpetrates this farce on us.

But not if the president is a white male Republican.

Dan Hossley said...

Have you noticed that the media's response to Trump? They don't deny the "dishonesty" charge. Rather, they push back on his style, his temperament, or some other thing. It's understandable. The "I am not a crook" thing didn't work for Nixon either.

Maybe CNN should put together a panel of media luminaries to push back on the dishonesty claims. I suggest Dan Rather, Candy Crowley, Katie Couric, and Brian Williams.

rhhardin said...

Paglia is proof that even smart women are dunces in economics.

Sebastian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alexander said...

Trump isn't even president yet and already the media have rediscovered the sudden value of CONSTANT VIGILANCE TO PROTECT FREEDOM and the GOPe Congress has stumbled upon the idea that the purpose of Congress is to provide a restraint on the executive branch. It's a veritable miracle.

Just imagine what sort of strong, principled, purposeful government and civic institutions we are going to have by the time of his inauguration!

Sebastian said...

In a way I agree with Paglia: I would like to keep on keeping socialism the wave of the future. Bernie can make it happen.

For Progs, since real socialism has never been tried--in retrospect, the actually existing thing never proved the real thing--it is always the wave of the future. At the risk of earning a D- in Creative Writing: too bad it's bound to crash on the rocks of reality.

traditionalguy said...

Hmmm? Maybe after Bernie wins California, there will be riots at the Conventions to intimidate the Delegates leading the Obama Gang to declare Racial War requiring Martial Law and postponement of the National Election.

Trump is a hurricane force.

Fernandinande said...

"Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper."

William said...

Any chance she's kidding? Who, with a straight face, says a seventy something socialist is the wave of the future?........The subtext of Trump's campaign is his opposition to the media. It puts him in a charmed position. Whenever the media criticizes him, it just serves to highlight the kind and gentle way with which they treat Hillary and Obama.

Rusty said...

traditionalguy said...
Hmmm? Maybe after Bernie wins California, there will be riots at the Conventions to intimidate the Delegates leading the Obama Gang to declare Racial War requiring Martial Law and postponement of the National Election.

Trump is a hurricane force.


Don't laugh. There are people out there who honestly think Trump won't live til Nov. 2.

Quaestor said...

Camille Paglia says so many interesting and true things--and then--it never fails--she says who she supports and it is always crazy.

Paglia swims in the Sea of Academe. Open your month and speak the unvarnished veritas the sea will rush in and drown you. The crazy conclusions are merely the kapok in her life preserver.

SteveR said...

We cut the cable recently and although we didn't watch a lot of news, its been nice to get rid of the television media. They have been trending dishonest for a long time, and they aren't anywhere near changing, but I have better things to do.

Owen said...

Alexander: Your comments made me laugh, thanks.

Paul Snively said...

See, this is the problem: people as brilliant as Paglia looking at an unreconstructed Communist who spent his honeymoon in the USSR, and whose understanding of economics is that of a five-year-old and whose ethics are that of a thug, and calling him "the wave of the future." No, Dr. Paglia; he represents a set of horrors the rest of the world, other than perhaps China, Cuba, and Venezuela, have repudiated after lethal experience. The problem in American politics is that the electorate decided they didn't want a forward-looking candidate like Rand Paul, or even a return-to-American-principles candidate like Ted Cruz. We want a reality TV star, a pathological lying criminal who would make Richard Nixon blush, or the unreconstructed Communist.

Wonderful.

eric said...

Rusty at 10:49.

I'm one of those people. We have become a bitterly divided nation. The media has chosen a side. That side isn't the same as Trumps. Therefore, they paint him as the new Hitler.

Remember hearing, if you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a child, would you? Many people think the answer is yes.

So, if you've been convinced that Trump is bringing a new Reich to the USA, what's the logical conclusion?

They may not succeed. But I'm certain they will try.

Roughcoat said...

If, by some strange twist of fate, Bernie Sanders was elected president, I think there will be great entertainment to be had in watching Paglia either cover for him or turn on him.

Martha said...

MSNBC Morning Joe cohort clearly got their Democrat talking points this morning.
They decried the unpresidential Trump as contrasted with the Presidential Hillary!!
and the really really Presidential Obama. Then they showed a clip of a stammering stuttering Obama decrying Trump.
Really Presidential.

Roughcoat said...

Paglia is a brilliant, high-functioning nincompoop.

steve uhr said...

Hillary must know that Biden would destroy Trump, and her odds are about 50-50. But it seems highly unlikely she will put the American People above her own selfish interests.

rehajm said...

Sanders as the 'wave of the future' is hard to reconcile if you're an optimist or unfamiliar with history.

David Begley said...

Steve Uhr

Hillary won't step aside unless she has a Presidential pardon in hand. The pardon must be physically delivered to her but it will be kept secret until after the election. Then Obama will issue the "real" pardon at Christmas with a new date.

She is now running to stay out of jail.

mikee said...

If you don't want to be called out publicly as a sleaze, first, don't be a sleaze.

Or is that too complicated for the public relations agents of the Democrat party?

Known Unknown said...

China

Politically, yes. Economically? Not really.

buwaya said...

As an aside, Roughcoat,

I have picked up the Doughty's "Pyrrhic Victory" on your recommendation!
Its in the same ballpark as Claytons "Paths of Glory" but seems more substantial.

mockturtle said...

The news media have been sacrosanct for far too long. It's nice to see them getting back what they have been dishing out for years.

Freeman Hunt said...

I also laughed out loud at that when I watched it last night.

chuck said...

> Bernie Sanders, who represents the wave of the future,

I laughed out loud when I read that.

Levi Starks said...

I love the way the media points out Trumps disregard for itself, as though that were a bad thing. The norm for the last almost 8 years is that the press has been the lapdog of the president, only hoping it can sleep at the foot of Obamas bed.
I thought that in a properly functioning democratic society there was supposed to be an adverserial relationship between government and the press.
Isn't Trump doing us a great favor in attempting to re-establish it?
I think it's actually possible that under a Trump presidency the press might do its job.

Roughcoat said...

buwaya -

Thanks for the note. I think you'll enjoy the book. After you finish it, I suggest you read (if you haven't already) Alistair Horne's magnificent "The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916." It provides an extraordinary in-depth account of the French army at the tactical/operational level in what proved to be history's longest field battle. A battle, I should say, that the French won, due largely to the courage and tenacity of French soldiers.

Michael K said...

"Hillary must know that Biden would destroy Trump, "

I don't think the Secret Service would let him get that close with a weapon.

buwaya said...

"Alistair Horne's magnificent "The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916"

I've had this for 40 years! Was my late uncles. I inherit everyone's libraries.
I pity the fool who get mine.

mockturtle said...

During that press conference, some nitwit asked him what he thought of the shooting of the gorilla at the Cincinnati zoo. His answer was disarmingly tender, thoughtful and on-target.

Dan Hossley said...

The solution to this is to replace reporters with drones.

mockturtle said...

The solution to this is to replace reporters with drones.

I thought they already were drones!

Achilles said...

steve uhr said...
"Hillary must know that Biden would destroy Trump, and her odds are about 50-50. But it seems highly unlikely she will put the American People above her own selfish interests."

You are completely unable to separate points of view of other people from your own. This makes your analysis worthless.

Hillary thinks not only that she will win, but that the only correct outcome is her winning. She is owed the presidency because of all of her work. And the American people only exist to elect her. She does not think Biden would do better than her. In that belief she is absolutely right.

YOU think Biden will destroy trump. But 1. Biden is an idiot and 2. If they replace Hillary with anyone other than Bernie shit will get real on the Dem side. You are stupid if you think Biden has a chance against trump.

mockturtle said...

YOU think Biden will destroy trump. But 1. Biden is an idiot and 2. If they replace Hillary with anyone other than Bernie shit will get real on the Dem side. You are stupid if you think Biden has a chance against trump.

Agree on all counts.

buwaya said...

Biden is a plausible speaker, has the gift of a affable personality that isn't faked - he does it naturally, he has his talents. You wouldn't see him avoiding press conferences, especially when they are going to always be stacked in his favor. He may be stupid, uninformed and etc., but he wont sound like a robot and is unlikely to make huge mistakes speaking and knows how to deflect a question. He has little baggage or closet skeletons in comparison to most, and certainly much less than Clinton.
He would make a decent enough figurehead, I don't think its a stretch to see him as a better candidate than Clinton.

Cf said...

buwaya & roughcoast,
Any more recommendations? I have a high schooler very interested in military history.
Thanks!

Quaestor said...

@ Christy Frank

Snow and Steel by Peter Caddice-Adams, the best one-volume history of the Ardennes Offensive I've read. Includes new information gleaned from OKW archives.

buwaya said...

Some popular works that are well written and zip along, and very good for high school -
Not heavy duty tomes to struggle through

The Longest Day - Cornelius Ryan
Pegasus Bridge - Ambrose
Gates of Fire - Pressfield (A novel, but.. I've given this to a dozen boys)
The Killer Angels - Shaara (ditto)
Ghost Soldiers - Hampton Sides

Just a few, there are quite a lot really.

rcocean said...

I wish I could believe that Trump will win. I fully expect him to lose.

People just don't understand that almost 45% of the American voters are "yellow dog Democrats". They will vote Democrat no matter what. They will vote for Hillary even is she's in Jail on November 1st.

So all the Democrats need to do is win over a few women like Althouse. Just tell 'em that Trump hates women or is "scary" and that'll be enough to get the extra 5.1% and propel her to victory.

rcocean said...

You'd think that anyone who calls anyone in the USA a "fascist" - let alone Trump - would be put down as a crank, a left-wing oddball, or a unreconstructed Marxist.

Instead Ranting about Trump and "fascism" and the coming 4th Reich is somehow considered normal.

The USA intellectual/power elite are freaks.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I had to laugh and Dan Rather's facebook post about this being a dirty, nasty election

Amadeus 48 said...

As to the wave of the future, in the Soviet Union they used to say, "The future is on the way (it has just stopped off for a few drinks)."