DRW50

My mother always watched the inaugurals, she wanted to this year as well out of respect for the office and to see Jimmy Carter, but she said she just can't this year.

I can't imagine what that was like (for him or for her family). I used to read a lot of TV/gossip magazines from the '60s and '70s and the ones from 1969 had gone from fun, lighthearted stories (and sure a bit of tawdriness and a whole lot of misogyny) to Manson, the murder of the Lennon sisters' father, and Chappaquidick. I wonder what the average housewife felt about the world when they saw those on sale. I wasn't trying to knock his career in public service, but this and the 1980 campaign show his heart was never in the spotlight that burned him any time he came close. For many years people tried to idealize the consequences of two men in their prime being gunned down, but it pretty much just wrecked generations of that family. Nothing to glorify about it.

That tweet from Kyle just breaks my heart.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/joe-biden-barack-obama-partnership-white-house-214662

She quit.

She's been ignored all along - even her exit story was all about Jack - but it's ridiculous now. Rita Simons has complained on Twitter. I hope they won't go there with Whitney and Mick as her desperate behavior disturbs me, especially given her past with Tony King. This show doesn't have the ability to write this kind of nuance.

For all the back-patting from some in the media about how they are more intelligent than ever in reporting, scrutiny, etc. the NYT always seems happy to prove them wrong. http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/01/new-york-times-stands-by-rick-perry-story-despite-controversy-233855 He also saw his uncle Ted implode in large part because Ted wasn't suited to the expectations on his shoulders. There's a history of Kennedys who try to make the big leap and are proven unsuited or incompetent in one way or another. The family mostly had one or two naturally talented politicians and a lot of people who were assumed to be the same because they shared the same DNA. Something always seemed a bit sad and lost about JFK Jr like he was trying to find an identity that would never come, but I was glad he stuck to his guns about politics. I'd like to think he would have even if he'd lived. With that said, it's sobering to realize the only Kennedy who will have any influence on policy is a hardcore anti-vaxxer.

Good points. Ideally there will be some way to find focus. I read that David Brock is swooping in with his own organization and some are wary, as they should be IMO.

I don't think he actually does. It's easy enough to make a tweet. We haven't heard about him badgering NBC about SNL or anything like that, which we will soon if it truly rattles him. I think he's a thin-skinned and dangerous man, without any doubt, but I think the media and a lot of celebrities are oddly desperate to keep pushing the big battle with Trump vs SNL and vs Hollywood, etc. maybe because it makes them feel more important. But there's so much dangerous material going on that we don't hear about because people want to talk about how he got upset that SNL made piss jokes.

Talking [!@#$%^&*] about a TV show isn't on the same level as any of the rest. It just seems oddly glib, as a lot of the Trump criticism of that kind does.

Why in the world is SNL being put on the same list as those? No wonder people don't take a lot of the Hollywood left seriously. Vacuous celebrities run amok.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/democrats-trump-administration-wilderness-comeback-revival-214650

Did you mean the "vast right wing conspiracy" interview? I do think that probably hurt her too, although by that time she'd become better at the game. It's too bad she had to do cleanup duty all over again, but I remember at the time, even though I wasn't as political as I later became, I thought it was a breath of fresh air and I was so glad someone - the First Lady of all people - finally said it out loud.

Yeah, that was the Gennifer Flowers interview. Here's the article, if people didn't get to read it: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-2016-60-minutes-1992-214275

I never really trusted Bill Clinton (for similar reasons as to why I didn't trust John Edwards - phoniness), but I did usually trust Hillary, from her earliest days in the public eye. Other than the 2007-2008 campaign, which was just a mess, I always trusted her. I'm just sorry it ended the way it did. Clearly there is some demand for her in the public eye, as even now people are trying to get her to run for the highest-profile mayoral job in America. But any time she actually steps up, everyone can't wait to slam her back down.

It wouldn't really be bringing in someone though, as he was a well-liked VP and friendly with Obama. It wouldn't have been like when people tried to parachute Wes Clark in because they hated Howard Dean.

I don't think her inner circle ever helped much either. I was reading some Daily Beast article about Hillaryland people and what they will be doing now that their sure thing jobs are long gone, and one of her communications people was talking about how she is free and is liberated and she was quoting Shawn Colvin lyrics. I couldn't help thinking, "How nice for you...too bad about the rest of us."

I think one of the things that hurt her was that I'm not even sure the woman in those interviews was the real Hillary. That was a woman who was pushed into overdrive because she had to ignore her own voice to defend her husband over his sleazy behavior. That's what some of her friends and handlers said in a long article last year about the impact of that 60 Minutes interview. She damaged herself for Bill, and then the mold stuck.

I think in this particular case, and this particular female candidate, sexism was a part of it, a big part obviously, but there was also a tin-eared nature and an insincerity that she couldn't shake, against a candidate who was inferior in every way, but was better at selling BS. Biden always managed to seem sincere and was able to form a connection with voters. I don't think Hillary really could. It shouldn't have mattered, but this was one of those elections where it did. (with that said, I think if the election had been more about building a positive image of Hillary and less about how awful Trump is and assuming that the average voter would flock to the polls solely out of revulsion toward Trump, she still could have won)

I imagine Obama was surprised and also hurt when Trump won, and frightened, as most people are, but I wonder if deep down he expected it, or at least had an inkling. I think the real betrayal must have come during his first term when his genuine attempts to help were met not with the debate or disagreement he may have expected, but instead open racism, myriad assaults against his family (living and dead), and by people who acknowledged they would do nothing but try to bring him down - people who were rewarded for this by voters. I think a lot of the President Obama wanted to be left by 2011 and 2012, which is one of the reasons he was able to win reelection. He woke up to a reality that most Democrats still can't quite understand. I also wonder if he regrets reportedly encouraging Biden not to run so that Hillary would have a clearer path. Biden probably would have beaten Trump.

It's a shame they paired her with perpetually grating and pointless Matt and seemed to have no plans for her otherwise. I think Taylor Miller could have easily fit into that era of AMC with more effort.

Yeah I guess I just wondered if it was originally planned as a permanent departure or if it was always meant for a return.

If it's Libby it will likely be for Denise to keep the baby. If it's Jay, the same reason for Phil (some say it would be angst for Ben but he and Jay barely speak now). I've also heard spec it might be Sylvie, as she is barely a character and her story seems over. The show mostly just slogs along these days until these "moments." The Lee one is the one that really disappoints me because it tells viewers if they are suicidal, their family will shame them and they can't get any help. The worst part of all the depressing material is the show doesn't have the weight to make it work. There's no grit or heart.

I didn't want someone to scream and shout all the time but she seems like she's on some meds...

I was pleasantly surprised by last night's episode as we got multiple scenes showing her talking about why she put the baby up for adoption and characters actually listened to her, for the most part. I was annoyed by Carmel making it all about herself (as usual) and by Shirley's pathetic line that this was so hard for Phil, he wouldn't do this (obviously setup for his upcoming child stealing...), but the rest was OK. Her scenes with Libby were some of the best she's had in a long time, and easily Libby's best as a character. She's only been on a few times but Denise's mother doesn't do much for me. She seems oddly low-energy and detached from everything. No wonder she never showed up.