Vee

Joe still getting it done:

The reporter who gushed about Trump's 'serene, existential' metamorphosis post-shooting is back with some Trumpworld palace gossip (as always, run it through archive.is): Good luck with this:

I don't think Sarlin is as bad as some, but like many Beltway journos he is thinking of it too much as sportsbro game theory transposed onto politics vs. what it simply is: A vile smear spat out by a flailing candidate who is feeling the heat.

That's awful about Eric. I still miss him. Give him our best.

I can see either side on Shapiro. I just don't think the downsides are that significant with the general public vs. the very online. He's tough, projects non-crazy left and he locks down PA. I don't think it's about fear. People on Twitter catastrophize about a pretty normal politician because there's always gotta be something. Meanwhile:

Wishful thinking from The Hill. Any time he does anything stupid there's a segment of media that kvell and say 'he's won back the news cycle! What a genius plan!' This fumble atop a colossal mess will not play well for him, despite poor attempts to launder it and put it over. Such as: It's not going to get much traction AFAIC, it's just going to turn more people off.

A moment of clarity with Vivek:

Don't.

Emily, maybe others. I think they were all the Text Message Killer/Diego Alcazar.

I feel like the show he ran and its tone and casual death make him still part and parcel of those decisions. I understand his team repping for him, but it's more complicated than that.

Incidentally, check The Gates thread, y'all. Guza ain't back.

I get that, but we both know it's been a long time and he's a much, much weaker figure with a much deeper floor and lower ceiling with voters.

Guza is very good at certain things. I don't have a problem with him (or Mulcahey) being part of a team headed by someone else. I think he was at GH first actually - in the Monty '80s under Anne Howard Bailey. He also drifted into classic Canuck horror flicks (Curtains, Prom Night, etc.) and then came back over time. But yes, he spent years disdaining soaps and trying to turn them into primetime/film. Still, he understands the fundamentals and big splashy stories.

DC/MD! My hometown! Wow.

It doesn't distract from his problems, though - it is his problem. He's been bleeding voters, Harris is stalking him state to state and he is not building more base. Firing up your base doesn't help you if it's shrinking and can't win an election. That event was a disaster and does nothing outside of the faithful but damage him further. It's another bad news cycle. And it's going to hit his numbers more. It's not working.

Karen's been dead for 20 years! What does this have to do with why we're not super invested in Wagger?

Wagger is not my red line on the show, lol. I don't care about Wagger no matter how nice his actor is on social media. He's been on the show four minutes. The whole show is just bad and the stories are nonsense.

I would urge everyone to check the Media thread, where I have begun putting up a ton of Trump's disastrous appearance at NABJ (it probably should be crossposted, but I am running to the gym soon). It will be very bad for him. It's another gift to us.

Trump is now attacking the audio: I have to go shortly to head to the gym, but I hope someone else can pick the rest of this train wreck up.

Very few. I don't know if Shapiro is the right choice, but I don't believe any negative impact there will be that big. Meanwhile:

The unstoppable Judith Light (OLTL) will co-star with Billy Crystal in the Apple TV series Before.