Thursday, September 08, 2011
Hubbub over "Speechgate"
9 Comments:
By 
, at
Thu Sep 08, 05:15:00 PM:
Damn fool doesn't understand why every "evil" thing a dem does isn't related to a "gate?" It is easy! The media's job is to cover for dems and their ineptitude and try to make Republicans/Conservatives look bad. IT IS THEIR JOB!!!
By 
Aegon01, at
Thu Sep 08, 05:33:00 PM:
That wasn't exactly my point, and it's sorta inaccurate too. I think CNN called it "Speechgate", which means they're pointing a bigger finger at Obama. Otherwise it'd be "Debategate", right? Some tried to be bipartisan about it and call it "Schedulegate." Nobody asked "Why do we care?"
By , at
Thu Sep 08, 07:06:00 PM:
I would speculate using "gate' as a euphemism for scandal or controversy is just ingrained in the media culture Aegon01. I think its continued use shows a lack of critical thinking and original thought on the part of the media as well.
In addition, you have to remember that in their own minds, Watergate was their finest hour. Using -gate helps preserve the memory. I can understand why they want to keep the memory alive. It dates to a time when they actually had credibility with much of the American public.
As for making molehills into mountains or creating tempests in teapots, it is what they do to gain ratings and call attention to themselves.
Do what I do. Just shut them off. They will never change.
By Georg Felis, at
Thu Sep 08, 07:15:00 PM:
Sounds like a squabble over a conference room
O: Hey Boehner, I need to use your conference room at 7 on Wed.
B: K, I’ll check
O: Hey everybody, party at the conference room, 7 on Wed.
B: Ok, I checked. Everybody that needs to approve will be back from vacation at 6 that night, and it takes you about 3 hours to set up all your stuff, so there’s really no way Wed at 7 will work. How about Thursday?
O: Well, Ok. But I’m going to say mean things about you behind your back.
B: So what else is new….
By , at
Thu Sep 08, 07:22:00 PM:
Father vs. Son debate on the blog ... awesome. Watching O deliver more rhetoric. Didn't we put 1T into 'job creation' and 'shovel ready' projects?
The point is ... listen to business, clown, about why they're NOT creating jobs (here). It's that simple.
There's capital uninvested because of uncertainty, demogoging of business, and baloney.
As for Gates, I'm with you. Just call it what it is - politics. You want to foist yourself to address a peer piece of government to the Executive branch because you say so. That's not how it works. One would think that the 'constitutional scholar' knew that.
By , at
Thu Sep 08, 07:24:00 PM:
And by the way ... if he has a plan to release in a week, how about releasing the plan so it can be vetted and voted on before we raise the debt ceiling yet again?
Three years into this fiasco, I think we can 'afford' to wait a whole week to see just what he has in mind.
By Carolyn, at
Thu Sep 08, 09:03:00 PM:
I still like the "send your plan over in writing and we'll give it our careful consideration" idea. It would be more serious-minded than a speech, and Obama could still give a speech based on his written plan to the "American People" from the White House any time he wanted.
The "gate" thing seems really mindless in this case. I think Taranto's word, "kerfuffle", fits pretty well.
By BrendaK, at
Thu Sep 08, 10:35:00 PM:
Why is the *gate thing still a meme? Because the facts about Gunrunner aren't public yet. Gotta say, though, Speachrunner would sound way stupider than Speachgate.
This go 'round, I'd like to actually read the plan before they 'vote on this plan right away!'
By Foxfier, at
Thu Sep 08, 11:36:00 PM:
if Watergate isn't the most dishonest, stupid thing in recent memory, why is it a meme? Habit? Catchiness?
It's a meme because it was the first thing with an easy-to-allude-to name that hit the media's consciousness. The emotional power for some folks is a bonus. (We are media, we are powerful! Rar!) It'll die when it's considered lame or a name that sounds better shows up.
