Last week, it was amusing/pathetic the way the White House explained away the decision not to have President Biden sit for the recent tradition of the Super Bowl interview with the host network. Last year it was a dose of convenience, where the fact that Fox carried the NFL Title Game meant they could justify Joe evading the supposedly slanted network.
This year, however, CBS is carrying the game, and a far more friendly sit-down was all but assured. Whether it would have been Margaret Brennan, Norah O’Donnell, or Scott MacFarlane, it would have been a good bet he would have had a favorable interview. Even if those names carried a risk of bringing up legitimate topics, surely administration officials could have lobbied to have more lapdog-friendly interviewers such as Gayle King or Nate Burleson.
Instead, as the decision was handed out, spokespersons explained the decision was made for the sake of fans. Dutiful stenographers, such as CNN’s Oliver Darcy, told us:
Biden's advisers have said that the decision to skip the interview was because they wanted to give the already fatigued public a break from politics during the big game. A White House official underscored that argument to me on Monday, adding that they believe the value of the interview has dropped, given it has over the years shifted from a more lighthearted media opportunity to a politics-focused affair.
Uh-huh. It did not take long for the suspicion held by most - that they were shielding Biden from being more exposed as a meandering sort with diminishing faculties - to be confirmed. Just days later came the Robert Hur Special Counsel report declaring the President to be elderly and “painfully” forgetful, then the misguided decision to send Biden out to refute the claims was a complete fiasco that proved Hur correct.
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This Sunday, the White House further undercuts its messaging, as the official account has issued a video of the President complaining about our snack-buying being impacted by those mean food conglomerates diminishing the amount of product in their packaging. Yes, the administration that claimed we had political fatigue sent out this political message from President Siveralert:
It is rather evident they dodged the interview in order to control the messaging and, specifically, the imaging. There is quite a bit untruck here.
What is galling about this video is the president behaving as if this practice has duped the American people, but he is here to explain to us what these evil corporations are up to. For him to pretend that all of the companies have gathered together to hit all the customers in the same fashion is pathetic.
This is an attempt at deflection at grocery realities that no one is buying. It would seem that currently, there are some upper-level meetings inside the Democratic party having to answer the reality that there is a different fatigue entirely with voters regarding a doddering leader who cannot be honest with the public.