Winners and Losers of the Week [2.16.13]
Angelo Cataldi has a feature every Friday morning on his talk show on 94WIP, in which he names his choice for the winner of the week and the weasel (or loser) of the week in the local and national world of sports. For example, this week the winner was an Swedish LPGA golfer who was bitten by a black widow spider while golfing. Instead of quitting the tour, and the game, she took a golf tee, but punctured the bite wound on her ankle to release the poison, and then she completed all 18 holes. The weasel of the week was new Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly, who hired lackluster assistant coaches and re-signed failed QB Michael Vick. Then, for the rest of the Friday show, callers call in to offer better choices than Angelo’s for the winner and weasels of the week and Angelo’s cohosts vote on which is better.
I am wholly stealing this idea for a new Saturday morning column outlining my choices on who is the winner and loser of the week. I can’t call the loser a weasel, because I am told the conservative blowhard Rick Jensen already awards a weasel of the week. Rick must have stole from Angelo too.
Candidates for each can be from local Delaware or national politics. I will select my winner and loser based on something they did or said during the previous week (Saturday, February 9 to Friday, February 15), and then our wonderful commenters will debate my choices, and offer what they think are better options for each. And my fellow contributors can judge whose choices are better. My choices, and yours, are relegated to the world of politics and government. I can’t chose that Blade Runner guy from South Africa for allegedly murdering his model wife, because he is not in politics or government.
For my Loser of the week, I offer Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams. As all local political officials are wont to do, Mayor Williams rushed down to the New Castle County Courthouse on that horrible Monday morning. He was seen in early TV reports from the scene, and gave interviews that, as reflected in the early news reports, offered only either false or incomplete information.
Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams said Monday in a telephone interview that the shooter was killed by police. Williams said he was told the man shot and killed his wife and wounded two other people about 8:10 a.m. Monday. Williams said the two were estranged.
As we know now, after a complete police investigation, that it was not the husband, David Matusiewicz, that was the shooter, but rather his father. And we know that the Police did not kill him, but rather Thomas Matusiewicz took his own life. I don’t blame Mr. Williams for getting the information wrong, because, as we saw in Newtown, Connecticut, the fog of war in early reports from the scene are often incorrect. Indeed, I am sure Mr. Williams was given that false information by the police. What I blame Mr. Williams for is negligently offering that early information to the press in an official capacity. Public officials need to let the police speak as to the details of the crime once the police have assembled all the information of the crime, for precisely the reason that early reports are often wrong. Instead, perhaps because the new mayor wanted to be seen as in charge during a massive crisis early in his term, he sought the press’ attention.
The mayor would have been better served comforting those at the scene, for that is good press, and let the police do their job and speak for themselves.
For my winner of the week, I offer President Barack Obama, who gave a well received and powerful State of the Union address that masterfully championed very popular policies and programs that the Republicans are steadfast against, wedging them into a difficult corner, all with the eye towards 2014 and 2016. Very well played Mr. President.
Loser – Harry Reid who is confronted with the result of his “gentlemens agreement”
Winner – Elizabeth Warren who brilliantly displayed the brains and backbone that Harry Reid lacks
Loser: Marco Rubio.
Winner (do we accept international nominees?): Pope Benedict, who likely gets to name his successor, thus extending the Church’s conservatism for another popehood. And today, it was revealed that his retirement home will be in Vatican City.
Elizabeth Warren is a winner in my book, but with questioning like she delivered yesterday, the long knives will be out for her in earnest from both sides of the aisle. I guess she’s good for six years though.
Mmmmm, I like the Harry Reid nomination.
I agree with AQC. I would give Mayor Williams a pass on that. Given how horrible the situation was and the fact that he has only been on the job a few months I figure he will learn from the experience on how to deal with the press better in these types of situations. This may be similar to Susan Rice. He might have been passing on to the press what he was told. In the big picture the story was corrected and focus put back on the victims.
Harry Reid on the other hand through caving has damaged the country. We will have to put up with the same BS from the Republicans that we have as citizins for the last 4 years. in which nothing gets done.
Senator Warren is a better winner because of her willingness for try to hold accountable appointees from her own party who have allowed the culture on wall street that created the worst collapse since 1929. While the Presiedent had an excellent week he as the head of government should have pushed for what the Senator has been pushing for a long time ago
Tally so far:
Loser of the Week nominees: Dennis Williams, Harry Reid, Marco Rubio
Winner of the Week: Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Pope Benedict XVI
AQC must be ‘readin’ my mail’.
Elizabeth Warren and Harry Reid, indeed.
Memo to Reid and his craven followers: If you think that caving on the filibuster will make the Rethugs think twice about doing it should they attain the senate majority in 2014, you’re wrong. First day of session, the ‘reforms’ you kissed off will be the law of the Senate. In the mean time, nominees, judgeships and legislation languish. You’re pathetic.
Williams was running his mouth because of the incredibly shitty job he and his staff did handling the cop shooting, especially after TNJ tore him a new one. He had no role in the investigation or handling of the case, but needed to make himself look important and competent. What a jackass. (He also needs a new press person. The three-years-out-of-college sports-reporter daughter of the disgraced judge is in way over her head.)
You will notice that he went into the meeting to plan the news conference later that day and left soon after. I’m guessing the grownups at DSP and the AG’s office told him to STFU.
I feel most sorry for his chief. She’s going to be micromanaged to no end. Williams can’t seem to remember that he’s not a cop any more.
Dipshit, dipshit, dipshit.
Williams can’t seem to remember that he’s not a cop any more.
And for all of his vaunted cop experience, he didn’t remember the basic rule of not talking about facts under investigation UNTIL they are facts.
Exactly. To be fair, there was a lot of bad info going around early on – several media, including Cris Barrish, reported the wrong ID – but that’s still no excuse. There are proper channels for the public release of verified information, and the mayor of Wilmington was not one of those channels in this tragedy. I guess his Strategy Officer was out that day.
It’s amateur hour.
The main reason that some of the press reports were wrong was b/c Williams gave them the wrong information.
His days as a ‘reliable source’ are over.
Williams hasn’t been a cop since he took disability leave for a boo boo on his finger.
I didn’t see any TV on this event, but an anonymous source wants to know if anyone noticed that right after the incident DW was seen ducking under the crime scene tape and entering the scene? Apparently you could see this on TV. This source claims that several cops said he walked all over the place screwing up the integrity of the scene.
Like I said, I didn’t see any TV (other than some DEonline clips), but perhaps someone else noticed it?
WINNER: Russia for surviving a meteorite attack.
LOSER: Obama, who just rejected building a Death Star because he is “opposed to blowing up planets.” Maybe it’s time to rethink that Death Star…
Winner – Elizabeth Warren-
Senate Republicans – holding up Obama’s picks on National Security.