Sunday Open Thread [5.24.15]

I feel like a Kremlinologist. So there is this AP tidbit that Vice President and Dr. Biden are staying in Washington this weekend, which is rare since they usually go home to Delaware on the weekends. It goes unmentioned in the article, but obviously they are staying close to the Walter Reed Hospital, which is a quick trip up 16th Street from Massachusetts Avenue and the Vice President’s residence at the Naval Observatory. We have to assume that Beau Biden is still admitted to that hospital, since we have no information to the contrary. The highlight of the AP article is that the Vice President golfed yesterday afternoon with the President. So Beau’s condition is serious enough that it has kept the Bidens in DC and Beau still in the hospital after four days, but not critical enough that the Vice President can’t go play golf.

New York Times: “As President Obama grapples with the unnerving territorial gains of the Islamic State last week, the Republicans eyeing the White House are struggling to put forward strategies of their own. The most detailed ideas have come from Mr. Graham, a United States senator from South Carolina who is on the Armed Services Committee, yet he ranks so low in polls that it is unclear if he will qualify to participate in the coming candidate debates. Mr. Bush, a former governor of Florida, and Mr. Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, draw more support from voters at this point, yet seem less sure of their war footing, saying they would rely on guidance from military advisers.”

No, they do have a plan: full on ground invasion of Syria, Iraq and Iran. War Uber Alles.

WASHINGTON STATE–PRESIDENT–PPP: Clinton (D) 49, Carson (R) 39; Clinton (D) 49, Rubio (R) 39; Clinton (D) 48, Bush (R) 37; Clinton (D) 49, Walker (R) 38; Clinton (D) 50, Cruz (R) 38; Clinton (D) 50, Paul (R) 38; Clinton (D) 50, Perry (R) 37; Clinton (D) 50, Huckabee (R) 37; Clinton (D) 49, Christie (R) 34.

Paul Waldman on the beltway media’s frustration with Hillary’s ignoring them:

Their frustration is starting to bubble to the surface. New York Times reporter Jason Horowitz, following Clinton in Iowa, wrote a story today about how her campaign is keeping reporters at arm’s length, then tweeted a link to the story with the description: “Queen Hillary and the Everyday Americans of the Round Table distribute alms to the clamoring press.”
But if Clinton is overly concerned about their feelings, it’s hard to tell. Instead, she’s acting as though she isn’t afraid of the press at all.

We’re in the midst of the second media revolution Bill and Hillary Clinton have lived through, both of which changed how politicians relate to reporters. In the first one, which occurred in the 1990s, the media universe expanded and became more partisan, as conservative talk radio became a major force and cable news emerged to cover politics around the clock (Fox News was founded in 1996, in time for the Lewinsky scandal). The incumbent news organizations found themselves pressured by the right, bullied into covering stories they might have paid little attention to and forced to accelerate their news-gathering. Talk radio and cable were perfect for taking allegations against the president — legitimate or otherwise — and forcing them onto the agenda of the “old media” outlets, where they gained legitimacy and shaped the events of the day.

But despite all the scandal fodder his administration (and his private life, and his past) provided, Bill Clinton managed to not only survive but leave office with approval ratings in the 60s.

More Paul Waldman: “Liberals often say that Fox News is the house organ of the Republican Party, but in the 2016 election, the network is becoming something more: a kind of stern boss, setting the agenda, plotting the group’s course, and weeding out the weak performers. As powerful as the network has been within the conservative movement, the 2016 election has given it the opportunity to increase its influence even further.”

“That’s partly because someone has to organize the chaos that is the Republican primary race, and no one’s better positioned to do it.”