Our Grandparents or Great Grandparents, grew up in an age where newspapers were still evolving from weekly to daily. They saw that grow from morning papers to afternoon editions that updated the working day.
The next generation went to television and the Nightly News. That was followed by growth of cable TV and then the internet.
The news cycle that once took days to reach people now lasts minutes. We are in the world of instant coverage.
This weekend was one such example.
On Saturday we heard the President’s team defend him and for the first time many came to say, “this is over”.
Sunday AM arrived and as the morning news finished came the shocking news of a helicopter crash in California. The mood of the country changed to somber as we learned who was on board and the lives of people we knew so well were lost. It seemed to remind everyone how fragile life is. For the remainder of the day we watched and listened for any new updates or information.
Then by nightfall the NYT changed focus for many. As the nation prepared for day two of the defense of the President, they somehow had gotten a copy of John Bolton’s book planned for release later this year. And behold, they had excerpts of his words on the President and the Ukraine.
So another news cycle begins and will dominate until the Senate Session opens at 1:00 and we see what the President’s presenters have to say. By tonight’s nightly news show who knows that the cycle will be.
We live in a world of instant news and analysis. Sometimes the analysis outstrips the news!
What does the Bolton news mean?
It means the Democrats and the anti Trump forces are very well organized. Think about the staged releases. The day before the defense goes the Lev Parnas audio tape breaks. The day after that the Lev Parnas video breaks. The night before the Monday defense the NYT breaks the John Bolton story. You think these releases are by accident or planned?
I think there is more to come.
Why?
The objective is to win the hearts and minds of the public. So even if you don’t impeach the President, damage him and gain a campaign issue against the senators voting innocent. The Democrats want to win control of the senate this election. By putting the senators on the spot to vote to call witnesses or not they create an election issue.
The thought process is, if they vote no witnesses they can say the senator covered up for the President.
If they vote witnesses they get to prolong the charges and get more dirt.
So, give credit to the prosecution and their staged management of releases. Expect more to come.
other news
As soon as the early session ended Saturday the Democratic Senators headed right out to Iowa, which is a week from today. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet are back in the senate today.
The Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest newspaper, endorsed Elizabeth Warren. Interesting what they said:
“The outstanding caliber of Democratic candidates makes it difficult to choose just one.” Sounds like the NYT who endorsed two.
They added:
“Who would make the best president at this point in the country’s history? At a time when the economic deck has become so stacked against working Americans that the gap between rich and poor is the highest in more than 50 years? At a time when a generation of war has stressed military families and sapped the treasury? The Des Moines Register editorial board endorses Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses as the best leader for these times.”
The latest Iowa poll (from Times/Siena College), has Bernie in the lead with 25%. He is followed by Buttigieg with 18%, VP Biden 17%, Warren 15% and Klobuchar with 8%.
Remember the polls have been all over the place.
The President has a big day beyond the hearing. He is meeting (separately) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Benny Gantz, at the White House on his proposed middle-east peace plan.
Five cases of the coronavirus virus in the U.S. now. All the The diagnosed patients had recent connections to Wuhan.
An update on NYC and their bail reform. It quotes the new police commissioner:
A sharp rise in citywide crime since 2020 began was sparked by New York’s new bail reform laws, which took away a judge’s discretion to hold repeat and possibly violent offenders behind bars, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference.
“In the first three weeks of this year, we’re seeing significant spikes in crime. So either we forgot how to police New York City, or there’s a correlation,” Shea told reporters in reference to the new laws.
“If you let out individuals that commit a lot of crime, that’s precision policing in reverse and we’re seeing the effects in a very quick time, and that is why we’re so concerned.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.