July 30, 2009
Your Turn: Reading The Beer Summit
Once again, I’m reminded of Karl’s phrase: politics is TV with the sound off.
Rather than giving you a still, it seemed like the whole clip was called for. So, how to you read this?
…The categories are: seating configuration, “opening serve,” body language, drinks taken, shirts and jackets, venue, dynamic of sight lines, presence of Biden, Biden munchables, press access and CNN shtick. (Please note the time mark, if applicable. And then, if you want to frame your response in terms of Jeopardy answers and questions, all the better.)
(video: CNN)
16 Comments Leave a comment
gulati said:
One pint? One lousy pint?! All 4 should be chugging a 6-pack each, hopefully resulting in Biden strutting about the Rose Garden in his tidy whities, and the prof & cop doing their best “Oh Danny Boy!”
But seriously, O’s casual schlump looks a bit contrived. But I guess with all the hype over the Beer Summit, this is his attempt at “reducing the temperature.”
dada said:
What is a round table, Alex.
Russ Nichols said:
Looks a bit stiff. Wonder what they really talked about. Social occasion? More like a forced social occasion for Obama to make his point. How long did this thing last? I would bet everyone concerned was relieved when it was over. Will it really open dialogue between black and white across the nation? I have my doubts. But as Roland Hedley would say, “Only time will tell…”
doug said:
I bet obama is dying for a smoke with that beer.
Jerry Holtaway said:
My favorite point was at about 2.12 when Wolf Blitzer finally explained what I had been looking at for two minutes! Boy, without people like him, I’d be totally clueless… (Oh, and did you hear Obama say, “Joe, slow down, leave some of those nuts for our guests!”?)
mcmama said:
Are you kidding me? Can Wolf be any more breathless? Can the clip be any less interesting? I despair…
Johanna said:
Obama body language for the most part very very disengaged. Biden, for all the negative press about him, is a more humble man and has taken over the role of host.
Two Dishes said:
Here in New York, the two battling Dailies (Metro New York and AM New York–the free ones everybody reads on the corner)
went for slightly different shots. I was surprised that the more liberal paper, Metro, went for the more (subtly) inflamatory.
Metro (liberal headquarters in Sweden)– The cop is talking to Obama. Viscerally it registers as the white cop is airing his complaint, the others are passive. The viewer is invited to identify with the white man complaining to the guy “who called white cops stupid” (I suppose).
AMNY (Centrist Liberal):: Gates and Crowley are addressing each other, equitably, just as Obama Administration had probably hoped.
Washington Times (Rev Sun-Moon?, far right?) — the table is pictured from afar on an enormous lawn. The moment is diminished and un-grand, like the toppling of the Saddam statue in 2003 in Baghdad: silly when viewed from afar, impressive if framed closely.
(http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/31/suds-summit-falls-flat-as-obama-skips-harmony-lect/)
heydave said:
I find it hard to believe, or possibly just too sad to consider, that this tripe gets labeled as anything less than a yawn.
stated4all said:
What is “Much Ado About Nothing,” Alex?
Johanna said:
An idea that the police should have considered in connection with Prof. Gates is whether he has some kind of incipient dementia. His angry ranting seems abnormal, but more so does his breaking his own lock. Most people would not have lost their own keys, but also would find a solution other than breaking down their door! The subsequent statements he has made seem foolish and extravagant. I just wonder about his mental state.
Stella said:
Why do I berate myself for wasting time?
I thought I heard somebody say “talk about stupid!”
Aurora said:
I think it looks more like his legs are so long he can’t get closer; also, end of another late July day in muggy DC. Can you imagine the number of things on his mind?
Michael Shaw (The BAG) said:
Just a quick note. Last night I jettisoned my second Beer Summit post uploaded Friday afternoon. I agree with the comments — I was beating a dead horse.
Sarah Deere said:
What is, “Can’t we al just get along?”
Sarah Deere said:
um, “ALL” get along.