I don't get why this is a story. I feel terrible for the dad. But wasn't this just a stunt to try to surprise Kavanaugh with all the cameras rolling, all to get the media to cover the encounter to bring attention to the father's legislative issue? Not sure what I'm missing.
Some people are responding that the nice normal thing would have been to shake Guttenberg's hand and express sympathy for his loss. If this had been a meet and greet, sure. But you have to factor in the time and place. The Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting in a massive /1
enormous room, with the nominee up front surrounded by people the WH has picked, all supporters.. The nominee is immediately surrounded by dozens of cameramen who are crouched down about 2 feet away. The public, meanwhile, is in the back. /2
As I understand things, the Senators take a break, and Guttenberg immediately approaches Kavanaugh, walking up to the space right around him with the dozens of cameramen right there clicking/filming. It's the weirdest place/time for someone to approach you to shake hands. /3
The only reason to approach someone at that time is for a political stunt. You know all the cameras will catch the encounter. If Kavanaugh walks away, you criticize him for not caring about your legislative issue and try to make a stink of that (which is what happened). /4
If Kavanaugh shakes hands and expresses sympathy, then you have the networks on you live for the perfect made-for-TV moment as you get to talk to the cameras and about your legislative issue. I don't for a second blame Guttenberg for doing what he did; he has suffered so much. /5
And there are perfectly legitimate reasons to oppose the Kavanaugh nomination. But it doesn't make much sense to me to focus on Kavanaugh's reaction to Guttenberg as something significant. /6
And I get that some reaction is anger about other things, some SCT related and some not, triggered by a TV moment. A few seconds of video, out of context, can be seen by some as revealing deep truths the world is otherwise hiding. But that's not about Kavanaugh's reaction./end
