Biden (and, to an extent, Chris Wallace) have an astonishing opportunity on Tuesday night.
There have been a gazillion shocking stories written about Trump — and in general, they've barely moved the needle.
But on Tuesday, up to 100 million people will be...paying attention.
Biden has an enormous menu of options on what to focus on from the past 4 years — not just what's important but what might *stick* when people are paying attention that didn't when people weren't.
Like, remember the NYT tax evasion story from 2018? "Trump stole hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers through an illegal scheme to enrich himself."
Would that stick any better when 100 million people are focused, for however short a moment?
I don't know if that would be a good choice or not.
But I bet there's *something* grotesque that got lost in the news cycle that — when said directly, right to Trump's face — would have a very different power than it did the first time around.
In other words, four years of reporting have left a bunch of hammers just lying around on the ground, waiting for someone to pick one up in the right moment and do damage on a very different scale.
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The debate was over whether Louisiana should reverse a 1958 law that had mandated labeling blood donations as "Caucasian," "Negro," or "Mongoloid" based on the race of the donor.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made that illegal — but Louisiana hospitals kept on segregating blood.
The feds were now threatening to withhold Medicare funds if Louisiana didn't reverse the blood-segregation law.
(The state had 1 Black state legislator at the time, Dutch Morial.)
Re: trans people, a 57-43 split is an example of a "clear majority" and "political jet fuel" for the GOP.
Re: debt ceiling, a 58-26 split is...something to mention in the sixth graf, after leading with a predictably partisan (er, "divided") horserace number.
The judge in the E. Jean Carroll/Trump case asked all the potential jurors about where they get news. Fascinating sample of real people's media habits.
Some examples:
— Randomly. Internet.
— AM radio
— Not a big news guy.
— News is tough with a 2 year old.
— Channel 7...
— CNN
— Facebook
— I watch CBS News. And CNN. Read Cape Cod Times.
— No news.
— I like Fox News.
— CBS News Radio
— "The channels"
— Instagram and TikTok
— I scroll my phone
— Cable news, ABC and BBC
— I listen to The Daily...
2/3
— Barely watch the news.
— Fox, CBS, not too much
— local TV and social media
— Internet, TV
— CNN, Fox, MSNBC
— social media
— I don't have a TV, but when I can, I try to sample a lot.
— PBS and NPR
— Channel 12
— Twitter
3/3
Here's the letter from @theatlantic to Du Bois, January 26, 1942.
The editor says Du Bois' article draft is too radical to publish after Pearl Harbor — and that Black Americans might just have a "biological handicap to contend with," not just "social and political" barriers.
"When you say that 'Hitler's race philosophy and methods are exactly the same as ours,' you make an assertion which will antagonize literally 49 out of 50 readers."
"Your purpose in writing such an article is to make people aware of an injustice existing between citizens of a democratic state. But you won't gain a single convert if you say that we are part and parcel of Hitler's gang."