David Ignatius? How influential is he?

[senseandsensibility]

I know he's a big beltway "both sider" type, but I avoid those so I don't know too much about him. Anyhoo...Andrea Mitchell was interviewing him on her show, and apparently he's calling on Biden and Harris to not run and calling them out for not being popular enough. He concedes that Biden is a good president.

Too me, it sounded like a pile-on and an attempt to bake in the narrative that Biden can't win. Plus there was a complete lack of substance to his critique. So, in other words, R's don't like Biden and Harris so they can't win, and that's THEIR fault. As if another Dem would be met with open arms. Again, . The guy sounded coo-coo and even Mitchell wasn't buying it.

[leftstreet]

1. Maybe influential with people who've actually heard of him?

I had to google him

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. I have never been impressed with this person

I am irked that the Washington Post published this piece of crap

I like the Morning Joe response to this article

Link to tweet

[senseandsensibility]

4. Thanks for the link

Didn't want to link directly to the article even if it was available without a paywall.

[agingdem]

3. Morning Joe babbler...

a conservative asshole ...hates Trump slightly more than he hates Biden...

[spanone]

5. He wrote an opinion piece in the WAPO titled 'President Biden should not run again in 2024'

makes sense that andrea mitchell would have him on.

[mahina]

11. I half expected to find iDJT's name on that oped.

[spanone]

12. Wouldn't have surprised me. Disappointed by Ignatius.

[pwb]

6. Andrea bats for the other team.

She pushes the puke view.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Who is surprised by this?

[blm]

7. Beltway influencer ala Mitchell

Full of “conventional wisdom” and little else.

[zuul]

8. Who?

[True Blue American]

9. Not surprising on Andrea. Mrs. Greenspan is a die hard Republican.

On another note Mitt Romney announced he would not run again. Time for a younger generation. Not sure about that with the younger crazies taking over.

[PCIntern]

13. I'll tell you who he is

He’s one of these pseudointellectual professorial types, who speaks in a measured, academic, and calmly reassuring manner, stating his faux-middle of the road opinion whilst primarily utilizing three syllable words, and then occasional four syllable word, and sounds as though he is the “voice of reason“.

He’s a condescending prick, who is definitely suffering from imposter phenomenon, and certainly should be. Because he is.

[Doc Sportello]

15. Well said n/t

[Hortensis]

14. Groupthink regular, protecting his position in DC's "in-crowd."

Which includes a lean to elect Republicans when it matters, and to undermining Democrats. Nothing new here. He uses a shopping-cart approach to accomplish whatever the agenda is. I haven't bothered to read him in years either though we get the WaPo.

But I do remember a piece he once did reporting on Candidate Sanders' foreign policy stances that illustrated a shopping-cart approach. BECAUSE he never once mentioned Sanders' Russia policy or attitude. Okay that it didn't mention his historic fondness for Russia. Not mentioning his occasionally notable voting record regarding Russia was a little questionable, but not in the same class as avoiding Russia as a foreign policy issue altogether.

What WAS huge was that he didn't mention Sanders' support for eliminating NATO -- or alternatively for Putin's plan to admit Russia and completely abandon its primary mission of containing Russia's hegemonic ambitions (i.e., to eliminate NATO). No Russia-Ukraine either, though Russia had invaded in 2014 and Putin was promising to rebuild Russia's Soviet-era empire.

And it goes without saying that Ignatius didn't mention Russia's use of Sanders' candidacy for internet warfare against the U.S., and Democrats specifically. Mentioning THAT would have been shocking and risky as that topic was avoided if at all avoidable by journalists at the "in" table.

Not to pick on Sanders. This is about the sort of thing I just assume we'd see from Ignatius.