Her media pals have swooned over her, calling her the best press secretary ever. She was competent, I'll give her that -- but she was condescending, and lied a lot (though that may come with the territory), and did very little to raise the tone of debate in the country. I give her credit for holding regular briefings, but I have it on good authority that she and her underlings maneuvered to make sure that challenging questions were quashed, except from Peter Doocy, who works for Fox News, which is too big to ignore or wish away (Obama tried).
This was not a job she should have had. The job was earned by former Biden spokesperson Symone Sanders, who was somehow shunted to the VP's office and eventually left the administration. (Somehow in all the talk of systemic racism, we never heard the explanation as to why a black woman who did it all on the campaign trail was passed over in favor of a white woman who did not.)
There is a corruption issue here: Psaki is leaving to join MSNBC, if reports are to be believed, and there were several outlets courting her, so she was, as Byron York notes, briefing the same organizations who were trying to hire her (and whom she was trying to entice to hire her). There are stark conflicts of interest.
I think one can honestly say, though, that the administration will be served more poorly by anyone who replaces her, which is a form of praise, I guess.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
