Where things stand so far: Biden's first 50 days: Is he keeping his promises?
Jen Psaki is a ‘normal’ White House Press Secretary; that is, she does regular press briefings to advance the President’s agenda, answer questions and issues expressed by the White House, and to present a general sense of control and competency as the media-facing representative of the administration. She doesn’t use her pulpit as an opportunity to attack members of the press with she or the President disagree, deliberately attack previous presidents or congresspeople who are on opposition to the administrations policy or goals, or otherwise perform in unnecessary grandstanding. She does have a good manner in answering pointed or stupid questions directly with a subtext indicating that they are dumb questions without actually stating it outright, and treats even the most obnoxious members of the press corps with professional courtesy, which of course is her job. Saying “His focus was on getting them out as quickly as possible, ” is exactly her way of saying “Because he is not a raging narcissist,” with the added implication that she doesn’t have to make that explicit because it is a self-evident observation.
I’ve never been one for watching White House Press Briefings in their totality because they are mostly worthless, essentially just making official policy of what everyone already knows, but watching the briefings being given by a well-prepared, composed, courteous, professional with a sense of humor and willingness to admit what she doesn’t know is enormously comforting after four years of bumbling ineptitude and pointless conflict. Even if I disagree with the policy being espoused, I at least get the sense that it was well considered and clearly communicated instead of being ad libbed by a gum-snapping oaf in an off-the-rack Men’s Warehouse suit three sizes too big or a professional dissimulator with a serpent’s tongue and a hit list consisting of anyone who presses a challenging question.
Stranger
Well said, as usual, Stranger.
Too bad the word “normal” is on the way out. I find it immensely comforting.
I don’t think the word is, or needs to be, on its way out for all uses. We can stop using it for things that aren’t or shouldn’t be a matter of ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’, while still using it for those which are.
Well, of course, but these are not ordinary times.
So, $1.9 trillion for virus-related relief is being signed on Friday. I think that’s significant news…?
GINORMOUS! Your question is… what?
Compared to the very abnormal recent prior Press Secretaries, Psaki at least is not too oily.
I laughed out loud at that, especially at the ‘conservative media’ attempts to attack her manner and appearance, particularly the implication that she is not “attractive enough” to be in that role. She speaks, dresses, and presents as someone who is a professional communicator with long experience in that role and is more interested in delivering information and policy decisions than grandstanding for attention, and apparently there is something very wrong with that.
Stranger
I agree that Psaki is a pro and an enormous improvement on her immediate predecessors (and any conversation about whether she’s “attractive enough” is gross), but she’s still enjoying a bit of a honeymoon. The real test will be when something blows up that the Biden Administration doesn’t want to talk about, and how she handles that. I found the contretemps over TJ Ducklo mildly concerning – they got to the right decisions, but took longer than they should have.
A growing issue for the Biden Administration and the press is when he’s going to give a solo press conference. This is something that major media outlets have begun to raise as a concern, pointing out that the last several Presidents have had a formal press conference within 30 or so days of taking office. I assume he’ll do so soon, but delaying much longer feeds a perception that there’s a reason why they don’t want him to have of face the press.
The “Ducklo Incident” was kind of ridiculous. Although he clearly overreacted, and in a way that violated the precepts that Biden laid out as an expectation for all of his staff, it was clear that Tara Palmeri was goading him to get a response over a relationship that both he and Alexi McCammond had already disclosed to their respective employers and which measures had been taken to remove conflicts of interest. Palmeri has kind of a reputation as a smear artist and her hiring and actions play as the further slide of Politico into a journalistic gutter. As scandals go, it was basically nothing; a low-level functionary lost his temper and, after a week of churn, resigned his position. If this is the major scandal of Biden’s first three months, it is less than Trump’s first full day where he directed his press flack to go out and transparently lie to the press about the size of his inauguration crowd. This isn’t even ‘Tan Suit’-level bullshit.
As for Biden giving a “solo press conference”, he’s had numerous casual media appearances and does fine, showing that if he isn’t as vital as his younger self he is still mentally acute (far more than Reagan was during the bulk of his tenure, unless you believe he was faking and actually a steely-eyed policy genius that the revisionist opinion now wants to portray him as). Biden is clearly busy doing the actual work of a chief executive including the crucial role of rebuilding relationships with strategic foreign leaders and trying to forge alliances with both Democrats and any Republicans who will, in defiance of their political leadership, take his calls. Preparing for a press conference is actually an involved effort and is best done when he actually has some clear new accomplishments and policy goals to present rather than just giving a speech for the sake of making an appearance.
Stranger
“A growing issue”? Are you effing kidding me? PUH-leese. 
Whose perception…hmmm?? It’s not like he’s been hiding out in the Oval Office, the Executive Washroom, or on the golf course. 
ETA: Stranger said it better. As usual.
Stranger is too cool to use or need emojis.
I think there’s an emoji for that.
Sing it, Randy!
I guess my question was trying to figure out if maybe this wasn’t a big deal, given how little it’s been mentioned here.
You didn’t really think that, did you? That "maybe this wasn’t a big deal’? Naaaahhh… C’mon now. 
If anything, it needs a thread of its own. Why don’t you start one? 
@Leaper, here ya go!
Thought his speech last night was great. He’s not in the same class as Obama or younger Bill Clinton (before Bill’s voice got really raspy) but in terms of setting forward a bold agenda for the future while also providing comfort to people who have lost a lot in the last year I felt he nailed that speech.
I thought he did a great job, too. Struck all the right notes. As I was listening, I was thinking, he really is the antithesis of trumpy. Every word, every idea, every sentiment was exactly the opposite of what trumpy would be saying.
He did stumble over words twice-- very slightly-- so I’m sure that the Pubs are going to bring out the dementia argument again. 
I have a question about the technicality of delivering the speech while looking directly into the camera the whole time. His eyes did not waver. Was he speaking off the cuff the whole time? Surely not-- no one does that to a worldwide TV audience. Was there a teleprompter? But even if the camera lens was right in the middle of the teleprompter text (hypothetically) he did not appear to be reading. How did he do this?
The thing is, I don’t give a fuck how he speaks; I care what he does. I’m so tired of hearing about presidents and leaders as communicators and about their charisma or lack of it. Modern media have badly distorted our perceptions of what a good leader is and ought to be, and our culture is so incredibly shallow and superficial to think that we can gain some insight into someone’s leadership capabilities based on their style. Hell, Abraham Lincoln supposedly had a high-pitched shrill voice that would probably get scoffed at today, as would his tall, lanky body type. FDR hobbling around on crutches would have been a non-starter.