The format allows for misreading. You think for certain you understand clearly what you're reading, it's right there, yet the format, the popping off aspect of it really does count on people understanding the person behind it. It's clipped nature is easily misread.
But some things are so clear. You know Ifill better than I. How does she intend this to be read?
We hear her saying, "Take that, Bibi." You know her, does she do that thing of explaining somebody else by putting on their voice and putting words in their mouth?"
Is this Ifill speaking for herself on Twitter exposing her low-class and poorly informed personal joy in the decision or is this Ifill being a real journalist and telling us what the White House is saying? She refers to a White House sponsored Tweet lauding the deal and snipping the fuse to the bomb of Netanyahu's famously ridiculed illustration. It's childishly retro-abusively provocative of the thin-skinned White House, as we've come to expect, is Ifill channeling a White House with children's boxing gloves? Pow pow, take that. Or is she speaking for herself?
[Incidentally, notice what is omitted from the with/without diagram. It's so utterly vacuous it would be risible were it not profoundly tragic. Every reader here could fill the page with what is had with and without this deal. The graphic is the very fast work of a child.]
Everyone I follow agrees Ifill is speaking for herself. Nobody questions it. The ombudsman, Michael Getler, says it is a self-inflicted wound, not the fist time such has happened and he is not amused. He writes a damning and damaging piece.
I've seen this phenomena of misreading something then piling on before. You have to remark when you see something outrageous.
Trump said Kelly had blood squirting out of her nose and ... whatever. In that moment I thought it odd for him to say nose and not ears, then recalled bloody noses, then provided blood squirting out of Kelly's ears, whatever, her mouth too, whatever, her eyeballs too whatever, blood all over her face squirting out. That's what I visualized. Quite graphic. I never for one tiny moment thought the nether regions. I never thought the most logical thing, only illogical cartoon things.
But everyone else did think the logical thing. Conservatives are nothing if not logical.
Everyone did.
Pervs. And Man did they ever pile on. And there is no telling them otherwise.
In the Ifill case, I too thought Ifill is speaking for herself and so I chimed in naturally too. I thought she was exposing her prejudices. It's what I expect of PBS. It's also very easy to be 100% wrong.
