Lessons in Sunday Morning News Shows Punditry for Chuck Todd, et al.

Sooo.... in the interest of helping out the Sunday morning pundit shows with lying liars from the government, including people with degrees who definitely ought to know better being questioned by "journalists" who never went to law school and never learned how to cross examine a witness who is incapable of giving a straight answer to any question, here is my "how you should have done it right, Chuck Todd, when you had the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Admiral Brett Giroir on your Meet the Press show this morning.

This is from the Meet the Press transcript of a video clip from the House committee hearing earlier this week that had Dr. Fauci, the Admiral in full dress uniform with lots of medals (Good Conduct, Perfect Attendance, Shiniest Buttons, etc.) and the bad goatee guy who heads up the Centers for Disease Control:

"REP. ANDY KIM:

Would it be possible for our nation to have results for all Covid tests completed and returned within 48 and 72 hours?

ADM. BRETT GIROIR:

It is not a possible benchmark we can achieve today given the demand and supply. It is absolutely a benchmark we can achieve moving forward."

This is Todd introducing a video clip of the Moron in Chief:

CHUCK TODD:

And the president continues to share misinformation, tweeting again on Friday: "If we had no testing, or bad testing, we would show very few cases.”

I've omitted a few of the video clips and intros, but suffice it to say, there was no shortage of clips of Trump and his officials saying things in March, April, May, and June, none of which were true, all of which are evidence that this administration is the most incompetent in history at doing.... well, anything.

And here is how Chuck Todd actually questioned Admiral Giroir. After you have read it ask yourself one simple question: Chuck, did it occur to you to maybe, well, you know, write down your questions in advance, maybe, well, you know, consulting with a producer or an expert who actually knows what the fuck they are doing? Because it sure looks a lot like stream of consciousness, compound questions, and never, ever, sticking the landing- or nailing that jelly fish of an Admiral to the wall when he won't give you a straight answer. (By the way "DPR" refers to the "Defense Production Act" which allows the president in a national emergency to compel a private company to make a needed product- and get compensated for it. Something Chuck forgot to explain and which would have been very helpful to viewers. And which is the center point for the incredible mess that we are in as to testing: the President NEVER used it for that purpose.)

(video clip, after a bunch of video clips):

"SEC. ALEX AZAR:

What we're doing now is we've got to test entire communities, find all positive cases, because this is a very different virus with this asymptomatic spreading. Get every positive case and get those people isolated.

(END TAPE )

CHUCK TODD:

Admiral, that last comment obviously was at the end of June. We're now at the beginning of August. We still seem to have the same testing issues. In this case, it's the supply issues and all of that, the lag issue, which you testified to on Friday. Four months now. Are we ever going to be able to get this testing strategy right?

ADM. BRETT GIROIR:

So, thank you, and it's good to be on again. And I do want to put some things in perspective. Of course, we've increased our testing by 32,000 percent. We're completing over 80 percent of our tests within three days, almost 90 percent within five days. Of course, we're going to improve that. We're continuing to improve that. By September, we'll have over 23 million point-of-care tests, so we are improving that. But I do want to get the opportunity to put testing in context. And I think that's very important. How we use it, how we rely on it, and how we fix the outbreak right now by using testing selectively the way we're doing it in all the southern states.

CHUCK TODD:

I'm curious, with this selective testing, is this because we just don't have the capacity to do these quick? I mean, for instance, the Abbott tests, why is that not something the DPA could have been used for to make this available across the country faster, to speed up manufacturing? It seems as if we've let these private labs dictate the speed with which we get the equipment necessary to complete the tests.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR:

So, that's really absolutely not true. We look every day for opportunities to use the DPA or other investments. And when it's possible to do that, we do that. We've made two large investments into swab production. Last week, you saw an investment into BD Veritor by the Defense Department, an investment in Quidel by the National Institutes of Health. That's why, in September, we'll have over 23 million point-of-care tests. The DPA is not a magic wand. It can't create something out of nothing. It can be used as an effective tool, and that's the way we're doing it. Now, let me talk about the testing. And this has been misconstrued a lot. Obviously, we want to increase testing, and we've done that. And I've told you how we've done that. But testing is a part of the strategy. We don't test our way out of this. We do smart policies with testing as an adjunct. That's why places like Arizona have had a two-week downward trajectory. They've gone from over 5,000 cases a day to in the hundreds of cases a day. Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas are all on a downward trajectory because they've instituted smart policies. And you know what that is. Wear a mask, avoid crowded indoor places, use good hygiene, and avoid crowds. And if we do those things, that will reduce the overall outbreak to levels that will go down significantly. And that's what we're seeing across the South.

CHUCK TODD:

Let me ask this though. It does seem as if we've got, sort of, two different challenges in front of us, right, which is this latest outbreak. It seems like it's too big to get our testing around. There's some that are advocating partial shutdowns in some of these worst communities. Is that something the task force is recommending in these sort of red zone states?

ADM. BRETT GIROIR:

So, both for the red zone states and the emerging yellow states, we have really good data now, both theoretical and data from places like Arizona, Texas, and Florida, that if you do simple measures like avoid the indoor crowded places, and a lot of times that are indoor bars, but you can't have a hundred people at your house either. Do less in dining, indoor dining, because that's another place. Wearing a mask is incredibly important, but we have to have like 85 percent or 90 percent of individuals wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. That is essentially -- gives you the same outcome as a complete shutdown. And why do I say that? Well, theoretically, we can go through the models, but look at Arizona, look at Florida and Texas, Louisiana. These measures are being implemented and that changes it. And the key is --- and that's why we're going to all the states. We're on local radio. We give specific instructions to every governor, by county, what they need to do when we start -- when those counties start tipping yellow because that's the time when you have to stamp it down. You've got to institute these measures because the virus will keep doing what the virus does unless we make an affirmative change."

So, Chuck, here's how you do it:

First, run the video clip of Dr. Stella Immanuel, the quack doctor, claiming that hydroxychloroquine cures Coronavirus, along with her statements about reptilian alien DNA, about sex with demons in their sleep causes people to get disease, and her other wild claims, then the clip of Trump praising her at a televised press briefing after a reporter questions his touting her as a credible source. Then ask this:

"Q. Admiral Giroir, this week the President of the United States touted and praised a medical doctor who stated publicly that not only that people don't need to wear masks, but that wearing masks spreads the coronavirus. She also claimed that hydroxychloroquine cures the disease of coronavirus. She also said that there is alien reptilian DNA in medicine. And she said that disease is caused by people sleeping with demons in their dreams. When the President was asked about these assertions at a press briefing, this is what he said:

"She was on-air, along with many other doctors. They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. I thought she was very impressive. ... She said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. I thought her voice was an important voice, ..."

So here is my question Dr. Giroir: if you had a patient who came into your office, and that patient said that he believed the assertions of a doctor who claimed that disease is caused by people having sex with demons in their dreams, that she was very impressive because he saw her on television, would you consider that patient mentally fit to serve as president of the United States? Wouldn't you want a person serving as president who wasn't so ignorant and gullible that he would stand on the world's biggest stage on live television telling American citizens to believe a doctor who says that masks cause coronavirus, that hydroxycholorquine is the cure, that disease is caused by demons, that DNA from space aliens is currently being used in medicine, and that God would crash Facebook servers for removing her page as having dangerous medical disinformation? Wouldn't you rather have a president who isn't a moron, who actually accepts science, and who doesn't spread the kind of disinformation that kills people?"

See, Chuck, the key to a good cross examination isn't getting the right answer from the witness. It's asking a question in a manner that, no matter what the witness answers, he or she is toast. Because there is no way for Admiral Giroir to wriggle off that hook. He can't deny that you saw what you just saw in the video clips. All he can do is gurgle or turn off his video feed (since he's not in the studio).

As for testing, Chuck obviously let the Admiral get off the hook in his answers, above. Here's how you handle the testing question:

First, show the clip of Trump saying- back in March- everyone who wants a test can get a test. Then all of the other clips asking about testing, including the ones that keep punting the responsibility back to the States.

Then ask:

"Admiral Giroir, when did you come to the realization that in order to stop the spread of the virus, you would have to be able to test people for the virus and have a rapid turnaround on the results- less than 48 hours?"

Now that's a question that's tough to duck, because it asks him to answer a question with only a specific answer. If he tries to divert, then bring him back with this:

"Admiral, I don't need the exact moment in time- how about a month? Was it February of 2020? March? April? May? Yesterday?"

Next question: "Does the virus respect state boundaries? Will it get to the border of say, Texas and New Mexico, then say, 'whoa, I can't cross that boundary!'"

Of course he'll say "no, it doesn't."

Then Chuck should ask:

"So if the virus doesn't respect State boundaries, and one State might do a great job, and another State a dismal, awful, reckless job of dealing with the virus, it makes no sense whatsoever to leave these critical decisions on mask wearing, shutting down large group activities, closing bars, and such, and getting supplies like ventilators, masks, and gowns, and testing kits, and testing labs, up to each State separately, does it? That would be the worst possible way to handle a national crisis like this- a global pandemic, as it were, isn't that true? And isn't that exactly what President Trump and Jared Kushner have done the last six months- punted the responsibility for all of those things to the States, individually?"

"So if, for instance, New Mexico has a Democrat as governor, and it follows science, and does a great job preventing the spread of the virus, that doesn't really help Texas at all, does it, when Texas has a Republican governor who opens up bars, won't require masks, and devotes no resources to getting testing centers open and test results quickly processed? And it certainly doesn't help Georgia, when Georgia's Republican governor opens up tattoo parlors, bars, massage parlors, and bowling alleys back in May, then actually issues an order trying to overrule cities like Atlanta that put a mandatory masking ordinance into effect, then that governor actually went to court to sue the Democratic Mayor of the City of Atlanta to prevent Atlanta from trying to save the lives of her citizens by requiring people to wear masks? Does it?"

Again, it's all in the question. Giroir can't answer that one. Because every assertion of fact is true.

"Admiral, I've also noticed that the President and many of his top political appointees keep referring to this as the "China virus" and always mention that "the virus came from China" and they also always mention what a "great job" the President is doing. That doesn't really help any of the 150,000 dead Americans, does it? That doesn't help the tens of millions who have lost their jobs? The people who lost their small businesses? The airlines? Other countries- like Vietnam, and South Korea, and Taiwan, that are much closer than we are to China have done far, far better dealing with preventing this pandemic than we have, isn't that true? In fact, Vietnam, with 95 million people, just had their first coronavirus death last week- after we have had as many people die as died in over 50 9-11 Twin Tower attacks. So how does it help us now to try to blame China for the origin of the virus?"

And then you move on the close:

"So, if testing is important, and the virus doesn't respect state boundaries, and you have idiot Republican governors who open up bars, and massage parlors, and tattoo parlors, and bowling alleys, who sue their own mayors of cities who try to save the lives of their citizens by requiring them to wear masks, wouldn't you agree that we need a national policy in the United States? That unless we act as one nation, we're basically screwed, and we will have exactly what we have had: the world's worst response to the pandemic, the most positive cases, and the most people in intensive care on breathing machines in hospitals, and the most deaths?"

then ask:

"And when you have a president who claims that if you tested less or not at all that we would have fewer cases, wouldn't you agree that is like saying that if we don't count the people on breathing machines in hospitals, if we don't count the people in the morgues, or in body bags in freezer trucks, then they really aren't sick at all, they really aren't dead? Wouldn't you have to be an absolute idiot to suggest that the way to deal with the coronavirus is to test fewer people, or not test at all? Wouldn't you agree that any person who said so publicly should not be serving as president, and for the good of the nation should be removed from office as quickly as possible?"

Again, no answer required. The question is the answer.

"Well, we're out of time, Admiral Giroir. So we'll leave it there. I've noticed that you've turned into a piece of burnt toast. Good luck with having anybody at the White House bothering to send you out to appear on a news show again in your lifetime."

That's how you do it, Chuck. Of course, you never will do it, because you won't get Admiral Giroir ever to appear on your show again. And you'll have to only get people on who aren't lying liars. Which leaves out virtually everybody serving in the Trump Administration who is a political appointee. The only one who will show up will be Anthony Fauci- a career scientist, not a political appointee, because he's the only one not afraid for his job- he's just about the science. And he'll admit when he was wrong.