I'd be the last person to hold up HuffPuff as a model for journalism, with its huge Drudge-hammer headlines, and the right side column seemingly devoted to celebrity nipplefests, but without a television, it's the easiest access to bits from late-night comedy so I visit.
What I can't help noticing is the recent proliferation of the picture of Obama as a lip-biting guy on the verge of tears.
It's not restricted to Ariana's monster baby; it has quickly become The Narrative. It is pretty much the equivalent of the media battery of Jimmy Carter in his term: "And this is day 231 of America Held Hostage." Ad nauseum.
The sad thing is, this kind of stuff works. Why else have House Republicans, when they aren't busy colonizing the female reproductive system, keep voting to repeal "Obamacare?" I don't doubt that they will continue to do so, until the end of Obama's term. Some may say that could change with the outcome of 2014 elections, but I'm not optimistic. The script has already been written. The Clintons are ready to assume their "rightful" place by throwing some disparagement on Obama's presidency-Bill's comment on how Obama should honor the "you can keep your insurance" pledge, a perfect instance of this. (Yes, and Obama foolishly does so.)
Long ago, when I fancied myself a writer of fiction, I ruminated a short story about a young man picking up his date, who is not ready. He peruses her "woman's magazine", while waiting, and reads an article about how to "catch" a man. All the suggestions in the article, are eventually acted upon by the woman, in the course of the evening, but the man falls for them, anyway.