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Did Bernie Sanders launch the first serious salvo at Joe Biden this weekend by saying Democrats would need enthusiasm to beat Donald Trump—thus implicitly attacking Biden’s calm and pacific demeanor as the frontrunner? And are the rules of the Democratic primaries now being slowly moved to help Biden win early? Give a listen.
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Having criticized Noah before, I must now praise him for his understated yet evocative hypothetical regarding the president’s probable desire to defend himself (loudly & publicly, I would imagine) were he to be exposed to unfriendly characterizations by European talking heads on TV during his visit.
That was well done and amusing.
Also worth mentioning is JPod’s improvisational jazz musician vs. the great classical composers metaphor (& Rosen’s contribution) which I think may have something to it and is worth thinking about.
Still not convinced by Abe’s prediction that Bernie is going to have another moment, but I guess we’ll see.
Most jazz improvisation is “based on previous ideas.” A good jazz musician doesn’t stand in front of a crowd and play random nonsense. Rather, he pieces together short licks, scales, and sequences in a way which fits a context — and typically in accordance with music theory. (Professional jazz musicians know their music theory.) Improvisation involves a lot of thinking, but most of that thinking happens in the practice room.
The true intellectual equivalent of a jazz artist isn’t Trump. It’s someone who’s so mastered his subject of expertise, and its ideas and rhetoric, that he can afford to act and speak without a moment’s pause.
I wonder what John must think knowing his father disagrees with him on just about everything concerning Trump?