A very interesting point by Prof. Ann Althouse (thanks to InstaPundit for the pointer):
Isn’t it fascinating that the lengthy, amplified, magnified speech of the most powerful man in the world with his big captive audience — in the magnificent room and in smaller rooms all over the country — is outweighed by one man’s headshake and silent mouthing of 2 or 3 words?
Althouse points to the top items on memeorandum as evidence for that.
Of course, there are many explanations for it. Some might say, for instance, that it’s a sign of the degradation of modern media outlets, which unduly focus on unimportant personal conflicts and underplay major ideas. But it might also be a sign of the relative lack of enthusiasm that the ideas in the actual address have produced, coupled with a sign of the relative waning of the media enthusiasm for the man who gave the address.
Arkady says:
As I said elsewhere, the fact that the blogosphere is all over this, almost guarantees it’ll be nolle prossed by the electorate in general.
January 28, 2010, 3:14 pmsputnik says:
Another explanation:
RW media that sees it’s job fomenting propaganda and engage in minutia rather than seeking any kind of truth, and mainstream media afraid of its own shadow and intimidated by accusations of elitism .
As A.Sullivan correctly in my view said:
January 28, 2010, 3:17 pmCaptain Carrot says:
Or we might reject the premise that President Obama’s ideas were outweighed by Justice Alito’s behavior. While there may be a grain of truth to that on legal blogs, a quick review of major news outlets (NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, even FoxNews.com) readily refutes the notion.
January 28, 2010, 3:20 pmwhiskey says:
protip: nobody cares
hope this helps
January 28, 2010, 3:21 pmJK says:
People, both on the left and right, are pretty engaged in politics at the moment (largely due to the health care issue), and therefore few people heard anything really new in the SOTU. The set of people who watched the SOTU, but didn’t already know basically where Obama stood on the issues is pretty small, so most people took note of the details more than big points.
I don’t think that says much about the speech itself, most ppl agree it was basically good, and in fact it would be pretty odd if a president announced a major policy change in the SOTU. It would be fun for the media and political junkies, but if you were in Congress working with the Pres it would be understandably annoying to first hear about a policy in the SOTU.
January 28, 2010, 3:22 pmSteve says:
It could also be an indication that the American people would rather have heard Scott Brown give the State of the Union. You just never know.
January 28, 2010, 3:36 pmruuffles says:
That’s because tradition dictates that the justices are supposed to sit there stonefaced with their hands in their laps. The fact that Alito mouthed something is like dividing by 0.
January 28, 2010, 3:37 pmHouston Lawyer says:
When there is nothing interesting going on on the stage, the cameras will wander out into the cheap seats for other sources of entertainment. Alito should have scratched his nose with his middle finger.
The President is free to say whatever he wants about the Supreme Court. If he does so in graceless fashion, his critics are free to call him out on it.
January 28, 2010, 3:52 pmTonetel says:
It could also be the completely disingenuous comments about “foreign money” coming from a man who went out of his way to obtain such donations for his own campaign in 2008.
Google Obama foreign money.
January 28, 2010, 3:52 pmwhiskey says:
barack obama did 9/11
January 28, 2010, 3:56 pmruuffles says:
barack obama stole my tricycle
January 28, 2010, 4:11 pmbyomtov says:
Of course, there are many explanations for it.
There’s also the strong possibility that Althouse is just way wrong.
There are lots of explanations for astrology too.
January 28, 2010, 4:13 pmrj says:
Can we all stop pretending the memeorandum is some sort of evenhanded representation of what’s going on in the blogosphere. There’s nothing wrong with its rightward tilt, but there are a lot of people out there who don’t care about something just because it can be construed as anti-Obama.
January 28, 2010, 4:21 pmgrape_crush says:
Some might say..it’s a sign of the degradation of modern media outlets, which unduly focus on unimportant personal conflicts and underplay major ideas.
Hard to disprove that one.
January 28, 2010, 4:22 pmzuch says:
“Justice Alito Overshadows Obama on the Day After the President’s Address”
Eugene Volokh • January 28, 2010 3:08 pm
… particularly when every blog on the InterToobz spends two or three posts on this little act. ;-)
Cheers,
January 28, 2010, 4:34 pmwfjag says:
Which, since the latest Celtic Woman DVD arrived in the mail yesterday, that was what I was watching when this [fill in adjective according to your partisan point of view] incident occurred. Obviously, I made the right choice, since CW has put out another great DVD.
January 28, 2010, 4:39 pmzuch says:
The other explanation is our SCM just looooovvvveees a good food fight. No thought required to cover that. Just stand in the middle and take pic’chers.
Cheers,
January 28, 2010, 4:40 pmCrunchy Frog says:
Whining that “It’s George Bush’s fault” over and over does not a good speech make. The reason everyone is focused on Alito is that there wasn’t another memorable moment in the entire hour.
January 28, 2010, 4:42 pmSuzy says:
I think Althouse’s initial factual assertion–that one outweighs the other–is false. Perhaps it seems this way from her perspective because she’s especially interested in the reactions of a Supreme Court Justice to the speech, and she likely encounters other persons or media outlets with the same interests. So why should we care what reasons may explain her initial premise? It’s enough that it’s false.
January 28, 2010, 4:45 pmRPT says:
And much easier to look at and listen to than the SOTU attendees. There’s something about a wireless fiddler.
January 28, 2010, 4:50 pmRPT says:
Because the deficit was $0 on 1.19.10.
January 28, 2010, 4:51 pmzuch says:
They’re good … as “pop Celtic” [see, e.g., "Riverdance"] goes. Try the real stuff. And just for kicks, listen to this [click on #20: "You're Not Irish"].
I used to do the Celtic music show for WWUH for some time.
I remember listening to another radio station one St. Patrick’s Day and listening to them playing that traditional Irish music … from Appalachia and Quebec [St. Anne's Reel]. Granted, Quebeqois music is of Celtic roots, deriving from the Celtic region of France (Bretagne), as is Cajun (“Arcadian”) music once more derived…. But not Irish.
Cheers,
January 28, 2010, 4:54 pmAF says:
I join the chorus of those rejecting Althouse’s premise.
I am not familiar with memeorandum, but a Google News search for (Obama “state of the union”) returns about 42,000 hits, whereas (Obama “state of the union” Alito) brings 1300. The same searches on Google web yield 3,960,000 and 167,000 hits, respectively.
January 28, 2010, 5:17 pmProsecutorial Indiscretion says:
I’m confused – are you trying to justify the “blame Bush” theme? If so, you’ve got a pretty significant typo. If not, I’m not sure what you’re trying to convey.
I also hope that President Obama has pulled a genuine 180 on deficit issues after the stimulus, the nationalization of failing car companies and the corresponding massive subsidies to his political allies, and his support of massive bailouts ran up a record-shattering deficit on his watch. But I’m skeptical about his sincerity.
Earlier commenters have nailed it: people are talking about Alito’s reaction because the speech itself did not provide any substance worth much attention.
January 28, 2010, 5:23 pmwfjag says:
zuch — you’re much too serious. RPT is right — CW is much easier on the eyes and ears than the SOTU attendees — and more interesting than watching Sen. Reid try to keep from nodding off or Justice Alito’s mouthing a response (too bad he doesn’t know sign language; that would keep the media in a fit, trying to decide was it American Standard or another version, or was he just stretching). In any event, you know there’ll be a Proctologist’s eye view of analysis of the SOTU and audience reactions the next day. Why waste the evening?
I get the feeling that you need to spend some time at Tipitina’s and the Rock ‘N Bowl (just re-opened) with a cold Dixie Long Neck or an Abita Ale, and learn music appreciation.
January 28, 2010, 5:39 pmzuch says:
Did you click through and listen?
Cheers,
January 28, 2010, 6:34 pmShelbyC says:
Ever listen to Alan Stivel or Tri Yann?
January 28, 2010, 6:49 pmPerseus says:
Some might say, for instance, that it’s a sign of the degradation of modern media outlets, which unduly focus on unimportant personal conflicts and underplay major ideas.
I agree that that is probably at least a partial explanation. I suspect that television news outlets would play it up more given the visual of Justice Alito shaking his head and muttering “not true”.
January 28, 2010, 7:45 pmzuch says:
Yes. Have a couple of their CDs. I even went to a fest noz in Bretagne.
Cheers,
January 28, 2010, 8:16 pmElliot says:
So, Joe Wilson says, “You lie.” Alito mouths, “Not true.” In substance they are the same. Alito simply had the good manners to not vocalize.
January 28, 2010, 8:19 pmzuch says:
ShelbyC:
The House Band has a bombarde (aptly named instrument) player, John Skelton. He described one time he was in Africa on tour, and as he was practising one day, a man came up and said, “Ezzz zat un bombarde?!?!?!”. Skelton says, “Yes, it is, you must be from France!” The man replies, “Zat is sooo, I’ve gone five thousand kilometres to get away from ze bombarde……”
Cheers,
January 28, 2010, 8:21 pmvodkman says:
AF – perhaps you numbers did not take into acount the fact that some of the hits were captured before the seppech.
January 28, 2010, 8:23 pmAF says:
AF — perhaps you numbers did not take into acount the fact that some of the hits were captured before the seppech.
Restricting to the past 24 hours, you get 16,300,000 for Obama “state of the union” and 1,880,000 for Obama “state of the union” Alito. By comparison, you get 16,200,000 for Obama “state of the union” health care, 16,200,000 for Obama “state of the union” jobs, and 10,200,000 for Obama “state of the union” “don’t quit.”
January 28, 2010, 9:10 pmMark Field says:
Conservatives have been whining about Jimmy Carter for 30 years.
January 28, 2010, 9:18 pmleo marvin says:
Yes, Alito simply had the good manners most of us learn by the third grade, and Wilson didn’t. Sometimes the little things matter.
January 28, 2010, 9:22 pmMalvolio says:
Jimmy Carter? Most conservatives forgot that name January 21, 1981. I know I did.
January 28, 2010, 10:00 pmCurious passerby says:
Alito for president in 2012!
January 28, 2010, 10:20 pmProsecutorial Indiscretion says:
Conservatives have been whining about Jimmy Carter for 30 years.
To be fair, most conservative commentary on Jimmy Carter died down from the mid-80s until he was reelected in 2008.
January 28, 2010, 11:06 pmSarcastro says:
Curious passerby: so hilarious it was even funner the second time he posted it!
Also, the speech was clearly the worst SOU speech in the history of the US to all right thinking people.
A screaming, hyper, over-coked POTUS and a Democrat audience that frantically claps every time he begins a sentence.
Osama must be rolling on the floor laughing in his cave.
January 28, 2010, 11:25 pmvodkman says:
AF – Perhaps if you keep issuing this 24 hour search for the next month the ratio will go up from 10% to 110%. But you proved your point. I actually thought the more interesting moment was when he got rattled by the laughter at his savings-will-start-in-2011. And the chin – he should drop his chin, too high.
January 28, 2010, 11:49 pmShelbyC says:
Sounds like fun. I never figgered I stumple across somebody who listens to stuff like that, at least not in the US.
January 29, 2010, 1:50 amrpt says:
How about Ashley MacIsaacs and Natalie MacMaster?
January 29, 2010, 9:10 amBecky says:
I believe there was a well known orator who carried on before Lincoln gave the short little Gettysburg Address. I don’t know who he was.
January 29, 2010, 10:32 amzuch says:
If they listen to bombarde music, their circle of friends tends to be small. Care for some accordion references? ;-)
We Norwegians have our own instrument of torture, of course: The Hardingfele (or Hardanger fiddle). I have one locked up in the gun safe.
Cheers,
January 29, 2010, 11:38 amzuch says:
I have MacMaster. She’s very good. My favourite Celtic fiddlers are John Cunningham (sadly gone before his time), Catriona Macdonald, Alisdair Fraser, and Liz Carroll (this is not to denigrate any other such as Kevin Burke, etc.).
The Celtic Fiddle Festival albums, Vol. I and II ["Encore"], are dynamite.
Cheers,
January 29, 2010, 11:46 ammack says:
One small quibble –
“Elliot says:
So, Joe Wilson says, “You lie.” Alito mouths, “Not true.” In substance they are the same. Alito simply had the good manners to not vocalize.”
I agree with better manners and not vocalizing – but another difference is the the words also have different connotations – “lie” implies that the speaker is knowing telling a falsehood – while “not true” – is only indicating a disagreement as to the facts.
I don’t see the vast majority of people really caring or even much aware of this issue – except those who follow politics.
January 29, 2010, 11:52 amTweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » “Justice Alito Overshadows Obama on the Day After the President’s Address” -- Topsy.com says:
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January 30, 2010, 3:09 pmChris Travers says:
The bombarde is one of my favorite instruments, along with its predecessor, the shawm…
On another note, isn’t it interesting that bombardes and shawms have overshadowed both the President of the United States and a justice of the Supreme Court on this thread?
It wouldn’t be because they are loud, would it?
January 30, 2010, 11:56 pm