Simulated Outrage Dept.

     We’ve all seen it before: the leftist, when asked a question which, candidly answered, would tell the public something the leftist doesn’t want anyone to know, reacts with seeming outrage. But seeming is the key. I feel morally certain they practice it before a mirror several times per week. Because behind the “outrage” is actually a great deal of fear.

     Here’s the most recent illustration:

     A top press secretary for Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign erupted in anger on Thursday afternoon after he was asked during a live television interview if Biden has been using a teleprompter to answer questions during media interviews....

     “Has Joe Biden ever used a teleprompter during local interviews or to answer Q&A with supporters?” Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked.
     “Bret, we are not going to eng–, this is, this is straight from the Trump campaign talking points,” Biden spokesperson TJ Ducklo erupted.
     “Well yeah, they’re using it,” Baier responded.
     “And what it does, and what it does, Bret, is it’s trying to distract the American people,” Ducklo ranted.
     “They’re using it; they talk about it every day, can you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’?” Baier pressed.
     “They talk about it every day, Bret, because they don’t have a coherent strategy—” Ducklo continued.
     “Well, you haven’t answered,” Baier pressed. “Yes or no?”
     After Ducklo continued to rant, Baier responded, “I understand, but you can’t answer the question.”

     Yes, Gentle Reader, we’ve definitely seen it before. Remember John Kerry’s “I refuse to have my patriotism questioned?” Remember Donna Brazile’s fury that she – “a Christian woman” – had been accused by implication of deliberate deceit for political purposes?

     The dangerous question asked by Bret Baier above goes to the most important aspect of the current presidential contest: Is Joseph Biden mentally capable of discharging the duties of the presidency? If the answer to that question is no, the Democrats have knowingly nominated an unfit candidate and are knowingly campaigning to give him powers and responsibilities for which he is unfit. Baier’s question has such an implication. Therefore Ducklo must evade it. And the Left’s go-to tactic for accomplishing such an evasion is to pretend to be outraged.

     There’s precious little candor in politics these days. That’s what makes Donald Trump a political stand-out: he’s always candid, even if he’s not always grammatical. The contrast between Trump’s speaking style and that of anyone on the Left, when combined with his exemplary performance in office, “should” garner him a fifty state sweep on November 3.

     In the long term, something must be done about political dissimulation and pretense. What that something might be, I have no idea. However, Arthur Herzog does:

     The press could be challenged to present a daily Thought Pollution Index—not that it would, but at least reporters could be encouraged to attend the Platitude Recognition Training Sessions, the object being to raise cliche-consciousness and overcome the serious problem of cliche-deafness that settles over crowds when a speaker mounts to the podium. In these sessions, platitudes will be flashed on a screen, and if they are allowed to pass unchallenged the participants will receive electric shocks from wires attached to their skulls....Audiences skilled in Platitude Recognition can deliver a crushing blow: the mass yawn. This quickly forces the speaker to take stock of himself.

     We “should” try it, but first let’s see to this bit of overhead:

     That will make the yawns much more emphatic – and who would be more angered by the mass yawn, possibly to the point of foaming at the mouth on camera, than a faker straining to simulate outrage?

     The entertainment possibilities alone make it worth a try.