Take Sam Youngman, Please
By This is so good in almost justifies Politico publishing that risible “D.C. left me” piece we discussed yesterday:
Youngman’s indictment of Washington journalism is an incoherent malange. He confesses to having wanted too badly to go on low-rent cable television spots, gestures vaguely at the triviality of campaign coverage, and insists, wrongly, that reporters can better assess the state of the race by interviewing voters than through polls. He bizarrely tosses his substance abuse problem — “I spent almost every night downing bourbon — and sometimes indulging in harder substances” — into the mix. While sad, it’s not clear what this has to do with journalism or Washington. “I Moved to Kentucky to Get Away From Bourbon” would be a strange basis for a confessional essay.
That’s definitive, but before we leave this subject, I did want to note this quote we discussed in comments for those who missed it:
Washington is an endless maze of funhouse mirrors, a fact we’re reminded of once a year when the Hill publishes its 50 Most Beautiful list, replete with people who are Washington hot, which is a step above rehab hot and two levels below jury duty hot. All are miles below what the rest of the country considers actual hot.
Rooney Mara. Rooney Mara to the floor please.