Vogue's profile of Press Sec. Jen Psaki is out:

[IcyPeas]

Link to tweet

https://www.vogue.com/article/press-secretary-jen-psaki-is-good-at-mending-fences

When Psaki first appeared in the press briefing room, in January 2021, there was a collective swoon from roughly half the country. This was largely due to what she was not doing: berating the assembled reporters, griping about CNN’s coverage of a presidential tweet, or spouting flagrant, easily disprovable lies. Like her boss, Psaki was being graded on a curve. The New Yorker writer Jelani Cobb tweeted, “I really should not be impressed with a calm, professional, and factual press briefing, but I am where I am.”

But as the weeks went on, another consensus formed: Psaki was good at this—and not just compared with Kayleigh McEnany and Sean Spicer. She had a mixture of warmth, humor, intelligence, and edge. On Twitter, her fans deployed a hashtag for moments when she dispensed with a foolish or spuriously framed question: #PsakiBomb. In one clip, Peter Doocy, of Fox News, attempts to knock her off course. “I just heard you describe the infrastructure negotiations as the ‘art of seeking common ground,’ ” he says. “At some point, does that become the ‘The Art of the Deal’?” Psaki shoots back, “I don’t know. You’re the professional here, Peter. You’re the TV star….What’s the Fox chyron gonna be?” Her former White House colleague David Axelrod has called Psaki the best press secretary in his lifetime. “She’s unflappable,” he tells me. “It’s very easy under the glare of those lights and the intense questioning to buckle or to become ornery. She never does. As Biden would say, she has a steel rod for a spine.”
....
Psaki was up for the press-secretary role twice during the Obama administration, losing out first to Jay Carney and then to Josh Earnest. The second time around, “I was devastated,” she told Axelrod on his podcast. “But that’s also a good life experience for you.” During the Obama years, she became a mother and worked as White House communications director, which left her even more prepared: “I’ve also been through legislative battles. I’ve been through global crises. I’ve been through, unfortunately, many mass shootings...there’s little that’s going to unbalance me.”

Full article available in above Vogue Link.

[multigraincracker]

1. Kind of makes it look like

Joe only hires the best people.

[JanMichael]

3. Except for the CDC director.

https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/12/07/943871894/biden-names-massachusetts-doctor-to-lead-cdc

Bang up hiring choice there.

[Phoenix61]

17. What's your issue with her? nt

[Grokenstein]

28. "Biden picked her" has been used in attempts to shut up criticism of the CDC

for their questionable announcements, like "Nah, three feet is plenty social distancing for your kid."

[Phoenix61]

29. I was asking the person who made the post. nt

[Grokenstein]

31. And I answered.

If that's a problem, demand your money back at the front desk.

[Phoenix61]

32. You answered a question I didn't ask you.

Thanks for the input.

[Grokenstein]

33. It's an open forum, not a private discussion.

Anyone can jump in. You're welcome.

[Hortensis]

46. I don't think that that take on the CDC or its actions under Biden

is properly informed. There's a lot of anxiety out there and a lot of bad guys using it to encourage misunderstanding, mistrust, and antagonism through hostile influence narratives.

To identify the bad actors, predators up to no good, look for campaigns of deceit, sowing negativism, anger, fear, distrust, resentment, disillusionment -- all disguised under a pretense of high principle.

Hostiles on both the left and right use the same proven techniques -- and strongly overlapping narratives against their targets on the left. The most common underlying theme is that Democrats are mostly just Republican lite and can't be trusted to do right.

[JanMichael]

36. The giddy May mask announcement.

Is horrible at messaging. And was wrong about masks. And you can't (or it is really difficult) put the toothpaste back in the tube.

She needs to learn that sometimes saying nothing is better than saying something.

Sometimes not every hiring decision is a good one, people really need to accept that.

[Phoenix61]

38. The advice changed as the virus changed.

Alpha was the dominant variant during May. That swiftly changed leading to Delta, a much more transmissible variant, becoming dominant.
“During the 2 weeks ending June 5, it accounted for 10.1 percent of COVID-19 cases, rising to 30.4 percent of cases by June 19.“
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/delta-variant-went-from-causing-10-to-over-50-of-covid-19-cases-what-happens-now

10 hours ago
“Delta has also quickly become the dominant strain in the U.S., where it is estimated to account for at least 93 percent of all new sequenced cases in the country“
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nymag.com/intelligencer/amp/article/covid-b-1-617-2-delta-variant-what-we-know.html

Guess she should have been more careful with her crystal ball.

[JanMichael]

39. Delta was already an issue in the United Kingdom and in India

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-dangerous-delta-variant

Walensky couldn't see past the borders of the United States and neither can you apparently.

It was a myopic decision that sounded pretty political to be honest not the science led to this or the science led to that.

[Phoenix61]

40. Monday morning quarter backing is always so easy. nt

[OnlinePoker]

57. Nobody here gave Trump a pass when he fucked up Covid from the start

Why should it be any different now just because it's a Biden appointee calling the shots?

[Phoenix61]

60. I'm not suggesting anyone "get a pass".

She made the best decision she could based on what was known then,
1. Vaccinated people can’t transmit the virus.
We learned in July that’s not true for Delta.

2. Alpha is the dominant variant.
“As of July 3, the latest date for which data was available, the delta variant accounted for 51.7 percent of new Covid-19 cases that had been genetically sequenced in the country. Two weeks earlier, on June 19, the variant accounted for just over 30 percent of new cases”

Delta spread amazingly fast. India isn’t a good comparison because their vaccine program was non-existent. In England Delta replaced other variants but, initially, there weren’t more cases.
“How the Delta variant achieves its ultrafast spread“
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01986-w
3. People would not get vaccinated.

If we’re going to slam her then let’s slam Fauci:
July 3
“In theory, vaccinated people can still get a breakthrough infection. However, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said it's unlikely that a vaccinated person could transmit the virus because the amount of virus in their system would be so low.“
We now know that’s not true.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/07/09/delta-covid-strain-dominant-in-ustips-for-vaccinated-people.html

[elleng]

2. a mixture of warmth, humor, intelligence, and edge.

[malaise]

4. Beautifully stated

Oh and Rachel is back tonight

[elleng]

8. YES!

And look who just showed up @ my front door! (a pretty good day)

[malaise]

10. How lovely

[ShazzieB]

22. Awwwww!

What a cutie!

[bdamomma]

23. Bambi lives

[smirkymonkey]

49. Oh! So sweet! What a beautiful sight!

I used to see them growing up in upstate NY, but I have been a city girl ever since I graduated from college, so I miss those lovely occasions. However we do get to see the occasional bunny rabbit and lots of squirrels! Fortunately, rat sightings are very rare though!

[elleng]

55. Been seeing a bunny regularly, squirrels too;

haven't seen rats. (Fingers crossed.)

[lark]

52. Wow. Does this happen often?

How sweet.

[elleng]

54. A few walk around my yard occasionally, @ this time of year,

no schedule I can determine, but neighbor saw 2 little ones together on the path in, yesterday; our houses are 1+ mile off the Road.

[lark]

59. How nice and what a great place to live.

I've only seen fawns in zoos.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. Mel still waiting for her cover photo

[3825-87867]

6. She's on a mental quip par with

the likes of George Carlin or even Don Rickles.

She could sell out auditoriums coast to coast with speeches on anything but especially, slamming politicians.

Great grasp and usage of language.

Not to mention, a brilliant, extremely knowledgeable person!

She would add immeasurably to the already capable women in politics if she ever decided to run. Pity the opposition on the floor of the House or Senate.

She's got my vote for anything she wants to run for.

[kimbutgar]

7. Oh what a burn on Kaylee and Sarah

Vogue didn’t interview them for a profile!

[GoCubsGo]

13. They kinda burned both of them in the article, too.

They burned Sarah Honey Boo Boo by ignoring her altogether, and indirectly said that KayLIEgh was not a good press secretary.

Also, keep in mind that this is a fashion magazine, and they did show attention to Psaki's wardrobe. The other two didn't exactly dress in a way that Vogue readers would care. I mean, KayLIEgh, basically wore an iteration of the same damn thing every day. She wore an A-line dress, usually high-cut, sleeveless thing,with a gold cross around her hypocritical neck. The only thing that usually varied was the colors. Sometimes, there'd be some ruffles or other ornamentation, and maybe sleeves, if it was winter. In other words, boring as shit, and not exactly high fashion. And, Sanders dresses like an old lady...

[CTyankee]

21. Don't forget Sanders eyebrow...I got fixated on it when she talked.

[ShazzieB]

25. And the eyes...

One of her eyes points in one direction while the other one is looking somewhere else. And she always, always looked angry. Surly Sarah!

[Grokenstein]

30. She was always a weasel to me.

[smirkymonkey]

50. That's what happens when you take NyQuill and DayQuill at the same time.

It can really fuck up your face pretty bad.

[CTyankee]

58. Yup. That's EXACTLY the look I remember! I would look on her eyebrow, mesmerized, and not hear

a word she was saying.

[ShazzieB]

66. I see what you mean!

I was always too mesmerized by the eyes to notice the eyebrows!

[NoMoreRepugs]

61. when she runs for Governor that should be used for her official photo used

by her opponents.

[onetexan]

19. LOL good one

[IronLionZion]

9. She's such a boss

I love how she spanks conservative media folks daily

[TheBlackAdder]

11. Best of the Best of the Best

.





And, yeah, she knew why she's there. She's the real Agent J.

Every time Peter Doocy tries to get on her nerves, she neuralyzes him into a pile of Jello that goes Uh, buh-buh ba!

.

[OldBaldy1701E]

26. So, quick aside

Back in the day (1985) I worked on a few episodes of a Saturday morning show called 'Sparks!'. Kent Faulcon, the 'West Point grad' above, was on the show before this movie. He was a nice dude and a good actor. Being busy with my own career, I lost track of him (as we performers do with so many of the great folks we come across on our journey). I hope he is doing well. Seeing him up on that screen made me point out his path to the students I used to work with... you never know what will lead where. Best to find out what you can before you make a decision.

[slumcamper]

12. PSAKI 2024

She OWNs the Trump-humpers. Let's go!

[Mr. Evil]

14. That pic of her exudes confidence.

She has that look and attitude that says, "Don't worry, I've got this."

[lunatica]

42. She looks like the cat who ate the screeching crazed canary.

The one FOX sent over to scream at her.

[Mr. Evil]

44. LMAO!

And made damn sure not to leave a feather for evidence.

[Botany]

15. I want to have her children.

Loves me some Jen Psaki.

[Roy Rolling]

16. I'm a big Jen Psaki fan

Simply the best ever at that job. She is up to a gigantic task in the most difficult time.

And accomplishes it without breaking a sweat.

[Biophilic]

18. She is as good at her job as Biden is. We are so lucky that we have them right now.

They both allow me to breathe easier as well as cheer occasionally (I'd sort of forgotten how), but I can also take pride in them.

[mcar]

20. Great story

I am a bit Psaki fan.

[Politicub]

24. She's an incredible person and masterful at her job.

I hope we see her in public life for a long time to come.

This profile was a well-written treat. And I loved the photography. Can you imagine getting photographed by the legendary Annie Leibovitz?

[albacore]

27. Smart, pretty, snarky women are my favorite kind...

[JanMichael]

37. She is awesome. She has that look.

Bring it on and backs it up.

[smirkymonkey]

51. Jen Psaki kicks ass!

I really wish she could stay for Biden's entire term. She has set the bar very high. It's going to be a long time before we ever see anyone like her again.

[Skittles]

34. I like that she didn't change her surname

[msfiddlestix]

35. Very interesting story. Recommended reading

A big fan of hers since the first time I saw her when Biden took office.

She's definitely "got this" more than anyone else I've observed in this position.

I'm old as dirt, so that's saying something!

[DFW]

41. My secret theory

She spends fifteen minutes every evening thlnking, ”what stupid question will Peter Doocy ask me tomorrow?”

And—so far, she has not been wrong once, which is why she hands him his gluteus maximus giftwrapped on practically a daily basis.

[7wo7rees]

43. I was hoping to see you here.

I am not sure she even spends 15 mins in any given evening. She does a quick review over morning coffee, and then watch out. You would think he'd finally give up, but no.....not Doocy. He's committed to the bitter end. Bless his heart.

[Progressive Jones]

45. I say Doocy has a crush, and likes her abuse. nt

[DFW]

47. Doocy is Charlie Brown and Jen is Lucy

He keeps thinking, ”TOMORROW I’ll get her!” and yet he lands, pathetically, flat on his back every time.

[ZZenith]

48. I always view him as Wiley Coyote to her Road Runner

And Doocy keeps kicking up the dust at the bottom of the canyon.

[getagrip_already]

65. my theory...

Is similar, but in it one of her staff watches doocy and other fox pundits the night before and primes her about the things he will cue off of.

He is an idiot, and mostly just regurgitates what other fox personalities rage about. He often just reads what they said and asks for comment as if it were fact.

It's likely very easy to come up with a top three list of what he will ask and be dead nuts on.

[Tommymac]

53. K & R for #PsakiBomb

She deserves all the praise given, and then some.

Best Press Secretary in my long life by far. Will be sorry to see her leave next year.

[usaf-vet]

56. Someday when she leaves this job and public life she is going to be able to say....

... to herself, her family, the citizens, and the history books.

I did my job well! While serving my country when it was in distress. I simply told the truth each day at the podium.

Hopefully, some future President (D) will award her with the Presidental Medal of Freedom.

In my mind, that would help wash away the distasteful "RushBo" award which disgraced the prestige of the award.

Job well done Secretary Psaki!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

62. "You're the TV star..." BOOM!!! Doocy gets handed his ass on a platter -- again.

Jen made it a point not to call him a "reporter." I'm going to have her face tattooed on my chest (not really -- I can't stand pain).

[Submariner]

63. How many times a night does Peter Doucy wake up screaming her name

in his nightmares of being owned by her every f*cking day!

[Iggo]

64. She's making him famous.

He sleeps like a baby.

[UTUSN]

67. Just read the whole thing. She's not nice; she's perfect.

[IcyPeas]

68. LOL yeah, don't call her nice!

from the article:

At one point, she tells me that she hates when people describe her as “nice.” “It is like nails on a chalkboard,” she says. “And it still happens. I was introduced to a foreign delegation in the hallway the other day as ‘This is Jen. You may have seen her do the briefings. She’s a really nice person.’ I’m like, Really? You can’t think of a better description?” The word is sexist and a little diminishing, but, she says, “it’s also this desire to put people in a box.