Thank you! Cogent and concise. All the inchoate, contradictory feelings I’m had about the Comey situation explained and contextualized. A Public Notice and a Public Service.
As graphic as it is, Noah, I appreciate this beyond measure:
‘He caved in advance in the hopes that the leopards would turn to other prey. Instead, the leopards ate his face, and the FBI’s face, and the face of the whole country.’
excellent, Noah. I have pondered Comey's multiple dire missteps all these years and still don't quite get it, but your understanding of it as complying in advance is brilliant and makes total sense. the other tragic flaw in his thinking was assuming Clinton was going to win no matter what he did or said, that his actions would not have catastrophic consequences. it is similarly hard to fathom that after all that has happened, Comey still stands by what he did as reasonable under the circumstances. that he can't admit that he fatally misconstrued what was happening at the time is certainly damning, and betrays an inability to accommodate new information.
Individuals, and the institutions they represent, believe that they can predict the future when they capitulate in advance. They cannot. I would note that Comey, by himself, did not cause the defeat of Harris. That assumption would ignore racism and misogyny which are alive and well and more prevalent than people like to admit. I believe he contributed to the Harris defeat, but not in a way that exceeded the racism and misogyny, even though many people refuse to acknowledge this. Comey's comments were used as an excuse because most people won't admit to their racism and misogyny; most people don't even see their own racism and misogyny. Comey believes he is a very ethical and principled human being and acts accordingly. While I totally disagree with his decisions prior to the election, he did refuse to capitulate to Trump during their dinner and was fired because of it. This is not an excuse, simply a reflection.
Thank you! Cogent and concise. All the inchoate, contradictory feelings I’m had about the Comey situation explained and contextualized. A Public Notice and a Public Service.
As graphic as it is, Noah, I appreciate this beyond measure:
‘He caved in advance in the hopes that the leopards would turn to other prey. Instead, the leopards ate his face, and the FBI’s face, and the face of the whole country.’
Thank you. I’ll never forget or forgive Comey. Yet the is first of the many substacks I read to mention it.
Comey acted out of fear and for that he got this. The lesson: If you are right, then never back down, never.
excellent, Noah. I have pondered Comey's multiple dire missteps all these years and still don't quite get it, but your understanding of it as complying in advance is brilliant and makes total sense. the other tragic flaw in his thinking was assuming Clinton was going to win no matter what he did or said, that his actions would not have catastrophic consequences. it is similarly hard to fathom that after all that has happened, Comey still stands by what he did as reasonable under the circumstances. that he can't admit that he fatally misconstrued what was happening at the time is certainly damning, and betrays an inability to accommodate new information.
Individuals, and the institutions they represent, believe that they can predict the future when they capitulate in advance. They cannot. I would note that Comey, by himself, did not cause the defeat of Harris. That assumption would ignore racism and misogyny which are alive and well and more prevalent than people like to admit. I believe he contributed to the Harris defeat, but not in a way that exceeded the racism and misogyny, even though many people refuse to acknowledge this. Comey's comments were used as an excuse because most people won't admit to their racism and misogyny; most people don't even see their own racism and misogyny. Comey believes he is a very ethical and principled human being and acts accordingly. While I totally disagree with his decisions prior to the election, he did refuse to capitulate to Trump during their dinner and was fired because of it. This is not an excuse, simply a reflection.