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While some folks insist on portraying descriptions of Mueller's testimony as lackluster at best as being nothing more than a right wing meme, the fact of the matter is that there are plenty of folks on the left who have expressed agreement with this assessment. IOW, the view that Mueller's testimony was at best a dud for the left is actually the bipartisan one (finding support on both sides) while insisting that it reinvigorated calls for impeachment proceedings to begin is confined only to those diehard sufferers of severe TDS.
There were plenty of voices on the left that questioned Mueller's fumbling, bumbling performance and the damage it did to the prospect for impeachment.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) was obviously disappointed and pulled no punches when she was asked about Mueller's testimony saying that "Today, he was a witness. And he frankly wasn't a really good witness. Because he declined to answer, by my account, over 100 times." IIRC, NBC put it at 155 times.
NBC political director and moderator for Meet the Press Chuck Todd deemed the event was "a complete failure," adding that, "As they were using him for clarity, he’d somehow fog it up, and how he would do certain things. So look, on optics, this was a disaster."
As you read on you'll see that "disaster" is a common thread in much of the criticism from the left. For instance Harvard Law Professor and outspoken opponent of Trump, Laurence Tribe (who has been on the short list of various Democrat presidents for SCOTUS), tweeted that "Much as I hate to say it, this morning’s hearing was a disaster."
Another Law Professor, Jonathan Turley (who Politico referred to as a "liberal law professor and longtime civil libertarian") wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill: "The hearing was a disaster for anyone who was hoping for a kickstart to impeachment. Democrats could not produce even a single takeaway moment in six hours of hearings. Instead, Mueller came across more often as befuddled than bemused by the entire exercise." He concluded the piece with "If the Democrats wanted to dampen calls for impeachment, they could not have produced a better cinematic suppressant. Call it “The Day Impeachment Died”."
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who with their other anchor Shephard Smith (although not nearly to the same degree) has long been critical of Trump, provided a rather frank assessment: "This has been a disaster for the Democrats, and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller."
Brian Williams, who was co-hosting coverage of Mueller's testimony for MSNBC with Nicolle Wallace reported that "a lot of Democrats in particular used the D-word and branded this a disaster early on." As for Wallace she put "the blame squarely at the feet of [Mueller's] staffers" and "they shoulder all that blame right now" because they "set [their] principle up for failure."
MSNBC (the network that the Obama Administration "loved"), unlike CNN[1], was particularly harsh describing the hearing as being "boring" and a "disaster" for Democrats and that Mueller was "evasive" and that he "seemed lost at times." MSNBC analyst Jeremy Bash bluntly concluded, "I fear that this hearing set back efforts to hold the President accountable for what the President did."
Even though Rachel Maddow tried desperately to put a positive spin on this left-wing dumpster fire she seemed eager to throw Mueller under the bus now simply dismissing him as little more than a "distant figurehead figure" after promoting him as the savior of the Republic for the past two years.
Still MSNBC correspondent and host of AM Joy wins the award for most creative spin proclaiming that an "old and feeble" Mueller was good news for the left since it "makes the Republicans yelling at him look more absurd.
A number of those on the left gave harsh assessments of Mueller's appearance before Congress. Dana Milbank, op-ed writer who covers national politics for the Washington Post proclaimed "But when he finally sat before Congress for nearly seven hours on Wednesday, the former special counsel seemed remarkably weak. He looked dazed and confused as he listened, mouth agape, to his questioners, often struggling to identify who was talking. He stammered, licked his lips, consulted his aide and begged forbearance."
Another columnist for the Washington Post said on Fox News, "I don’t think any of us knew Bob Mueller was so fragile." And Marc Fisher, Senior Editor at the Washington Post bemoaned that "But in what was likely to have been his final act on Washington’s center stage Wednesday, the special counsel who spent nearly two years investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election also displayed an unfamiliar and troubling side, repeatedly asking for help finding quotations from his own report, over and over seeming to struggle to follow questions. He spoke softly, stumbling over his words, occasionally trailing off, as if he’d lost his train of thought." and further declared "any expectation that his appearance would generate the impetus for an impeachment of President Trump was quickly dashed."
Joan Vennochi, a columnist for the Boston Globe, stated at the start of her column "Unfortunately, the special counsel seems shockingly unfamiliar with key findings of his 448-page report — not to mention seriously befuddled by questions he should have expected from members of the House Judiciary Committee. His overall confusion, plus his inability to recall details of a 22-month long investigation into Russia’s interference with the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, left a respected career prosecutor as helpless as a seal in shark-infested waters."
"Documentary" filmmaker Michael Moore described Mueller as being "A frail old man, unable to remember things, stumbling, refusing to answer basic questions" in a tweet while CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin called the former special counsel’s testimony "phlegmatic." And writing for Vanity Fair T.A. Frank described him as "A sometimes befuddled, sometimes annoyed Mueller."
Others took a less harsh tact but were still critical like New York Times correspondent Michael M. Grynbaum who described Mueller’s "halting, donnish presence," and NBC correspondent Pete Williams observed "The years have clearly taken a toll on the Bob Mueller we used to see."
David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to Obama, Senior Strategist for his re-election campaign, and now CNN commentator was short and to the point wrt Mueller's appearance before Congress:
Finally, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked senior national correspondent Terry Moran "Did this move the ball at all?" in reference to impeachment. "No," a clearly upset Moran groused. "Impeachment's over." As the New York Post accurately summarized the whole thing was a "waste of time."
It is no wonder that, as Politico reported, that "West Wing aides were spiking the proverbial football even before the former special counsel had finished testifying."
1. Right after the hearings CNN was trying to spin Mueller's appearance as a "bombshell both legally and politically." Jim Sciutto, the network's Chief National Security Correspondent declared that the testimony "sounded almost like an opening argument in an impeachment proceeding."
There were plenty of voices on the left that questioned Mueller's fumbling, bumbling performance and the damage it did to the prospect for impeachment.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) was obviously disappointed and pulled no punches when she was asked about Mueller's testimony saying that "Today, he was a witness. And he frankly wasn't a really good witness. Because he declined to answer, by my account, over 100 times." IIRC, NBC put it at 155 times.
NBC political director and moderator for Meet the Press Chuck Todd deemed the event was "a complete failure," adding that, "As they were using him for clarity, he’d somehow fog it up, and how he would do certain things. So look, on optics, this was a disaster."
As you read on you'll see that "disaster" is a common thread in much of the criticism from the left. For instance Harvard Law Professor and outspoken opponent of Trump, Laurence Tribe (who has been on the short list of various Democrat presidents for SCOTUS), tweeted that "Much as I hate to say it, this morning’s hearing was a disaster."
Another Law Professor, Jonathan Turley (who Politico referred to as a "liberal law professor and longtime civil libertarian") wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill: "The hearing was a disaster for anyone who was hoping for a kickstart to impeachment. Democrats could not produce even a single takeaway moment in six hours of hearings. Instead, Mueller came across more often as befuddled than bemused by the entire exercise." He concluded the piece with "If the Democrats wanted to dampen calls for impeachment, they could not have produced a better cinematic suppressant. Call it “The Day Impeachment Died”."
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who with their other anchor Shephard Smith (although not nearly to the same degree) has long been critical of Trump, provided a rather frank assessment: "This has been a disaster for the Democrats, and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller."
Brian Williams, who was co-hosting coverage of Mueller's testimony for MSNBC with Nicolle Wallace reported that "a lot of Democrats in particular used the D-word and branded this a disaster early on." As for Wallace she put "the blame squarely at the feet of [Mueller's] staffers" and "they shoulder all that blame right now" because they "set [their] principle up for failure."
MSNBC (the network that the Obama Administration "loved"), unlike CNN[1], was particularly harsh describing the hearing as being "boring" and a "disaster" for Democrats and that Mueller was "evasive" and that he "seemed lost at times." MSNBC analyst Jeremy Bash bluntly concluded, "I fear that this hearing set back efforts to hold the President accountable for what the President did."
Even though Rachel Maddow tried desperately to put a positive spin on this left-wing dumpster fire she seemed eager to throw Mueller under the bus now simply dismissing him as little more than a "distant figurehead figure" after promoting him as the savior of the Republic for the past two years.
Still MSNBC correspondent and host of AM Joy wins the award for most creative spin proclaiming that an "old and feeble" Mueller was good news for the left since it "makes the Republicans yelling at him look more absurd.
A number of those on the left gave harsh assessments of Mueller's appearance before Congress. Dana Milbank, op-ed writer who covers national politics for the Washington Post proclaimed "But when he finally sat before Congress for nearly seven hours on Wednesday, the former special counsel seemed remarkably weak. He looked dazed and confused as he listened, mouth agape, to his questioners, often struggling to identify who was talking. He stammered, licked his lips, consulted his aide and begged forbearance."
Another columnist for the Washington Post said on Fox News, "I don’t think any of us knew Bob Mueller was so fragile." And Marc Fisher, Senior Editor at the Washington Post bemoaned that "But in what was likely to have been his final act on Washington’s center stage Wednesday, the special counsel who spent nearly two years investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election also displayed an unfamiliar and troubling side, repeatedly asking for help finding quotations from his own report, over and over seeming to struggle to follow questions. He spoke softly, stumbling over his words, occasionally trailing off, as if he’d lost his train of thought." and further declared "any expectation that his appearance would generate the impetus for an impeachment of President Trump was quickly dashed."
Joan Vennochi, a columnist for the Boston Globe, stated at the start of her column "Unfortunately, the special counsel seems shockingly unfamiliar with key findings of his 448-page report — not to mention seriously befuddled by questions he should have expected from members of the House Judiciary Committee. His overall confusion, plus his inability to recall details of a 22-month long investigation into Russia’s interference with the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, left a respected career prosecutor as helpless as a seal in shark-infested waters."
"Documentary" filmmaker Michael Moore described Mueller as being "A frail old man, unable to remember things, stumbling, refusing to answer basic questions" in a tweet while CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin called the former special counsel’s testimony "phlegmatic." And writing for Vanity Fair T.A. Frank described him as "A sometimes befuddled, sometimes annoyed Mueller."
Others took a less harsh tact but were still critical like New York Times correspondent Michael M. Grynbaum who described Mueller’s "halting, donnish presence," and NBC correspondent Pete Williams observed "The years have clearly taken a toll on the Bob Mueller we used to see."
David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to Obama, Senior Strategist for his re-election campaign, and now CNN commentator was short and to the point wrt Mueller's appearance before Congress:
Finally, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked senior national correspondent Terry Moran "Did this move the ball at all?" in reference to impeachment. "No," a clearly upset Moran groused. "Impeachment's over." As the New York Post accurately summarized the whole thing was a "waste of time."
It is no wonder that, as Politico reported, that "West Wing aides were spiking the proverbial football even before the former special counsel had finished testifying."
1. Right after the hearings CNN was trying to spin Mueller's appearance as a "bombshell both legally and politically." Jim Sciutto, the network's Chief National Security Correspondent declared that the testimony "sounded almost like an opening argument in an impeachment proceeding."
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