Max Baucus Mumbles, Media Frenzy Ensues

Yesterday, we took up the issue of how all sorts of media outlets had been Drudge-driven into an obsessive frenzy over the idea that Max Baucus had descended into the well of the Senate in a state of intoxication to assail his colleague Roger Wicker. At the time, I found it pretty remarkable that anyone could spend any time watching clips of Senate speeches and confidently discern sobriety, anywhere, but it's worth pointing out again that nobody who has reported on the matter actually knows whether Baucus was drunk or not. Everyone's just taking the word of a pseudonymous YouTuber, and substituting the internet buzz this nobody has generated for actual evidence.

That's pretty silly. But, as Dave Weigel points out, what's "sillier than that" is the fact that Baucus' orations are typically something of an exercise in mumblecore. Here's a taste:

So, maybe Max Baucus just has very poor diction. Or maybe he's drunk all the time! God knows that if I had to work alongside our legislators on a daily basis, I'd probably be drunk all the time, out of frustration. And chances are, those drinks would be paid for by powerful lobbies. But the point is, nobody really knows anything, so, until that changes...shut up, maybe?

MORE:
BREAKING: Max Baucus Mumbles Occasionally [The Washington Independent]

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