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Nov. 14, 2018 - Real Coffe - Scott Adams
08:07
Episode 301 Scott Adams: FOXNews Supporting CNN on Acosta Lawsuit is Brilliant
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Hey everybody, get in here.
As soon as we get a thousand people, I will explain to you why Fox News' move to file an amicus brief, meaning to be on the same side as CNN in their lawsuit against the administration on the topic of Jim Acosta's access to the White House, is brilliant.
But you think it's stupid.
Not you, necessarily every one of you.
But based on my Twitter feed, people are canceling their Fox News subscriptions.
They're all mad.
They think Fox News has blown it.
They're pretty sure that I'm wrong this time.
Let me tell you what you're missing.
Fox News just played one of the greatest high ground maneuvers you might ever see.
It is so smart on a risk-reward, risk-management level.
It's just one of the best examples you'll ever see.
Here's what's right about it.
And I see people arguing, hey, it's not about the Constitution.
It's not about freedom of the press, because Acosta can still get in.
He just has to get a day pass.
Hey, it's not about the Constitution.
It's not about the freedom of press.
It's about Acosta not giving the microphone back to the intern.
It was bad behavior.
Weeds, weeds, weeds.
You're lost in the weeds.
If you're arguing about whether it's about him taking the microphone or being too rude, you're lost in the weeds.
If you're talking about whether he has a constitutional right to be in the White House asking questions versus just somebody replacing him, you're in the weeds.
If you think there's a difference between the hard pass and the soft pass and we should understand that and that makes a difference, you're in the weeds.
You've been left behind by Fox News, who is now operating up here.
Here's how. First of all, does Fox News want the world to have less Jim Acosta or more Jim Acosta?
Think about it.
Jim Acosta is the rodeo clown of White House correspondents.
He's essentially up against Fox News' offerings, which offer John Roberts, one of the most capable, experienced, dependable, unbiased, White House correspondents you're ever likely to see.
I'm a little biased because I met him once.
He interviewed me at my house years ago.
But Jim Acosta, rodeo clown, versus John Roberts, that's a good matchup for Fox News.
They don't want less Jim Acosta.
But here's the smart part.
So there's nothing lost Or even risk from Fox News' perspective.
They have no risk because probably the lawsuit was going to go the way it was going to go.
Fox News' opinion on this probably makes no difference to the outcome.
At the same time, They get to say, we're supporting the higher principle of freedom of the press.
Now I know what you're saying.
Wait a minute. That's not the issue.
It's not about freedom of the press.
It's about hard pass versus soft pass.
It's about taking the microphone from somebody.
You're lost in the weeds.
You're missing the whole play.
You could be 100% right about what you're saying.
It just isn't very important.
It just doesn't matter.
You're completely right.
You're just irrelevant.
Now, what Fox News is doing is they're taking a free punch.
They have a free punch with no cost.
They can simply say, hey, we love freedom of the press, and here's the fun part.
We're disagreeing with the administration.
What is the biggest problem that Fox News has right now?
Their biggest problem is that they're seen as a wholly owned subsidiary of the presidency.
They're seen as not independent.
This act is clearly something the White House is now supporting, so it shows their independence for free.
The outcome is still going to be the outcome.
They're not changing any outcomes.
All they did was take a free punch.
They got a free opportunity to show independence from the administration.
Hold on. And they took it.
And they also took the high ground in favor of freedom of the press.
Yes, yes, yes, you're saying this isn't about freedom of the press.
You're missing the point.
They've taken a stand in favor of the freedom of the press, as irrational as it might be, as unconnected to the facts as it is, Not the point.
They're taking the high ground.
And it feels like the high ground.
And it looks like the high ground.
We're going to remember it as the high ground.
And someday, somebody's going to say to Fox News, you only ever agree with the president.
And Fox News hosts and pundits will be able to say, here's an example where you're clearly wrong.
Here we are disagreeing with the president as clearly as you could disagree.
So I guess we don't always agree with the president, do we?
For free! They got that for free!
They paid nothing for that!
The high ground maneuver, when it's used right, is just such a devastating blow to the other team that there's just nothing you can do to it.
It's unassailable.
Now the people who are angry, and I'm seeing people on my Twitter feed who are canceling their Fox News subscription and they're never going to watch it again, what the hell else are you going to watch?
Are you going to watch the other television show that says all the things you like?
I don't think so. You're not.
You're going to slowly come back to Fox News.
And they will have demonstrated independence.
And they will have demonstrated that they'll even take the opposition side.
When the principle is the Constitution.
Oh, I know what you're saying. The principle is not the Constitution.
We're only talking about taking microphones and day passes versus hard passes.
There is no constitutional question here at all.
You're 100% right, and you're on the wrong topic.
You're in the weeds.
Fox News isn't in the weeds anymore.
Fox News is up here now.
It doesn't matter that your facts are all true.
They're just not relevant.
Because Fox News had a free shot, a free punch, and they took it.
It's brilliant. So, let me see some arguments here.
I'm seeing lots of arguments on Twitter, but I thought I would come here and just do it once, and I'll just pin it to my Twitter feed so that people who care about this stuff can look at it.
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