As far as impeachments go, this one is kind of a flop. It doesn’t have the suspense and drama that past impeachments have provided. It’s flat out boring. Regardless, 13 million people still tuned in to the daytime event on one of the many cable news networks led by Fox.
AS the first day of the House impeachment hearing came to a close, NBC ran a “plenty of substance but little drama” piece. “The first two witnesses called Wednesday testified to Trump’s scheme, but lacked the pizzazz necessary for public attention.”
Trump supporters and detractors feel that the hearings are a bit scripted, repeating things we already know.
“To a journalist who knows the story in and out, maybe the hearings didn’t reveal much that they didn’t already know,” the 538 founder tweeted. “So maybe *journalists* were bored. But the public doesn’t know as much, the conduct described is very serious, and impeachment is a fairly rare, historic process.”
“It was not clear that minds were changed. Certainly, they were not inside the room, and most likely not elsewhere on Capitol Hill, where Republicans and Democrats were locked into their positions long ago. Nor were there any immediate signs that the hearing penetrated the general public.”
In President Nixon’s case of secrets and spying, there was a sense that the country was on the brink. In President Clinton’s case, there was a sexy scandal. These are things that leave the media wanting more. If there had been drama, Taylor and Kent would come off as biased. Therefore, these hearings are “consequential but dull.”
