Agreed. I'm disappointed in Pelosi , who I thought (foolishly, it seems) was above engaging in such blatant tRumpian political vengeance. Apparently holding power for such a long time really doe to go one's head ... and not it a good way.
if we’re going to talk about being “petty,” Wiener’s campaign creating a chatbot that impersonated Connie and mocked her accent seems like the more obvious example. There are plenty of legitimate reasons Pelosi could look at these two candidates and decide Connie is the person she wants to succeed her. Wiener is running an immature hit campaign instead of standing on his merits.
Weiner has two problems: one, he’s a really really strange cat. And two, his campaign is 8th-grade level stupidity. It’s hard not to wonder where he stands on the matter of Thanksgiving.
Your overly generous assessment of Wiener aside, as a political matter the AI chatbot was a major unforced error. He clearly lost the argument on the issue, spent a few days weakly defending it before taking it down -- this at a time when AI, outside billionaire circles, is about as popular as measles (oh wait, that's getting more popular every day). Putting it up in the first place smacked a bit of desperation - why make such a provocative move if your polls are showing you with a comfortable lead? - or maybe Wiener's just too clever by half. I also think you underestimate the decades-long political and policy importance to Pelosi of the Chinese-American community (recall she started her run with a lonely little one-woman protest in China during Bush I). It's a fascinating race and, having covered Nancy's first in 1987, I'm watching it from afar with as much interest as an NFL conference championship - searching for a metaphor for Weiner's AI blunder, in fact, this long-suffering Browns fan immediately flashed to Earnest Byner's infamous 1988 Fumble against the Broncos - didn't you cover that game, Chuck? Hope yr well.
OMG. You just gave Bronco fans chills. :) Agree totally that chatbot was an unforced error. But I don’t think it was desperation. I think they thought they were being clever. Major miss. Scott isn’t funny. That’s just a fact. And when he, or staff, try to pull it off it never works. Still think, resume wise, he’s the choice, but the Chinese-American community is a good point. Thanks for reading.
Pelosi was the handpicked candidate when she ran. Sala Burton, who had the seat because her husband, Phil, died, wanted Pelosi to succeed her. So Nancy thought she’d just pass the seat along. But Weiner messed up her plans and decided “ screw nepotism “ and ran for the seat, highly offending Queen Nancy.
This race means little to me, but now I'm interested thanks to your analysis. Thanks, Chuck...
Agreed. I'm disappointed in Pelosi , who I thought (foolishly, it seems) was above engaging in such blatant tRumpian political vengeance. Apparently holding power for such a long time really doe to go one's head ... and not it a good way.
Glad you brought it up. I’ve been wondering.
So on point.
Don’t piss off the old folks. This has become a spectator sport. Maybe we’ll all learn more this way. (Without the “AI slop”. Bravo.
if we’re going to talk about being “petty,” Wiener’s campaign creating a chatbot that impersonated Connie and mocked her accent seems like the more obvious example. There are plenty of legitimate reasons Pelosi could look at these two candidates and decide Connie is the person she wants to succeed her. Wiener is running an immature hit campaign instead of standing on his merits.
The chatbot was built on Claude rather than ChatGPT. I see this as an important distinction because Wiener seems to be aligning with Anthropic.
Agree. That should be noted.
Wiener got 40.7% of the vote, not 43%.
Yep. Was looking at early returns from Mission Local. It was 43 early, then settled at 40.
Weiner has two problems: one, he’s a really really strange cat. And two, his campaign is 8th-grade level stupidity. It’s hard not to wonder where he stands on the matter of Thanksgiving.
Your overly generous assessment of Wiener aside, as a political matter the AI chatbot was a major unforced error. He clearly lost the argument on the issue, spent a few days weakly defending it before taking it down -- this at a time when AI, outside billionaire circles, is about as popular as measles (oh wait, that's getting more popular every day). Putting it up in the first place smacked a bit of desperation - why make such a provocative move if your polls are showing you with a comfortable lead? - or maybe Wiener's just too clever by half. I also think you underestimate the decades-long political and policy importance to Pelosi of the Chinese-American community (recall she started her run with a lonely little one-woman protest in China during Bush I). It's a fascinating race and, having covered Nancy's first in 1987, I'm watching it from afar with as much interest as an NFL conference championship - searching for a metaphor for Weiner's AI blunder, in fact, this long-suffering Browns fan immediately flashed to Earnest Byner's infamous 1988 Fumble against the Broncos - didn't you cover that game, Chuck? Hope yr well.
OMG. You just gave Bronco fans chills. :) Agree totally that chatbot was an unforced error. But I don’t think it was desperation. I think they thought they were being clever. Major miss. Scott isn’t funny. That’s just a fact. And when he, or staff, try to pull it off it never works. Still think, resume wise, he’s the choice, but the Chinese-American community is a good point. Thanks for reading.
Pelosi was the handpicked candidate when she ran. Sala Burton, who had the seat because her husband, Phil, died, wanted Pelosi to succeed her. So Nancy thought she’d just pass the seat along. But Weiner messed up her plans and decided “ screw nepotism “ and ran for the seat, highly offending Queen Nancy.
Politics can be messy. Especially when you get family involved. Thanks for the note.