It is becoming increasingly clear that Peter Doocy might have been a bit of an affirmative action hire at FOX News, affirmatively hiring family members of the major morning hosts. Because Doocy just isn’t all that good at asking tough questions in the White House press room. He tries his little doggone heart out but just doesn’t seem up to the task. Moreover, he isn’t a quick study because we seem forced to write about… five of these a week and it seems like all five have less to do with Psaki (who is good at her job) and more to do with Doocy.

We try to not take cheap shots at people by using a play on their name as some little gimmick, but jeezus, Doocy is really trying our patience.

Today, Doocy desperately wanted to get Jen Psaki to admit that paying all this unemployment money to unemployed slobs is keeping them from applying for jobs. A question about whether jobless benefits is hindering applications is not an unreasonable question but it is one that Psaki answered easily. We are not sure what made Doocy think that asking almost the exact same question a second time would make it harder, or get a different answer.

DOOCY: “Unemployment only rose by about 266,000 jobs in April,” Doocy said. “How does the White House know that people are just choosing not to apply for jobs because the extra unemployment benefits are so good?”

** PRO TIP, Duce, Unemployment did not rise “by about 266,000 jobs in April.” The economy only added 266,000 jobs in April and – technically – there is a… huge difference.

PSAKI: We have looked at the data,” Psaki explained. “We don’t see much evidence that the extra unemployment insurance is a major driver in people not rejoining the work force. We actually see the data and our analysis shows that the lack of vaccinations, the lower rate, which is why I refer to the data and the week that it was taken — it has an impact. Child care has an impact. Schools reopening has an impact.

“But there’s also the need to pay a livable working wage,” she added. “And that’s one of the reasons the president will talk about that this afternoon.”

Right about there, most reporters might have thought: “Okay, she was more than ready for that question, given that she just gave me about five factors, all of which are more subtle than my theory that Americans are lazy and would rather sit on their asses collecting unemployment. How about I move on?

But not DOOCY:  “Anybody who is making $32,000 a year is better off financially just taking the unemployment benefits. So is the White House creating an incentive just to stay home?”

Atta boy, Ace! She just answered that exact same damned question! The White House is trying to push wages up above $32,000 because those are almost poverty-level wages to begin with, and once that happens, people will be happy to go back to work. Oh, and COVID!! If all the FOX viewers would get vaccinated, like a real country, we might have a real economy again!

PSAKI: Well, again, the majority of economists internally and externally at the White House don’t feel that unemployment insurance — something that was done at a time to help unemployed people get through a very difficult economic downturn during a pandemic — is a major driver in our unemployment data.

“There are other factors, bigger factors that were contributing, have been contributing to the [jobs] numbers we saw on Friday. That’s what we’re working to address.”

Doocy should be forced to take an exam after this line of questioning since Psaki had just told him the answer and had to begin her next answer with “Well, AGAIN…” At some point, Doocy really has to reevaluate his entire approach. He should ask hard questions, he should challenge the White House (they all should), but he really needs to give up on the “Gotcha!” games because A) He clearly sucks at it, and B) NO one is good at it against Jen Psaki.

Peter Doocy asks Jen Psaki a string of questions about whether unemployment benefits are too generous because of course pic.twitter.com/byIibSGsjU

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 10, 2021

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak