A Slobbering Love Affair

No. I did not use my first post here at PCT to sneak in an endorsement. But, I do want to take time out to share the importance of the new book A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media (go to Amazon to order or read reviews) by Benard Goldberg.

I don't read shock jock material. I did not read any of the Obama books or Bush books (other than the presidential biography, Dead Certain). They are tantamount to summer fads. Besides, a book's staying power is at least as half important as the material it covers. I'm not saying I wouldn't buy any of those books. I am just saying I would rather spend $30 bucks on a better one.

However, in this particular instance, this book fully documents and displays the degradation of our public media. It was evident to many Americans, and much to the delight of many liberals, that most of the media was in the tank for President B.H. Obama. The danger to our society and constitution over the behavior of the MSM should alarm even the less than average concerned citizen. Their partisan behavior was shamelessly on display as nothing more than the Obama campaign apparatus. These actions troubled many and even some journalists came out to express their displeasure of the current state of the MSM and the potential consequences of their behavior.

It has gotten so prevalent that not even half of Americans think that the media is fairly and objectively covering the Obama administration. Considering the times we are in and the potential disaster our economy could turn to, do we really need a starry-eyed media with a crush?

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Those who so far disapprove of Obama's performance so far say the media bias is unquestionable.

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The press and media are practically untouchable according to the constitution because America relies heavily on their journalism with the trust that they operate solely for information and insight on the publics behalf. It is not a club, a PR firm, or a cheering section for politicians or a particular cause. They have a constitutional duty and public obligation to provide fair reporting to keep government accountable and the interests of the people of America at heart.

Of course, these are all things that our media is supposed to do. The opposite was none more apparent than in the one sided editorials, the carefully crafted sound-bites, and the unfair, microscopic scrutiny McCain and Palin were under during the election. Governor Palin is still to this day feeling the effects from her decision to run.

For example, during the election if you recall the debate between Palin and Biden it will offer all that is needed to legitimize the argument. The media was so consumed by the site of Palin walking out to her podium and tripping -- or worse drooling, burping, or mumbling her way through responses, that not much attention was given to the real bozo. That bozo is of course, VP Joe Biden. (Who has yet to stop bozoing it up by the way.)

When Biden tried to cement his feel for the average American citizen, he said this"

"Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie's restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me where I spend a lot of time, and you ask anybody in there whether or not the economic and foreign policy of this administration has made them better off in the last eight years."

Turns out the restaurant he was referring to closed down 20 years ago.

Ann Coulter points out more in ways only she is capable of

Biden said about Hezbollah: "When we kicked -- along with France -- we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon." Hezbollah was never kicked out of Lebanon.

He continued: "I said and Barack said, 'Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't, Hezbollah will control it.'" This is madness -- Lebanon is not a NATO country, nor had any NATO country been attacked by Lebanon.

Somebody please tell me that Biden wasn't picked for the Democrat ticket based on his knowledge of foreign policy.

[snip]

Biden also gave a long speech at the debate on vice president Dick Cheney's "dangerous" belief that "he's part of the legislative branch." The great constitutional scholar Biden cited Article I of the Constitution as proof that Cheney "works in the executive branch" and has "no authority relative to the Congress." Biden huffily added: "He should understand that. Everyone should understand that."

Palin would have had to deny that Alaska is a state in the union in order to say something comparably stupid.

Article II, not I, describes the executive branch. Someone tell Biden, who is supposed to be a lawyer. Apart from getting the Articles of the Constitution mixed up, what on earth does Biden mean when he says that the vice president "has no authority relative to Congress," apart from breaking ties?
Of course none of this was mentioned, covered, or laughed about. The focus was on Palin, and the criticisms and doubt were exclusively reserved for her. This and on top of hundreds of lawyers and investigators dispatched to Alaska to dig up dirt. Personally, I have no opinion on her as a candidate except to say she is able, likable, and durable. I just used her as the perfect illustration.

We can also talk about the attacks on Senator McCain (the times is now being sued by the female lobbyist) and his wife, Cindy McCain. One very important one comes to mind when the NYT decided to investigate the background of his wife. They even contacted a teenager on Face Book to try and gather leads. As her lawyer stated:

"It is worth noting that you have not employed your investigative assets looking into Michelle Obama. You have not tried to find Barack Obama's drug dealer that he wrote about in his book, Dreams of My Father," Dowd wrote.

"Nor have you interviewed his poor relatives in Kenya and determined why Barack Obama has not rescued them. Thus, there is a terrific lack of balance here.

"I suggest to you that none of these subjects on either side are worthy of the energy and resources of The New York Times. They are cruel hit pieces designed to injure people that only the worst rag would investigate and publish. I know you and your colleagues are always preaching about raising the level of civil discourse in our political campaigns. I think taking some your own medicine is in order here."
With all the bailouts, inside baseball, pet-projects and a hyper-partisan congress in charge, we need accountability and demand objective coverage on our nations leaders. The fact that 4 in 10 Americans cannot trust the media to do so is un-American and troubling.

5 comments :

Unknown said...

Great post Jason! And who says people form Louisiana can't read? I beg to differ with them.

But you are quite right about the disparaging treatment that Palin and even McCain received compared to Obama was ridiculous. And even now, the media titans simply think if they deny it enough the public's observation of their biased will go away.

Obama truly harnessed the power of pop culture and it vaulted him right into the White House. Now people are starting to see the folly of their votes. I predict his popularity will wilt more and more as money is required to fund his pet Progressive projects. One way to turn Americans away from Mr. Hope and Change You Can Believe In is leave them with nothing but change in their pockets.

removed said...

Thanks CT.

I believe most of the media will come around. They are not stupid. They see failing and historic newspapers falling and in real danger of going extinct. Americans don't trust their sources for information any longer.

The talking heads and op eds will continue as they have. That is to be expected. Everyone has an opinion.

If this bill doesn't work, which a lot are saying it won't, it will had greater scrutiny to all the pork and hyper-partisanship that took place. The media will have no choice but to turn on him and report the facts.

FLRN said...

CT - Nice article and Jason informative response. I am not sure I have as much faith in the ability of media to "turn" and face the truth with a more jaundiced and unbiased view of the president should his policies fail to produce "change." The American media has forever been enthralled with liberal causes and symbols. While I hope you are correct, I predict they will follow historical tradition and turn a dull pen to criticizing the behavior or policy decisions of the current democratic darlings (Nod here to Bill and Monica). If this bill does not work they will simply point the finger at the Republicans for failing to cooperate rather than at a flawed relief plan that is weighted down with inefficient remedies and an expanded role of government intervention. (See Steele's latest address http://www.youtube.com/rnc)

Unknown said...

FLRN,

Credit for this article goes to Jason. He is the author. Some in the media might turn, not all, but some will. The question is will it make a difference.

Phaed0 said...

I believe, or at least hope, that some of the media is beginning to wake up. As an example here is a quote from this morning's "The Today Show"(MSNBC/WDSU):
"As for last night’s press conference, perhaps the one thing missing from Obama's impressive -- if a bit wonky -- performance was that he seemed to spend more time defending himself against GOP critics, rather than explaining how his plan will help the nervous families. He seemed mired in the Washington debate that he was trying to stay above. Then again, how many times did we hear him say the plan would create four million jobs? A lot. And how many times he did cite the economic troubles plaguing Elkhart, IN? A ton. Of course, he learned yesterday in Indiana that it's a lot easier to sell a slice of his plan to a slice of Americans than sell this entire thing to the entire public."

full article at: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/10/1788535.aspx

Now while I would argue that his performance was very much NOT impressive. This is a whole lot better than the pre-election coverage.

Several more baby steps and who knows...... The scariest thing about this guy is that he is still campaigning. This bill doesn;t even scratch the surface of what they have planned. Browsing the Bills in opencongress.org raises many concerns.

 

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