Let me point out from the start that I am not – and never been a fan of either combatants. I didn’t turn to Fox – not even during the last elections when it seemed to many – more balanced – simply because it wasn’t beholden to Obama, the way other media outfits were.
I always saw that they were an ideological, RW outlet.
In fact, the first time Obama withheld his patronage of Fox – at the beginning of the the campaign – I took this as an act of courage and considered supporting him. Only later did I figure out that by then, he had NBC and others in his pocket and the Wall Street, Pharma, insurers money – so he could afford this seemingly partisan act. But it did look good during the campaign.
Later, he had a secret summit with Roger Ailes followed by an interview with a supine O’Reilly, in which he said, among other things that he admired Republican ideas such as deregulation. And Fox did give him a break over McCain.
Once in power, the war started – again.
Time chronicled – earlier this month a war on all media opposition
So a new White House strategy has emerged: rather than just giving reporters ammunition to “fact-check” Obama’s many critics, the White House decided it would become a player, issuing biting attacks on those pundits, politicians and outlets that make what the White House believes to be misleading or simply false claims, like the assertion that health-care reform would establish new “sex clinics” in schools. Obama, fresh from his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, cheered on the effort, telling his aides he wanted to “call ’em out.”
Interesting that Obama was personally cheering this one.
We already know of his decision to snub a Food channel show because the hostess has the same audience as Fox:
“We are going to screw her just like we screwed Fox News.”
So, this is not just war, this is personal. And it’s wrong in many, many ways – some of which I’ll try to count.
Some of them are revealed by John Nichols in his Whiner in Chief piece at the Nation
As for the Obama administration, whether the grumbling is about Republicans on Fox or bloggers in pajamas, there’s a word for what the president and his aides are doing. That word is “whining.” And nothing — no attack by Glenn Beck, no blogger busting about Guantanamo — does more damage to Obama’s credibility or authority than the sense that a popular president is becoming the whiner-in-chief.
Having a bunker mentality with an unprecedented favorable coverage from the media – I guess makes him a whiner.
Indeed, Fox attacked Clinton too – in fact the entire media did so. There were no secret summits, no collusion with other media outfits and no armistices then. It was the reason I admired – at first – Obama going against them in the campaign.
Another reason, as highlighted in the USA Today article is that what is acceptable during the campaign, it is not as a governing body
It’s hard to understand this as a calculated move for a White House that has far bigger things to worry about — Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions being just one — than drive-by rants on cable television.
The latest Dunn accusations – that Fox is an arm of the Republican party – is lame for two reasons:
It’s old news, and Obama (not the Democratic party) has at least two media arms that even his base recognize: MSNBC and CNN.
But this is fundamentally wrong because as USA Today points out
There is still a thing called presidential decorum. Sending out a taxpayer-paid partisan to attack a network, and by extension, its viewers, is not presidential. If you want to get in the mud with Glenn Beck, do it on your own dime and time, not ours.
It is more than an affront to decorum. Obama is not attacking here just a network, but like in the case of the Food Channel show, the people watching it. It’s one thing to attack voters in a campaign (bad, but more appropriate), and a totally different one for an elected president to attack his constituents. Whether he likes it or not, because of the democratic system he is now the president of all people – including those who didn’t vote for him. I know he and his fans think getting the presidency is merely an opportunity to pay back opponents
but that’s missing the point that he is in office TO SERVE THE PEOPLE – all the people of the US, and his power comes from representing us. It’s not bestowed by God to smite his enemies. Like Jr. thought. And like Jr.jr acts.
And another thng: while he is pleasing his base by attacking people who watch Fox, he makes un-holly alliances with pharma et
al for the advertising of his programs. Only the price of this alliance hurts everyone
13 comments
October 16, 2009 at 10:29 am
SYD
Here’s the deal:
This Faux “war” will keep the video kiddios busy … so they don’t notice what’s happening in the real wars…. like Afghanistan.
As a bonus … the network wars are good for ratings cuz the basement boiz *lurves* ’em.
Course…. the other side eventually “wins.” In the ratings at least. (Check the Olbermann/ O’Reilly tiff from last year if you don’t believe me.) But…. while the war is being waged the ratings go up for the losing side too…. so it’s actually a win/win. For the networks at least.
For the troops in the middle east…. not so much.
October 16, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Buttered
This distraction is for his “allies.”
The Corrupt Corroded Rusty Cheeto, Puffing Huff, et. al. and their O-Boughts………… they must be distracted from the verifiable facts that Obama is Our Bestest Most GOPing Republican President EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!
and those O-Boughts instated this Republican in Demo clothing – they definitely cannot be reminded that they are the ones who did all this great damage on America.
October 16, 2009 at 11:39 am
edgeoforever
Exactly. he is ramping up the kabuki theater while the governing remains undone (or dune W’s way)
October 16, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Buttered
But does he HAVE to use such UGLY make-up?????
lol
October 16, 2009 at 12:00 pm
cj
I still watch FOX because I don’t have a choice. MSNBC is out of the question, and I just can’t force myself to listen to that dithering automaton, Wolf Blizter. Shepard Smith is pretty ideologically neutral, IMO and Brett Baier isn’t completely unpalatable, even though he definitely leans to the right.
You bring up two very interesting points that I never really considered. Obama’s waging his petty ego-wars on our dime, and he’s short-changing millions of FOX’s viewers, who, no matter how much he dislikes them, are still his constituents.
He never stopped campaigning, only now he’s doing it with our money.
October 16, 2009 at 12:33 pm
madamab
It is incredibly inappropriate for the President to use his bully pulpit to attack the press. PERIOD. It was wrong when W. did it, and it is wrong when Obama does it.
The Clintons have endured RW attacks for almost 2 decades. Never have they attacked the media. HRC did say there was a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, which, according to David Brock, one of its ringleaders, there really was. But she was not talking about the media, she was talking about the constant trumped-up lawsuits and accusations by the Republican Party and its minions.
The reason Obama is making such a big deal of Fox News being an arm of the GOP, is that it somewhat legitimizes his tactics. I still think it’s ridiculous. If he really wants to fight Fox, then revive the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and start breaking up Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, along with the other two or three multinationals/people who control our entire media industrial complex.
I’ll just hold my breath until that happens, shall I?
October 16, 2009 at 3:00 pm
cj
It is incredibly inappropriate for the President to use his bully pulpit to attack the press. PERIOD.
Yes! In a democracy it’s inappropriate & dangerous.
October 16, 2009 at 9:01 pm
shouldvevotedforhillary
He really is such a big baby. Every single news outlet is in the tank for him and he’s throwing hiss fits when one show talks about him negatively. Boohoo, Obama. You should have better things to do than “call out” reporters.
October 16, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Buttered
ohhhhhhhhh…….
GE won’t let Obama do that!
He only gets to do what his donors say he can do!
O-Bought are Owned!
October 16, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Lonni
I watch Glenn Beck all the time and I can still make my own decisions….like watching what Obama does instead of just floating on what He says. I think this situation is a perfect “good cop, bad cop” one. If it were not so, then folks would get a whole lot more spooked if ALL the media was in Obama’s pocket…or is that bed? See what I mean?
October 16, 2009 at 2:56 pm
DeniseVB
Has Anita Dunn called Glenn Beck’s “Bat Phone” yet ? 🙂
October 16, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Buttered
LOL
No, Anita Dunn is too busy
communicating
with the dead Mao!
October 22, 2009 at 1:10 am
perry
obama said fox wasn`t a news channel, who was it that got the story on van jones and acorn.i see lots of news reporting that fox does. if you wacth msnbc prime time all they do is bad mouth the repubs .but i suppose when the ceo of ge is one of obamas advisers and ge owns nbc what else would one ecspect?