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I was going to close shop for vacation, but this story is way too much fun – especially as we are dealing with a former House manager demanding impeachment over Lewinsky
So, here goes the Daily News:
On to a good governor, Newsday has one of the few pro-Paterson headlines in the media (remember, the Kennedy vendetta is still on)
..
Not sure what the implication of this is. I am packing for 2 weeks vacation and just made my own loldog
See you in 2 weeks – hopefully with some relevant commentary
I am old enough to remember the staged question at a Bush/Gore debate in 2000: “when you laughed about an execution the last debate you didn’t mean to sound callous, did you?”
W wasn’t as dependent on TOTUS but he was calling his stooges in the wrong order – or was reading out loud stage directions at press conferences. And who can forget Jeff Gannon?
But now that we finally have the 11 dimensional chess player in the White House – shouldn’t he be able to answer unprepared question from his otherwise supine media?
Politico – which had been left to starve for attention lately – tells us the story:
In what appeared to be a coordinated exchange, President Obama called on the Huffington Post’s Nico Pitney near the start of his press conference and requested a question directly about Iran.
“Nico, I know you and all across the Internet, we’ve been seeing a lot of reports coming out of Iran,” Obama said, addressing Pitney. “I know there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet. Do you have a question?”
Pitney, as if ignoring what Obama had just said, said: “I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian.”
Oh, come on guys! You had your phone conference ahead of time – you could have used a little bit of rehearsal. Rules are simple – Obama names a “random” reporter, the preset question is asked. Obama shouldn’t have to foreshadow the question – or if he did, reporter should just follow up. Get it? All this could have been set in that conversation
“Huffington Post’s Nico Pitney says the WH called him this morning and invited him to ask his Iran questions at the news conference.”
One Politico reader comments
At least someone can see through all this transparency.
Update
I see Dana Milbank at WaPo too on this story as well, and with a fetching title no less
Stay Tuned for More of ‘The Obama Show’
Millbank seems to have been in the room and ads some personal impressions
Pitney asked his arranged question. Reporters looked at one another in amazement at the stagecraft they were witnessing. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel grinned at the surprised TV correspondents in the first row.
To which I wonder: why were the reporters amazed again? haven’t they seen all this with W? Haven’t they perpetuated and enhanced it since the establishment decided Jr.jr was to be “elected”?
Millbank notices the obvious
The use of planted questioners is a no-no at presidential news conferences, because it sends a message to the world — Iran included — that the American press isn’t as free as advertised. But yesterday wasn’t so much a news conference as it was a taping of a new daytime drama, “The Obama Show.”
Indeed, considering that the press conference was called for some stern lecturing to Iran, the irony is thick.
And I am confused about the “but”. Was some entertainment value Millbank perceived that somewhat stood for the free press? Or rather he made the point that there was no press there at all, just impersonators?
Because in that case, the question would be – where is the free press?
And considering other pre-arranged questions we find out, it makes one wonder if any of the questions were spontaneous
he was not the only prearranged questioner at yesterday’s show. Later, Obama passed over the usual suspects to call on Macarena Vidal of the Spanish-language EFE news agency. The White House called Vidal in advance to see whether she was coming and arranged for her to sit in a seat usually assigned to a financial trade publication. She asked about Chile and Colombia.
As is the clue Millbank provides for Politico’s first coverage of this
“Mr. President!” yelled Mike Allen of Politico. “May I ask about Afghanistan? No questions about Iraq or Afghanistan?”Sorry: Those weren’t prearranged.
Good point. And no, Dana – it’s not Days of Our Lives. It’s propaganda. Any entertainment value you may have experienced, it can only come from the MSM nostalgia for the days when they were actually reporting stuff.
Believe me, we are not amused.
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It was meant to be discreet, like W’s nod to the “Left Behind” Rapture nuts with the name of the legislation undermining public education. A male to male nod from Obama – but Catholics decided to run and make a headline out of it
President Obama Acknowledges Fatherhood Begins at Conception.
In their defense, it was an unmistakable wink and nod to his “secret base“
In the Parade Magazine interview he told the interviewer: “…we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception;
and
We need fathers to understand that their work doesn’t end with conception — that what truly makes a man a father is the ability to raise a child and invest in that child.”
(emphasis theirs)
And then, helpfully take the wink to the next logical implication
What is implicit, actually what is explicit, is that President Obama, in emphasizing the ongoing obligations of fatherhood, also acknowledged that Fatherhood begins at conception. Such an admission brings with it an extraordinary implication; every intentional abortion constitutes the killing of some father’s son or daughter.
Surely, one talking about fatherhood, would need to go there – but using that trigger word is about as innocent as lipstick on a pig.
And it’s not so farfetched from the man that didn’t even ask his SCOTUS pick her views on abortion
and declared FOCA not a priority, and choice not a freedom.
I can only hope that the new leadership of NOW notices the pattern in those ‘little things” and no longer lies down and takes it. Maybe some day, women will demand respect with the same strong voice our LGBT allies are.
Speaking of which, it just struck me as the opposite attitude Obama has towards them
And how is the White House showing their pride in the legacy of Stonewall? By keeping it on the down-low of course.
The White House has not publicized the reception, and officials did not respond to e-mail requests for comment.
In other words, he pretends to shun fundies, but winks and nods at them and stirs legislation/lack of it their way, while he pretends to be into LGBT, but without outwards signs as every effort is made to keep discrimination firmly in place.
And just for a nice note – since my kid is graduating elementary school today and this is a graduation story
Bill Clinton Offers Graduating 8th Graders Words Of Wisdom
a very grown-up dissertation on the increasingly inter-connected, inter-dependent world that today’s young people will soon inherit.” He also emphasized their education, “Critical thinking will never go out of style. .
I was away from the Father’s Day mediagasm – busy as I was celebrating Summer Solstice and helping my kid with her Father Day offerings.
So, when the smoke cleared, all I saw was this amazing leftover in SF Gate
n this Father’s Day, the American public should proudly note that our president takes his personal role as father (and spouse) as seriously as he does his job as father of the country.
Oh, I didn’t forget how Rove & gang used to tell us about W knowing better than us what we need and W that he doesn’t need to explain his decisions. The Patriarchy was quite explicit then too.
But at least in the media – supine as it was – we didn’t get W’s slogans as headlines
Obama’s example: Putting family first
Nor did we get told that W – or anyone else since Washington – was Father of the Country…
The outright piece of propaganda lists point by point the amazing exemplary things Obama does as a father then sticking its finger in our eye
Come next Father’s Day, our banking crisis might not be wholly resolved, the auto industry might not be on its feet again, and health care coverage might not be fully available to the uninsured. But we can only hope that fathers and spouses everywhere will be thinking “What Would Obama Do?” as they navigate through the murky waters of parenthood and family life.
Hey, propaganda lady – if those economic crisis will not be solved by next father day, how will all those lecture fathers put food on their families – as W would say?
But the father propaganda is important to Daddy Issues Obama – so Axelrod muscled out another editorial from Parade Magazine to share his letter to his daughters with the masses. Because children always love being on display! It usually invites kindness from people like Letterman and Maher but not when your daddy swats flies like the destiny itself …
Not Your Sweetie 
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