e-Claire

It's CHANGE

Nixonian inability to tolerate criticism?

Teh iMalozeryet iW∅n in Rolling Stone:

What do you think of Fox News? Do you think it’s a good institution for America and for democracy?

[Laughs] Look, as president, I swore to uphold the Constitution, and part of that Constitution is a free press. We’ve got a tradition in this country of a press that oftentimes is opinionated. The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. [*cough*Cronkite??!?!*cough*]

Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition — it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view.  [*cough*MSNBC*cough*]

It’s a point of view that I disagree with. It’s a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.

But as an economic enterprise, it’s been wildly successful. And I suspect that if you ask Mr. Murdoch what his number-one concern is, it’s that Fox is very successful.

Let’s look at this statement a little.  First, Teh iWon actually thinks there was a “Golden Age of an Objective Press.” Think about that.  The naivety is staggering; to think that in the history of Humanity there was a brief Golden Age when men put aside their personal views to report the facts, just the facts and all the facts.  Sounds great.  Too bad it never happened.  As anyone who reads History knows from the words of the very men doing the reporting.  But I guess that’s not important, now…

As he doesn’t outline exactly what the point of view is that FOX holds and with which he disagrees, we are left to wonder if it is the POV or the fact he disagrees with it that is “ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.” Considering his own record and its effects on the middle class and our nation’s competitiveness in the world, the statement gives me a brain cramp.  Does he really think Teh Narrative is so much stronger than Teh Facts?

In addition to the stick of the “quit whinging” / “buck up” tour last week, Teh Left is offered carrots, too.

[Deputy Press Secretary, Bill Burton]

“If you’re on the left, if you’re somebody like Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow or one of the folks who helps to keep our government honest and pushes and prods to make sure that folks are true to progressive values, then [the president] thinks that those folks provide an invaluable service,”

One Nation Point of View, Under Progressives, with Handouts for Some and Taxes for Others.

Thing is, they’re praising some tongue-bathers/leg-tinglers while others are being frozen out. Oddly, the others are those griping that are “push[ing] and prod[ing] to make sure that folks are true to progressive values.” Funny, that…

One of the “frozen out” is Peter Daou: [whole post worth a read - including follow-up]

With each passing day, I’m beginning to realize that the crux of the problem for Obama is a handful of prominent progressive bloggers, among them Glenn Greenwald [Salon/SockpuppetBoy], John Aravosis [AMERICAblog], Digby, Marcy Wheeler [The Next Hurrah and Firedoglake] and Jane Hamsher [FireDogLake].

...Virtually all the liberal bloggers who have taken a critical stance toward the administration have one thing in common: they place principle above party. Their complaints are exactly the same complaints they lodged against the Bush administration. Contrary to the straw man posed by Obama supporters, they aren’t complaining about pie in the sky wishes but about tangible acts and omissions, from Gitmo to Afghanistan to the environment to gay rights to secrecy and executive power.

The essence of their critique is that the White House lacks a moral compass.

Funny.  I thought that’s what we said somewhere ‘round the Summer of 08…

It seems that this point was very important to Teh iWon [RollingStone interview]:

[Signaled by his aides, the president brings the interview to a close and leaves the Oval Office. A moment later, however, he returns to the office and says that he has one more thing to add. He speaks with intensity and passion, repeatedly stabbing the air with his finger.] [emph in orig.]

One closing remark that I want to make: It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election. There may be complaints about us not having gotten certain things done, not fast enough, making certain legislative compromises. But right now, we’ve got a choice between a Republican Party that has moved to the right of George Bush and is looking to lock in the same policies that got us into these disasters in the first place, versus an administration that, with some admitted warts, has been the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward.

The idea that we’ve got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible.

...

We have to get folks off the sidelines. People need to shake off this lethargy, people need to buck up. Bringing about change is hard — that’s what I said during the campaign. It has been hard, and we’ve got some lumps to show for it. But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place.