At the obvious risk of running afoul of publishing rights, I submit this article, in full here, with complete attribution:
Excuses wearing thin for Obama, media pals
Have you heard the news? President Obama inherited an economic mess from the Bush administration.
You say that’s hardly news? But it’s been the message sounded over and over by the White House. Top Obama adviser David Axelrod said on one of the Sunday news shows, “He walked in the door, we had the worst economy since the Great Depression.” In San Francisco, Obama talked of being “busy with our mop.” White House heavy hitter Rahm Emanuel used the worst-economy-since-the-Depression line on a public TV news show.
Do you approve of the job President Obama has done so far?
Yes
No
Excuses wearing thin for Obama, media pals
White House advisers say Fox News is not newsWholesale inflation dips unexpectedly in SeptemberSeptember housing construction rises 0.5 percentObama welcomes second vote in Afghanistan
You’d think it’s October 2008, the final month in the Obama presidential candidacy, rather than October 2009, nine months into the Obama presidency. Yet the Obama White House is in full campaign mode — maybe because it needs to mask the shortcomings of the Obama presidency.
Take, for example, all the talk of inheriting the worst economy since the 1930s crisis. That came in response to the news that the federal deficit hit $1.4 trillion.
Yet just a few months ago, the Obama camp was singing a little different tune. It was under criticism for the $787 billion stimulus package it bulldozed through Congress on grounds that massive spending was needed to keep the unemployment rate from breaching 8 percent. When joblessness hit 9.5 percent in June, Vice President Joe Biden said, “We misread how bad the economy was.”
They inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, or the economy turned out to be worse than they thought. Which is it? It can’t be both — unless your brain is completely addled by the Obama charisma.
Obama is still popular, but polls show the public losing faith in his policies. Another indicator was a ”Saturday Night Live” skit lampooning Obama for the major accomplishments of his administration — “jack and squat.” If the honeymoon is ending with the American voter, it isn’t for obsequious elements of the mainstream media. CNN prostrated itself by fact-checking the ”SNL” comedy skit.
But that’s harmless compared to the virulent campaign against Obama critics carried out by the denizens of MSNBC. Its Obama acolytes seek to demonize opponents of Obama’s policies by focusing on most marginal corners of right-wing politics like, for example, the “birthers” who deny Obama is a natural born citizen. The larger scheme is to imply Obama critics are racists.
That’s the backdrop to the story of Rush Limbaugh getting booted from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams. He was smeared on CNN and MSNBC with false accusations of making two racist comments. He is an abrasive critic of Obama, so he must be racist, or so goes the left-wing story line. I wouldn’t defend everything Limbaugh has ever said, but lies were used to blacklist him from professional football for his political views.
Recently an MSNBC personality accused the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of lobbying for policies that amount to being “treasonous to this country.” Remember how liberals roared in outrage at any hint of their patriotism being questioned for criticizing the Iraq War? Well, it’s the left that doesn’t shy from attacking the patriotism of those it dislikes. Recall the repulsive Moveon.org “General Betray-us” ad against Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus. Recent opposition to Chicago’s Olympic bid was cast as a sign of a lack of patriotism among Obama critics.
The MSNBC blast against the chamber appears to dovetail with what the Politico newspaper reports is a White House and Democratic effort “to marginalize” the business organization. That echoes the administration assault on the Fox News Channel: It says Fox isn’t a news organization.
The White House trying to dictate who’s a news organization. Democrats out to gut a business group. Obama media allies damning Americans as racist, unpatriotic and treasonous. Is this the America Obama promised when he campaigned to end the cynical and divisive politics of the past?
What say YOU, dear BZ readers?
BZ
Sadly, SNL is one of the best political indicators out there. They aren’t a poll, they are an indicator, and they do a *take* on American politics that most are too afraid to air.
And again, sadly, when the libbers of SNL lampoon Obama, it’s indicative of one hell of a mess in the White House…
Yeah, they made terrible fun of Bush 41, Clinton and Bush 43. They crucified Sarah Palin. But it seemed for a while that Obama was pretty much off limits. Now you see a lot of media telling it more like it is as opposed to the way Obama and Company wanting it told.
The halo is now on a bit askew, and tarnished too.
America is waking up, your article stands in testament.
You know, Fred, you make a very interesting point. As a weathervane for Our Hero’s administration, the fact that SNL would feel “comfortable” taking swipes at Obama, now, actually bespeaks volumes about the manner in which he’s treading about the US.
And the DEM/MSM actually kinda sorta standing up for Fox? Another such canary in the proverbial coal mine.
BZ
Obama appears to have seriously overestimated his “mandate.”
Hopefully it’s downhill for him from now on.
Steve Huntley will most likey die of a tragic “Accident” or be a victim of the esclating Crime rate in Chicago by the end of the year.
Much like the Clintons there is starting to be alot of bodies around the Obamanation.
BZ,
I agree that SNL seems to be a political weathervane. That speaks volumes, yes. Politicians are so gutless that they are afraid to speak the truth if it in any way can be spun against them. Honesty in politics is in short supply. When SNL is the final authority on politicians our system is broken. And we all know that’s a fact.
Can’t believe I missed this one BZ, thanks…
Like I say on my blog header, “We’re not all Obama Sycophants here”, In fact I only know a handful myself …
Granted this guy Huntley is mostly a lib I believe, the smarter ones like him are bailing and renouncing Obama now before the whole thing really collapses.
He’s toast.
Voter remorse has just begun.
CB: man, you are thoroughly into conspiracies. Like Vince Foster. Yeah. Like he just kinda passed away. Yeah. Like that.
LOT: oh yeah. Our system IS broken.
Chicago Ray: and you hit the Major Point: if that Huntley guy notices, then who ELSE does — but just doesn’t have the GUTS to SAY so?
BTW, I understand — ahem — that you can work on blogs and help to spiff them up — yes — ?
BZ
OUTSTANDING! I have a VERY Liberal friend at work who ADORES his holiness Obama! Your blog is one of my favorite sources for frustrating the crap out of him!
THANK you for giving me the ammunition to give him another headache tomorrow!
I hope to convert him along the way……….
The Obama Administration attacks Rush Limbaugh, driving his numbers higher than they were. Limbaugh announces he is ready to debate Obama on economics, unscripted, live and the Administration gets quiet. Rush’s numbers continue to be higher than before the attacks started.
They attack Glen Beck and never before has a 5pm ET show gotten such an audience. Both the boycott and Dunn have driven viewers to Beck.
Then they attack Fox News and its ratings go up by 10% since the attacks started and BOR is now starting to hit into the 3 letter show audience sizes for broadcast and cable, combined.
They attack the Chamber of Commerce and it sees its donations spike upwards from old members and people who have never contributed before. Members come and go with the organization, but it is rare to lose members and increase donations.
In trying to ‘silence’ their critics, they give them a wider venue, greater legitimacy and audiences. And if they stay silent and do not respond to their critics they appear weak as the attacks hit at their base of support. Unable to learn from those Presidents they cite (Reagan, JFK and FDR) they practice the tactics of Nixon and Agnew, save without the subtlety and capability of those two.
And each and every month since the election there are a million people getting handguns who have never purchased one before, and overall sales are through the roof. No one keeps track of long arms, but they have been selling extremely well since the election. At least the ammo supply has finally caught up…
And Costco starts selling the year’s worth of survival supplies at discount prices.
Society is indicating something and the Left can’t figure it out. If all the dreamy language was dead-on, then these things wouldn’t be happening… yet they do and continue to happen. Someone has figured out that repackaging failed economic and social policies of the 30’s, 60’s and 70’s under a smiley face package gets you the same result no matter what the package.
And the man who is trying to do it?
He wants to have others do his job for him. Have others write the orders for the troops, but then dithers even on that. Have others attack political opponents for him, being unable to speak for himself. Have others deliver him what he wants without work on his part, so he can jet off around the world to receive prizes and fight for the Olympics! And speechify!
Anything but sit at his desk and work for a living.