Posted on 10/24/2009 5:46:17 AM PDT by Kaslin
By launching coordinated, fully-blown warfare on Fox News, as is their style, the Obama administration is stopping far beneath the dignity of the office of president. The recent round of attacks became particularly intense as White House communications staff, senior advisors, and even the president himself each took their turns at lobbing potshots at the top cable news station.
This conflict began brewing during the presidential campaign with Obama cracking jokes and complaining about Fox News, continued through the early months of his presidency, and then increased their momentum to reach the unprecedented crescendo of the recent bombardments. The first new round of shots was fired when Obama visited five Sunday morning shows in one day, including the big networks, CNN, and Univision, but clearly neglecting to appear on the leading cable news station, Fox.
The real battle began on October 12, when Communications Director Anita Dunn defined Fox News as "a wing of the Republican Party" then mocked and belittled it by saying, "But let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is." She continued her diatribe by calling Fox News "opinion journalism masquerading as news." This statement is most ironic given that CNN dubbed legitimate tea party protesters "tea baggers" and whose own reporter shouted down protesters, lecturing them about how wonderful Obama's policies are for them. In a recent recording, Dunn brags about how the Obama campaign controlled their message and their media coverage. Evidently, Anita Dunn abhors Fox News because they refuse to be lapdogs like the rest of the media. Dunn pridefully declared that no one from the Obama administration will be appearing on Fox for at least the rest of this year.
The attacks intensified when White House senior advisers Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel played their roles by hitting the Sunday talk-show circuit with their disdain for Fox News. They repeated the same prepared lines from the White House, stating that Fox was not a news organization. Evidently Emanuel and other team members are upset that Fox covers newsworthy stories, including ACORN and Van Jones, while the mainstream, liberal media barely mention them. Fox represents a voice they don't control. Consequently, Team Obama is engaging in the tactics of Obama's extremely radical, left-wing mentor, Saul Alinsky, to isolate and discredit them.
The assaults sunk to new lows this week when President Obama personally entered the scene. Illustrating just how thin-skinned our commander-in-chief is, he pronounced that Fox News is "operating basically as talk radio," meaning, talk radio allows people to criticize Obama. It is particularly telling when a president stoops to the level of criticizing a news organization, because it reveals how desperate, frightened and threatened he truly feels.
The lapdog media have responded as expected to this unprecedented assault on free speech and a news organization. Only Jake Tapper of ABC and Helen Thomas, dean of the press corps, have stood up and argued that the White House is using outlandish, reprehensible tactics. Outside of these two, the lapdog media remain passive and mum. In a column for Newsweek, Jacob Weisberg is even calling for a media boycott of Fox News, claiming that the organization is "Un-American."
The hypocrisy and double standard displayed by these media types is truly unbelievable. If Bush or a Republican candidate for office had ever criticized MSNBC and declared it to be a wing of the Democratic Party, the criticism would never end. The worst hypocrite of all is Keith Olbermann.
In 2008, White House Counsel Ed Gillespie sent a letter to the president of NBC accusing the network of selectively editing Bush's answers to distort the president's position. Olbermann later blasted Gillespie in his "Worst Person in the World" segment, accusing Gillespie of "whining like a high school sophomore." What is Olbermann doing now? He is out front cheerleading the Obama administration's attacks on Fox and attended a meeting with Obama this week in a summit for fellow liberal influencers including Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson and Maureen Dowd.
Lapdog Olbermann the Doberman is an outspoken bigot, evidenced by his own words: "Mr. Bush, shut the hell up!" "You're a fascist! Get them to print a T-shirt with the word 'fascist' on it!" "George W. Bush is 'psychotic' with 'blood on his hands,'" and calls the GOP the greatest terrorist threat in America. The liberal double standard is out in full force. Thankfully, Americans are ignoring President Obama's pettiness and attacks by tuning into Fox for the unbiased story in record numbers. The American people know bias when they see it, and they want to know the truth.
I’ve simply never heard of a president of the U.S. stooping this low. It’s not enough for Obama that he has ninety-nine percent of the media fawning and groveling before him. He has to have one hundred percent. If that isn’t the mind of a petty, third-world dictator, I don’t know what is.
One would think the republican party could craft a 30 second commercial and pay fox to run it two or three times an hour. Commercial showing Obama pre election saying “McCain doesn’t have the guts to go after Bin Laden”. “Afghanistan is where the war is” etc... And then make a simple statement “Obama, clearly gutless. Unwilling to chase Bin Laden, but willing to go after fox news.”
Irony.
Was just watching OTA TV news and was wondering (again) why Politico.com is considered a news source/reference?
[did WRPitt miss his oportunity?]
Barry Milhous Obama.
Maybe another comparing the economy in November, 2006 with November, 2008 and with now.
I take anything from Politico with a grain of salt and so should everyone
People, I implore you. We can not allow this congress and President to usurp the constitution by banning words and free speech. It just can not happen.
0bama reminds me of a spoiled child that must absolutely have his way or else
What have your/our news resources been?
Consider back when Kennedy/Nixon were debating live on TV.
Many will say that it was the new media that swayed the voters to Kennedy despite Nixon's message.
The same may be true now, but it's evolving faster than most can (or care to) assimilate.
HOPE & CHANGE? Yeah, heard it before. But after the election, everyone get's a pony, whether they want it or not
AMEN!!! Please post this AD in more of an Ad Form for all reepers and for the gutless Michael Steele and the RNC to read and digest! Obama knows he is in there only because of the falures of the RNC and the Republicans to TELL THEIR STORY FOR EIGHT YEARS! Then McPAIN rolled over and played DUMB AND DEAD!!! as if he was being Blackmailed by the Obama Campaign! Psst: Remember how “UPSET” he was that Obama didn’t honor his word to only use public money! At hoe upset McPAIN was when Obama wouldn’t discontinue his campaign like McPAIN and run back to Washington and make a FOOL of himself and trash an 8 Point Lead in the Polls! and how McPAIN wouldn’t raise onne issue about Obama, whether it be Ayers, Wright, Muslims, backround records, Birth Certificate, Medical Records, School Records, Passport Records, etc.,etc., etc.! WHAT, PRAY TELL WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO McPAIN THAN OUR AMERICA and AMERICA’S FUTURE??
SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY WAS MORE IMPORTANT!!
I believe he's referring to Over The Air tv, the 3 networks that dominated how we receive the news until CNN, Fox, etc. drove them to the brink of extinction.
Politico is a regular contributor to MSNBC and takes pretty much the same viewpoints.
I’ve got the studio to produce the commercial. Just need the clips from the pre-election. Maybe I can find them on youtube somewhere.
DONT DINEGRATE PRESIDENT NIXON IN THIS DISPICABLE WAY!!!
IT IS HIGHLY OFFENSIVE TO CONSIDER RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON IN THIS DISGUSTING MANNER!!!!
PRESIDENT NIXON WON THE WAR IN VIET NAM and BROUGHT OUR TROOPS HOME IN HONOR ONLY TO HAVE THE DEMORATS CUT OFF ALL FUNDS AND GIVE THE COMMUNISTS THEIR BLOODBATHS AND FINAL VICTORY! Just what Obama and the RATS Plan for IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN as We Watch!!
Obama is leading the Democrat charge against the Constitution and American business.
Good article.
There is a profoundly principled argument to be made for the Constitution's protection of both free speech and freedom of the press, however.
Citizens need to be reminded that when one dimension of liberty is threatened, then all are at risk, and the blatant example of unconstitutional use of government power provided by this "battle" deserves a more competent argument than is currently being provided by either Fox or other "conservative" organizations.
It's time for a long overdue history and civics lessons, especially for youth! They need to hear that "the People's" Constitution protects their right to freely circulate political ideas, even ideas critical of the government. Further, it prohibits those elected to positions of power in government from infringing on that right. That is why Thomas Jefferson, who was criticized by the press of his day, was so outspoken on the idea of a free press! Bet they've never heard it in school.
Claim a larger battleground--a battle of ideas. Contrast those ideas with those of dictatorships and totalitarian governments which have oppressed their citizens and controlled the marketplace of ideas by restricting the press!
Contrast the 200-year history of liberty in America with that of every totalitatian regime, and future generations will mark this as a turning point for freedom.
"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.
"No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions."(Underlining added for emphasis) --Thomas Jefferson to John Tyler, 1804. ME 11:33
FANTASTIC!!! and maybe some of us can locate some of the clips to help you in any way we can!
It will be one FANTTIC and TRUTHFUL COMMERCIAL!!!
Thats for Sure!
He’s not joking. The purpose of all this is to send a signal to all democrat operatives to do all they can, each in his own little way, to bring down Fox News.
The full power of the presidency is being used to suppress the freedom of the press.
i didn’t get a pony. :(
SO!!!!! till No Comparison to this Communist Dictator Wantabee and Consumate Liar and COKEHEAD!!
No Offense intended, but Just No Comparison!!!
I suggest you try: Barack James Earl Carter HUSSEIN!
I’m convinced that Obama is vying for the Mugabe Prize.
We are bcoming more like Zimbabwe every day.
I fear that Obama’s assault on unbiased news is more than his just being thin skinned. Given his socialist/communist background, his surrounding himself with socialist/communist radicals and his contempt for the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, it is possible this attack on Fox news and talk radio is part of a calculated plan to create a wholly state controlled media. Obama’s ideal state far more resembles East Germany than the United States.
What should be a surprise is the lack of a competent, effective response from the RNC. There have been a few voices, republican, demoncrat, even some in the press, but from the national party that should see this opportunity as a gift? They must have said something, but I guess I missed it. We are on our own.
OTA TV = Over the air TV (please pardon my slip into alphas...)
I take anything from Politico with a grain of salt and so should everyone
Yes. There seems to be a difference between what they allow online and what their representative says on air (perhaps similar to Huffington Post).
Journalism seems to have gone through reverse alchemy: gold made into something base and worthless.
oh, okay, thanks
It’s simple. Obama is President of his party, not the country.
All Obama needs to do to fulfill his “dreams of his Father” is to wipe out Fox News and free speech will disappear. And Obama will be the anointed ruler of Amerika.
You will/may or at least pay taxes to do so. The BLM is considering moving wild pony/horses from the west to the east.
Oh, the cost will be around $40 more per head than to let ranchers use the land to graze cattle (tax payers PAY to move and house the horses). Well, at least not to Florida, yet.
If we have to resort to using carrier pigeons and homemade megaphones, the resistance to this Marxist quisling will NOT be silenced.
What they can’t control, they must destroy.
Sometimes I think it is just a lot simpler than that, TRP. Perhaps McCain just has some deep-rooted need to be viewed as a knight on a white horse, and thinks the world well lost as long as he can satisfy that need.
You’re talking about the media favoring the liberal politician. They’ve always done that. What I’m talking about is a sitting president launching a hate campaign against a legitimate news network.
I believe the war on Fox News stems from panic and fear within this WH. They have seen the poll numbers drop precipitously and keep on inching downward. They have seen that late show comedians and skit shows such as Saturday Night Live are no longer afraid to ridicule them. They have seen their idea of international diplomacy (appeasement) collapse right before their very eyes and are making them the laughingstock of the world (at least Bush commanded respect because he was a tough negotiator and knew when to draw the line in foreign policy). They have seen their plans collapse like healthcare, Gitmo, cap and trade, climate legislation all but doomed to failure. They are drowning in flop sweat. (remember the scene in Broadcast News with Albert Brooks...reminds me of that)
AND I agree with you. I'm adding that Obama (through those networks) is using a "blog" (which Politico started as/is) to promote his agenda.
In other words, why is Politico.com, now considered a legitimate news source (used on, given air time, given credentials -- as far as being on networks) while FOX is NOT?
It's a continuation of Huffington Post (.com) being a contributor to weekend "news" opinion SHOWS. Why are they any more legitimate than FOX (or Free Republic... y'know, this 'blog' -- /s)?
Narcissists can’t tolerate being mocked. I bet that Glenn Beck makes Obama’s blood boil.
This is a full court press across the entire Bill of Rights. Note this section for the oath of office of President: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Notice, it says PRESERVE, not revise because it was not designed to state what the government can do for people as the Kenyan wants to revise it to read. If abridging his oath of office is not a high crime, I don't know what is. Consider this, in Honduras when the president there tried to stay in office beyond the Constitutional limit, the US sided with him rather than siding with the government who removed him for violating its constitution. In other words, OZero follows a republic's constitution when it suits his purpose. Will our Congress remove him? Frankly, he obviously has gone over the line with the denigration of FOX and his concept of how he wants to revise our Constitution. I guess given the example of the Congress not rebuking the Executive for supporting the removal in Honduras, we know the answer....they will do NOTHING. Folks, given this fall into despotism, we may have a direct call to all citizens to do what is stated in the Declaration of Independence when these things happen. Hopefully the call will not have to out by carrier pigeon.
OZero has let the genie out of the bottle and this genie is not benevolent. Vince
"I never had sex with that woman . . Monica Lewinsky."
Jeesh, you have short memory, unless you're young.
But I will say, 'get used to it'. This isn't the beginning, we're nearing the end of the honeymoon period for Obama. The glow is flickering.
It's going to get worse, a lot worse, as the Narcissist in Chief is ever more desperate for his adulation fix. He's going to have to get ever more strident for his cheering KOSsack fans.
And I'll remind people of my prediction that in the spring, it'll be the Democrats demanding to see Obama's birth certificate.
” If that isn’t the mind of a petty, third-world dictator, I don’t know what is.”
Well, ObaMugabe IS a petty, third-world dictator.
Too late; it has already happened. If one is a white, heterosexual (especially male), one is denied the use of much of the dictionary, lest one wants to be charged with a crime. Citizens and non-citizens who are NOT white, heterosexual (especially if male) are not so restricted, and can demean, slander, threaten, insult, and condemn with wild abandon and to their heart's content.
“0bama reminds me of a spoiled child that must absolutely have his way or else.”
You have just described ObaMugabe to a “T”.
It's still not clear what they hope to achieve. Do they think they can drive Fox off the air? Or force them to become like the lapdog networks? Or is the whole dustup mainly a diversion while they try to sneak other things past us?
“Obama’s ideal state far more resembles East Germany than the United States.”
That’s a fact.
What ObaMugabe is trying to do is EXACTLY what his role model Hugo Chavez did in Venezuela.
I’m sorry, a president lying to the nation, is not the same thing as a president singling out an entire network for objurgation. And I’m probably older than you.
My guess would be the latter, a distraction from their immense failures.
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