Posted on 05/22/2009 7:18:32 AM PDT by Tolik
True, the far Left, in the manner of the far Right's hatred of Bush's Iraq War and his support for Israel, has begun to murmur disappointment with Obama.
But it is quite astounding that the mainstream liberal media — NY Times, Washington Post, NPR, PBS, Time, Newsweek, etc. — has simply offered no substantive criticism of Obama's flips on renditions, military tribunals, wiretaps, intercepts, Iraq, or — given their past fury over the Bush deficits — the Obama plan to run up more red ink in a year than Bush did in eight.
Bush was constantly criticized by mainstream conservatives for his comprehensive immigration proposals, for deficit spending, for failure to veto any bills in the first term, for No Child Left Behind, for the prescription drug benefit, for the Harriet Miers nomination, for the first pullback from Fallujah, for appointments like Scott McClellan and "Brownie," etc.
The result, I think, will prove fatal for the media. For the last eight years, rendition (hey, they even made a hit-piece movie about the supposedly awful practice), intercepts, military tribunals, and Iraq were sort of the refrains of the liberal-media choruses. Looking back, in light of the Obama media, was such hysteria simply politics, pure and simple? Bush did it: bad; Obama did it: fine? Was the issue always just Bush, and never (as alleged) the Bush profligacy in spending — given the silence now over Obama's crazed borrowing? Was there never any real concern about the supposed "cultural of corruption" when the media seized on a Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Mark Foley, etc. — given the pass granted to Rangel, Dodd, and the tax-fraud nominations to the Cabinet.
In other words, to pick up any of these magazines and newspapers now is to see tortured apologies to explain why a flip-flopping Obama is playing "long-term" or "not going to get suckered by his base" or "first has to clean up the Bush mess" instead of disinterested commentary about (a) the disconnect between what Obama now does and what he once said; (b) the staggering amount of debt added, and how to pay the sums off.
Perhaps the media doesn't get it that the American people can more easily take the bias of an attack-dog, go-for-the jugular media that claims it is the watchdog of the public trust and therefore must skin the president, far more than such carnivores suddenly becoming sheepish and obsequious, as ministers of truth, rephrasing and repackaging the party line. How odd that just six months ago we had screaming reporters and columnists talking about the near-end-of-days with Bush — and now doing contortions to assure us that things suddenly aren't that bad after all, or that we must give Obama flexibility and time to sort out the prior mess. Quite scary, all this chest-thumping about tough journalistic integrity of 2001-8 suddenly devolving into, "Hey everyone, we can reassure you that the Emperor really does have clothes on."
Let me know if you want in or out.
Links: FR Index of his articles: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson
His website: http://victorhanson.com/
NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp
Pajamasmedia: http://victordavishanson.pajamasmedia.com/
The MSM - Ministers of Propaganda.
Just a partial list. More at the link: http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/victordavishanson/index
VDH's columns are almost universally brilliant. I cannot for the life of me, however, understand what the heck he's trying to say here?
We are all North Koreans now. (and I hate that fact)
Anglin for some cash from some endowment. He ought to detail his charges though.
The new government is Tyrannically, giving away our Constitution, our principles, our faith, our education, our history, and replacing it with destructive, laws, deceptive plans, rigorous decisions, that are destroying our system (the greatest in the world ... that brought success and the best life available on the globe to the most people): as if it were a good thing.
HOW CRAZY IS THAT? THEY HAVE JUST BEGUN AND IN 5 MONTHS HAVE CREATED CRISIS AND FEAR IN AMERICA. WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, ARE WE GOING TO STOP THIS MADNESS?
WE ARE SO PASSIVE AS TO BE THE 100 PPOUND WEAKINGLY OF THE COMICS, OF FORMER YEARS. A JOKE. WE SIT AND READ AND WATCH OUR GOVERNMENT ON STEROIDS WRECKING HAVOC; AND CALL IT
THE BEGINNING OF OBAMA'S GOOD IDEAS. WE CAN SEE IT IS WREAKING ALL of OUR RIGHTS,
Are we really going to go down with a whimper?
There are a number of men/women with good brains, good hearts, and quality character ... IE Sarah Palin ... that is destroyed daily in the news; and people are going along with the mischaraterization.
INSANE!
I think its a reference to Buchanan and maybe Paul. Some of the "paleos" have been very opposed to the Iraq war, and are critical of our alliance with Israel.
If the US would stop supporting Israel, outlaw the Israeli lobby, and just let Iran or Saddam and Sons, take them out, it would really be a good thing in the end.
You see the Islamic cults, who for 30 years have been roaming the globe, blowing up innocents with impunity, would have no beef if there was no Israel.
(Because truly the medias are basically communist at heart). Why is that? Do they truly believe this? Or is it simply that they want power; and intend to use it in a way that insures forever they will stay in power?
Whether it is a dictatorship, or a one world government, or the United Nations being the covering for the one world government, they are and intend to be the ruling elite. ala Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Chavez, etc.
It is as clear as a diamond ... they are intending to make everyone the same. Everyone completely controlled by the government; and no private property, the state will own and control everything, etc.
We have enough people on welfare, employed by the government, civil service jobs, and in other ways dependent on the government for their incomes, plus all the immigrants willing to agree to the proposals of the government taking care of everything for them.
It is a case of, ‘the barbarians at the gate’, ... when they come in all laws are changed; and soon misery is present.
Not a new story. It has been repeated since history has been kept.
ONLY WE ARE WILLINGLY WALKING HEAD FIRST INTO THIS TERRIBLE SITUATION. MO
"The media" per se are not actually the real issue.
The real issue is the fact that the people who are in the media are unable/unwilling to distinguish between their jobs and their personal lives (beliefs, politics, etc).
They have a personal stake in Obama that is far more visceral and religious than it is political.
His achievements are a vindication of their affection; his errors are a reflection on their judgment, and he must therefore be defended lest it reflect poorly on his supporters.
There is nothing particularly rational about this -- I seriously doubt that the media people reflect on it at all; and if they do, it's with some degree of embarrassment.
By way of disclaimer, I've experienced something like this in a much different context. It's remarkable the degree to which people can rationalize their way past glaring problems. My own experience of it is not something I look on with pride.... But at least I did, finally, figure it out.
I think we're already seeing a tiny trickle of this dynamic -- for example, somebody posted an evisceration of Obama's national security speech, posted on the CBS site.
There's probably no hope for large swathes of the reportorial class; but there doesn't need to be. Some few organizations will suddenly figure out the rut they're in and start behaving like reporters; and those organizations will suddenly start making money again. When that happens (I'd guess by next year), there's no telling what might happen.
OK, I get it now. I’m so used to being called the Far Right by the media and Democrats (same thing, I know), I didn’t understand that Mr. Hanson was speaking of people like Pat Buchanan.
One of my dearest wishes would be for any tv interviewer to ask any guest who is supporting the democrat line to name people that they see to their left. They all claim to be ‘centrist’ or moderate or mainstream. And they can spit out any number of names to their right, but just who is to their left?
(Thanks to the great Ron Radosh for the info on Seeger and Guthrie)
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