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Can’t Touch Him: Obama's uncanny ability to shake off blame
Newsweek ^ | May 17, 2010 | Howard Fineman

Posted on 05/16/2010 12:06:42 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Let's try a political thought experiment. Imagine that a few months after a new president takes office, his administration approves an offshore oil well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico. It is to be run by BP, whose employees were very generous donors to the president's campaign. The oil company airily dismisses the possibility of a catastrophic leak that might destroy the coastline. Nearly a year later, the president—to the dismay of his environmentalist supporters—says he wants to greatly expand offshore drilling. Soon after that, the BP well explodes, and oil spews into the gulf. It's clear to everyone that the blowout is a major catastrophe, requiring a federal mobilization. But the president's initial response is to say, in effect: do not worry, BP will pay for the cleanup. Eleven days pass before he goes to survey the scene.

Of course, this is a sketch of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the president is Barack Obama. But here is the rest of the experiment. Imagine the reaction of Washington—the media, Congress, the "national conversation"—if the president wasn't Obama but George W. Bush. "We would be under siege," says Dan Bartlett, who was communications director in the Bush years. "There'd be calls for special prosecutors, investigations everywhere. The focus wouldn't be on what was happening out in the gulf—it would be on what happened in the West Wing."

Now, I hold no brief for George Bush, and I have no desire to launch a screed against the home-field advantage that Obama still gets in the non-Murdoch media.(continued)

(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2010; bho44; bush; jourbalism; mchammer; obama; obamasfault; oil; oilspill
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Can’t Touch Him: Obama's uncanny ability to shake off blame Newsweek ^ | May 17, 2010 | Howard Fineman

Maybe it has to do with the fact that you and the rest of the Media Clown posse never do any real journalism where he is concerned cause your too busy mindlessly propagandizing for him.

41 posted on 05/16/2010 4:29:14 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (The problem with Socialism is eventually you run our of other peoples money. Lady Thatcher)
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To: Political Junkie Too

It’s time to start grilling the press.


42 posted on 05/16/2010 4:39:00 AM PDT by stayathomemom (Beware of cat attacks while typing!)
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To: allmost

“big boy” news conference

Now that is a memorable phrase which should be plastered on Zero.


43 posted on 05/16/2010 4:43:15 AM PDT by bytesmith
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

They used to call another thug gangster Teflon Don, and he ended up rotting in jail until he died.

Just desserts.


44 posted on 05/16/2010 4:43:38 AM PDT by Canedawg (I'm not digging this tyranny thing.)
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To: Dustbunny

Totally amazing how often he can stand at ‘his’ podium, look us all in the eye and explain how ‘the dog ate his homework’ and get away with it.

The other amazing thing is he can’t explain anything without a teleprompter. The creature is totally programmed by his handlers, whoever they are?


45 posted on 05/16/2010 4:46:43 AM PDT by bytesmith
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To: Political Junkie Too
The MSM is dying, and what limited capital resources they have left have been deployed in maintaining their bunkers in New York City and Atlanta.

Ain't that the truth.

What the idiot Fineman doesn't admit is that the old MSM hitched its wagon to Obama, and if his administration implodes, he'll drag the rest of the drive by media down with him.

By this stage of the game, they have little choice but to cover for him.

46 posted on 05/16/2010 4:50:45 AM PDT by Cyropaedia ("Virtue cannot separate itself from reality without becoming a principal of evil...".)
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To: citizencon

>>The liberal media do not blame Obama because to blame Obama is to blame themselves- they created this monster.

*Ding!* *Ding!* *Ding!*

We have a winner! And worth saying again.


47 posted on 05/16/2010 4:58:40 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (No Representation without Taxation!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

He has no ability to “shake off the blame” - it’s the media running cover for him that allows him to get away with it. But slowly, that facade is crumbling and the real Obama is becoming apparent to more and more people.


48 posted on 05/16/2010 5:03:04 AM PDT by meyer (Big government is the enemy of freedom.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I don’t think that he’s really able to shake off blame except among his faithful. The rest of us still blame him.


49 posted on 05/16/2010 5:06:51 AM PDT by Brilliant
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

A jive talking con artist. Not exactly a character trait you want in a “president”.


50 posted on 05/16/2010 5:09:47 AM PDT by jersey117
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Can’t Touch Him: Obama's uncanny ability to shake off blame

notice his tactics?

He NEVER defends; but ALWAYS attacks.

51 posted on 05/16/2010 5:16:52 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Political Junkie Too
The MSM is dying, and what limited capital resources they have left have been deployed in maintaining their bunkers in New York City and Atlanta.

I think there's a lot of truth in what you suggest. But the familiar conservative diagnosis still holds: the underlying issue is that the (dying) elite media has slid so far down the slippery slope that it has lost touch with its historical roots in old-fashioned news reporting.

Journalism has always attracted crusaders -- nothing new about that -- but the "get the facts straight" tradition of beat reporting remained as an anchor. Somewhere along the line, as advocacy journalism became the normative standard, the anchor was cut loose. The MSM now overdoses us with pure advocacy in which awkward facts are simply ignored. Which, of course, is why the paying customers are leaving.

52 posted on 05/16/2010 5:17:44 AM PDT by sphinx
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Rookie will get his ass kicked in November 2012, so fawn away Howard, you idiot.


53 posted on 05/16/2010 5:21:29 AM PDT by BigSkyFreeper (In 2012: The Rookie and The Wookie get booted from the White House.)
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To: jersey117

Yet, by comparison, he makes Slick Willy look like an amateur


54 posted on 05/16/2010 5:31:02 AM PDT by Cyclone59 (I ROCK, Guitar Hero said so........)
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To: Political Junkie Too

I’ll bet if you go back about 15 years, you could find a Howard FIneman column marveling at what a good liar Clinton is.

This is the game. It’s rigged from the start.

They play slow pitch softball with Democrats, esp. Presidents, then watch in amazement as the ball goes sailing over the fence time after time. “Man, the guy can really hit home runs, can’t he-yessiree!”

They play hardball with Republican Presidents and not only just hardball - they grease up the ball with every substance imaginable, then excoriate the President for hitting grounders.

I wouldn’t be so confident that the DBM is going away any time soon. They are dreadfully sick, to be sure, but as long as they draw breath they will use every ounce of energy to prop up incompetent Democrats and take down unwary Republicans. They are still a huge force to be reckoned with. Heck, Kerry even said the support of the DBM was worth 15 pts. in an election. He knows the game.


55 posted on 05/16/2010 5:31:05 AM PDT by randita (Visit keyhouseraces.com for a list of vulnerable DEM and must hold GOP House seats.)
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To: bytesmith

Actually it is easy, he has no goals projected upon himself by anyone...it is all hope and change and blame Bush. The guy is nothing more than a 3 card monte dealer, now you see it, now you don’t. A shamster. One more thing, one could go broke betting upon an over estimation of the intelligence of the voters in this country: Exhibit A....Ozero.


56 posted on 05/16/2010 5:51:29 AM PDT by Mouton
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Fineman is an idiot. Hussein has no "uncanny ability" to do anything except maybe read a teleprompter.

The reason Hussein isn't at 11% approval rating right now?


The media's penchant for political fellatio while resting upon their industrial strength knee pads. They use them daily to satisfy Hussein and keep him from any significant, relentless criticism. Hussein is, by a country mile, worse than George W. Bush. But he'll never EVER EVER EVER face the relentless media scrutiny and attacks. Ever.

Hussein is their pimp. Their little tin god. Their hero.

57 posted on 05/16/2010 5:53:13 AM PDT by Recovering_Democrat
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To: allmost
I don't think it will ever happen. A press conference where this man was actually grilled by the press?

That is why he avoided Fox interviews during the campaign. The alphabet networks and print media are keeping two businesses afloat. The knee pad and mouth wash manufacturing industries are making a ton of money.

58 posted on 05/16/2010 6:02:19 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (Remember in November. Clean the house on Nov. 2. / Progressive is a PC word for liberal democrat.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

He hasn’t avoided blame anywhere except in the media.....they kiss his ass, everyone I know, even those who will admit they voted for him, are unhappy with him....


59 posted on 05/16/2010 6:03:57 AM PDT by The Wizard (Madam President is my President now and in the future)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

It has less to do with Obamas ability and more to do with press inability.


60 posted on 05/16/2010 6:09:12 AM PDT by Phlap (REDNECK@LIBARTS.EDU)
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