Sorry no radio show tonight. I am having a dental moment. Which is to say I’m either in pain or on drugs that make me loopy…
Now then about the media. Last night as the Libya drama unfolded I watched CNN for a bit. I no longer participate in this form of national brainwashing and after 30 minutes of CNN it was clear why I quit them over a year ago.
What was happening on the ground in Tripoli was and is compelling. CNN had some nominal “reporters”..uh… reporting I guess we’ll call it. Information of a sort was recited. What was most striking about my CNN drive by was just how much time every talking head refered to how busy Obama was “while on vacation”. A memo must have gone out. “Talk about how engaged Obama is. Talk about how Presidents never really get vacations. Talk about how Obama had this meeting and that meeting…while on VACATION!” It was so obvious as to be embarrassing. The climax of a 6 month war in north Africa amounted to a vehicle to snuff out complaints about Obama’s ill-timed vacation.
I no longer see the media as the prime conduit for Obama propaganda as it was in 2008. He’s not popular enough any more. 24/7 glowing Obamalove would hurt ratings too much. However, it is still apparent that many, if not most of the personalities in the MSM are still desperate to prop the guy up when ever an event allows. I don’t think they can help it really. It’s in their blood. They see Obama as them, and believe they are Obama. He’s part of their rarefied, smarter than us wee folk, family. There is a desperation to salvage the guy and therefore salvage themselves.
Ezra Klein’s piece today is another example of this apologia. He claims to have thought deeply about what Obama could have done differently…and can, of course, come up with next to nothing. In addiction recovery parlance this conclusion is called denial. The list of what Obama could have done differently – and more intelligently – would easily take up the entire Sunday edition of the Washington Post. One could practically go day by day since 1/21/09. That Klein can’t see this – and I do believe right now he truly can’t – is all about Klein protecting Klein…not Obama. In fact, the ongoing Obama Defense League we call the American Media is furiously in the business of protecting itself….not Obama. Obama is merely the beneficiary. They know they fell for a fool and are desperate to avoid that damning reality as long as possible. And they become less credible by the hour.
The ObamaMedia has disintegrated to this: He tries real hard. That’s really Klein’s meme today. Gee, he’s such a good guy, there really are only a few things one can criticize him for and I can’t really think of any off-hand. And did I mention he’s such a good guy. Look he had a meeting while on vacation! Sheesh, what do people expect – the man to walk on water?
Yes. In fact, that is how he was sold. So, yes, I do expect him to be FDR and Lincoln and Jesus and Queen Elizabeth I all rolled into one astounding superman. Just 3 short years ago that is who the MSM told us we were getting. CNN and Klein and all the rest have decided to skip that part of the Obama narrative, although they are the ones who sold it.
We’ve come to the if only phase. If only the GOP wasn’t so…well…like the GOP. If only the Japanese earthquake had not occurred. If only everyone understood the brilliance of leading from behind. ( A phrase that ranks in absurdity with “We’re the ones we’ve been waiting for.” A sentence that stops thought. ) If only this, if only that. None of it matters or even makes sense. Leaders, real ones, don’t do if only.
The unspoken if only is this: If only people would just adore Obama like we do. This segment of the media is pining for the man they created in 2008. It is pathetic. And a bit sad. Klein wanders on the foggy moors waiting for his mirage to come home from the sea. Everyone now knows the man he helped create never existed…everyone except Klein.
In his piece today Klein is admitting he’s lazy and probably a bit stupid. I wonder if he even realizes this. Smart people sometimes defend the indefensible but it dumbs them down. That’s the price exacted. Klein can make excuses for Obama but he must publicly play dumb to get it done. The list of things Obama could have done differently is not minor. It’s total…and impossible to quantify. In order for Obama to have been successful he would have to have been someone else. I wish people like Klein would cop to this. But they can’t. It would destroy them and they know it. The mistake they made was not minor. It was total.
I cannot stand that little prig. Or prick. Take your choice.
I’m going with prig this evening. Because I’m feeling both old and English.
Just so long as you don’t wear English Leather, Jay.
If you want to dig out the Old English and dust a bit that’s fine.
I’d do a big LIKE to this comment if we are on facebook. I can’t stand his usual smug “I’m better than you and more intellectually gifted” general attitude in his writing, et al.
Kubler Ross would say this was the denial stage. I just wonder if they’ll ever get to acceptance.
imust: probably not until after 2012.
LOL. Just so long as barry’s career dies sooner than later.
Little Ezra is one of the all-time fucking stupidest people on Planet Earth. What could barry have done differently? Off the top of *my* head, he could have:
* Closed Gitmo;
* Ended the wars;
* Enacted universal healthcare (No, Ezra, the insurance lobby’s wet dream doesn’t count);
* Created more than … um, exactly zero green jobs;
* Reined in the insanity & rapacious greed in the financial sector;
* Repealed DOMA;
* Not given BP a ‘get out of jail free’ card;
* Repealed FISA and the Patriot Act;
* Not ordered assassinations;
* Not brazenly violated the War Powers Act and the US Constitution;
* Come up with a jobs plan at some point during his first three years;
* Fought for an international climate accord, instead of undermining it;
* Let the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire;
* Vigorously defend Social Security.
Hell, he could have picked one campaign promise at random, fulfilled it, and that would have been different.
Beautiful!
Perhaps being better at communicating could also been at the top of his list. Obama, himself, has admitted this failure to communicate problem, although he usually blames it on us plebes who can’t understand him.
He could have at the bare minimum decided to not drive around in a $1.1 million Canadian-manufactured mega bus.
1) Not been a Reagan Republican with a “D” by his name
Shorter Klein: Must drink more kool-aid.
Shameful, really. At least the people coming off the kool-aid realize they made a mistake. That is the first step in recovery.
djmm
Ezra has a crush on barry. But it would never work, as they’re both bottoms.
Well let’s thank the universe for bottoms because they keep all those angry tops occupied.
Like many white women, this POS Klein fantazises about doing it with Zero. Chris Mathews too.
I know of a very rich guy who regularly organizes sex parties for his white wife with black men.
Okay, you drop that tidbit and move on? That’s like saying, “Oh, I ate the Hindenberg — gotta run.”
All white wives will be assimilated.
Oh my…I am so very RELAXED right now on some lovely pills the dentist gave me…and this thread just washed happiness all over me.
Better living through chemistry.
Amen, Fredster!
I learned the hard way with dental work. Make sure you take the pain pill *way* before the Novocaine wears off.
You should write a book or something before they wear off.
“If only”…one of the saddest phrases in our language.. Haven’t we all known people who refuse to give up on failed relationships ? He/she ‘means well’ is another broad rationalization, used by the disappointed, to justify allegiance to the undeserving.. There is no arguing with the true believer, in the past, they would have been on the side of the flat earth crowd.
Sophie… You are the best!!
aw, gee, [blush] thanks
Aw, gee, {blush] thanks, Leslie
“Leading from behind”- it occurs to me that phrase may be quite appropriate for the obots. What the hell- if you think about it- it IS how sheep are controlled. The shepherd stands behind and sends the dogs out to drive the sheep. The dogs keep the sheep all bunched up in a tight group- nipping at the heels of any who try to go their own way. Leading from behind indeed!
Great analogy, MOM.
Except that border collies are smarter than Obama!
LOL Delphyne- I think Obama is more like the sheep- you know- the one that is “fixed” and doesn’t know he is just getting fattened for market.
Axelrove and Pouffe are the dogs- Jarret is the shepherd?
Some years ago we had a Shetland Sheepdog and my mom’s little poodle. Sometimes when they were out in yard, Brandy the sheltie would *herd* Suzie the poodle. Suzie would put up with that for about 5 minutes and then let out that bark that said “Enough!” and Brandy would just sort of dance around her. LOL!
Proud, My sister had some type of herding dog, he was without any animals to literally ‘herd.’ So he spent his days running in circles around the house, unfortunately the house never moved. Ultimately, he became a bit crazy.
Zinger of a piece, JWS. Quite right on the analysis of the Obot talking-heads.
All these MSM-Ofluffers projected onto Obama their idealized better selves. Now, if he’s no good, they have to acknowledge they’re no good. This is why one shouldn’t idealize politicians, let alone project one’s ideals onto them. I love and suport Hillary, warts and all — for her strengths, her zeal and zest, her brains, and her sense of humor, and not because she’s some sort of perfect human being. The Obots are, and in their willful naivety always have been, embarrassing.
Ezra’s photo above, could be placed next to the word ‘smug’ in the dictionary, as a perfect illustration..
Sophie … what you said!
Klein & O share that “we know better than you plebes” smirk, indeed.
JWS ~ “. . . leading from behind. ( A phrase that ranks in absurdity with “We’re the ones we’ve been waiting for.” A sentence that stops thought. ) ”
to quote a comment I read a while ago, “fucking brilliant!”
“leading from behind” is fricking stupid. But, the other one could have worked since it inspired so many people. Too bad absolutely NOTHING was done to use that inspiration. No youth jobs program, no WPA, no getting chickens into every pot, no FDR program of any kind to harness that energy.
And they will never ever accept responsibility for the part they played in this disaster. Which means they’ll never learn. And that speaks to what happens next. And after that.
When I was a kid, I used to say – repeatedly – that, if people couldn’t tell the truth, they shouldn’t be allowed to speak. It drove me crazy (and still does) that the truth, that is, the objective truth, is simply not important to most people. You know, seeking to deduce the truth from a rational and logical dissection of the facts (and then, and only then, arriving at an appropriate course of action).
To EZ, on the other hand, viewing the world through the prism of his reality (which is, that he is a genius wunderkind with brilliant insights, well deserving of being a media voice and never wrong), what he wrote is the “truth.” Critical thinking or reasoning seems to be in even far shorter supply than back when I was kid in the good old Eisenhower days, when I studied Latin and Greek and philosophy and similar long-defunct subjects.
Why he has a voice at all is beyond me. Just another puppet apologist who makes no sense.
mjames…I started college intending to be a philosophy major, until my parents asked me what kind of career I envisioned. Ultimately, I veered into Social Work, the typical field for the idealistic and gently reared in those days. It was nearly too late when I discovered I would have to work in neighborhoods, the likes of which, I had never seen, and never wanted to see again.
Talk about starry eyed…I got over myself eventually… Still, I often wish we could found a political movement based on high principles and Truth.. Our logo would have to be comprised of the Holy Grail and Excalibur..ideals as elusive as Truth, at least in Politics.
I can’t describe what that picture of Klein looks like to me (I’m a 56 year-old bitter knitter). He’s a child!!!!
OK – IF ONLY Obombya had stepped aside in 2008 and let an experienced older woman take charge.
“Leaders, real ones, don’t do if only.”
Remember the interview when HRC was First Lady, I think, and she said something about “Woulda, coulda, shoulda….”? I think she was saying she doesn’t do “if only”.
his very lack of anything is why this man /child given the media platform. The owners want ego filled nothings filling all positions….across the board ….surely that is clear .. If you and I can see these empty suits , they ain’t players
Klein was pitch-hitting for the Brit who precedes Dylan Raitgan’s show last week. I try to catch Ratigan when I can [even though he's been off since his infamous rant]. But the few minutes that I caught? Klein was insufferable. What an Obama apologist! These people must practice putting their fingers in their ears and singing “la-la-la-la.”
Hope the dental problems are solved shortly, John. In my family, I’m known as the ‘Root Canal Queen.” It’s a wonder I have teeth at all. Bad genes, I guess. But there’s nothing worse than a pulsating tooth ache. Drugs are good. Dentists are better. If the country blows up, those of us with bad teeth are doomed. Hope you get relief soon.
Oh, I read that the NYT had a major editorial supporting NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in his ongoing mortgage fraud investigations, despite the Administration’s pressure that he back off. Hope the man has a spotlessly clean record. Otherwise, they’ll crucify him.
Sounds like Ezra might need brain surgery to get over it. I don’t know how they do this Obama “good” thing day in and day out and keep a straight face.
Mouse, they keep looking at their pay stubs all day …is all I can figure…
I’d heard about this but not seen it until now. It actually makes me like this guy — keep watching, it’s infectious…
It’s great Jay. Saw it a few days back and couldn’t believe the amount of puns they were able to use in one segment. Yes, it does make Cooper seem much more likeable.
He’s adorable in this clip.
This thread starts with a post of terrific writing and insight. A serious adult with serious concerns.
It opens:
And the comments end with wee wee poo poo puns from a giggling CNN news anchor, and how likable and adorable it is.
Every society is what the people make it. There’s a reason we don’t have an Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite or Eric Sevareid today.
Emotionally healthy adults are well-rounded, Zaladonis. They are able to be very serious at times and laugh-out-loud silly at other moments. Deal with it.
If the population agrees that anchors giggling over wee wee poo poo puns is likable and appealing on news shows, then it has no business being disappointed that cable news isn’t providing news reporting and analysis on the order of a Cronkite and Sevareid.
Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, et al, laughed out loud at times on air. But because they were emotionally mature adults working in a serious profession they weren’t giggling through a story laced with wee wee poo poo puns.
A society that celebrates and rewards emotional immaturity may understand too late that it doesn’t appear only where you want and when you want; every element of our information and analytical thought process is informed by our emotional maturity. That’s the reason children and adolescents don’t have the same decision-making rights as adults.
Zal, I would agree with you, but sometimes we NEED the levity and those positive news stories as insipid as they may seem at times. Sometimes we need the bologna to eat the healthy sandwich.
Well first of all, as Paddy Chayefsky hinted in Network, there’s good reason news and entertainment need to be separate.
Secondly, CNN is supposed to be adults presenting news to adults, and although it’s good to laugh and look at the lighter side, prepubescent humor is different from adult humor. I mean you’re not suggesting that, in a healthy society,10 year old boys giggle over the same things as emotionally mature adults, are you? Emotionally healthy adults should enjoy hearty laughter, but emotional maturity grows us beyond giggle fits over poo poo puns. Childhood and adulthood are not supposed to be the same; when adults function with the emotional maturity of children, something in a society has gone horribly wrong and there are consequences.
Remember Lord of the Flies?