February 26, 2013

"We have a whole press corps that doesn’t take Obama on... we’re in a period where the press has no respect."

"Woodward’s sort of the exception, but I’m uncomfortable with the idea that we turn reporters into budget negotiators or blame assessors."

84 comments:

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Time photographer Brooks Kraft was quoted as saying: "The White House has built its own content distribution network."

Everyone knows.

jacksonjay said...


Haven't heard a peep about the press blackout yesterday!

No complaints when they were kicked out of a Q&A with the governors?

Denied access to a round with Tiger? Outrage!!

mccullough said...

And the rest of the media lines up behind Obama.

edutcher said...

It hasn't had any respect for a very long time. Back in the 80s, even ed Asner warned them of the dangers of being perceived as a class of "privileged punks", to use his phrase.

"Woodward’s sort of the exception"????

Mortuary Bob????

You must be joking!

Bob said...

The press does better when a Republican in the WH because then it tries. Of course the local journalists ask tougher questions which is why the current WH occupant stays away from them.

Brian Brown said...

Remember, Journalism, at its core, is about justice and fairness, and that’s the ‘view of the world’ that they espouse.

So "fairness" requires these "journalists" to not say anything critical of the 1st black President.

Because Jim Crow, wingnuts!

William T. Sherman said...

If the Obama Administration ever got caught in a Watergate type scandal the Washington Post would be an enthusiastic part of the coverup.

Brian Brown said...

Alongside that do-gooder instinct is a strong desire for fairness because, being out in the world, reporters encounter a great deal of unfairness. We want to expose that and even rub your noses in it.

And nothing "rubs your noses in it" like being an Obama do-gooder!

Original Mike said...

"If the Obama Administration ever got caught in a Watergate type scandal the Washington Post would be an enthusiastic part of the coverup."

They already are. What reporters have pressed the president on what he did the night of Benghazi? What reporters have sought out the survivors of that night? What reporter could even tell you their names?

I truely don't understand how they can rationalize this to themselves. I truely don't.

SteveR said...

Obama is very comfortable that you are uncomfortable.

Anonymous said...

What reporters have pressed the president on what he did the night of Benghazi?

How on earth is Benghazi even comparable to Watergate. Even if the worst is true about what Obama did or didn't do that night, what crime was committed? Gross incompetence is not a crime.

Anonymous said...

Among the media commentariat on the right, the journalist who has long been characterized as left-of-center and a liberal hero is now being widely cited for his op-ed naming the sequester as the White House’s brain child.

I love this line. The right thinks Woodward is "left-of-center and a liberal hero". Why? Because of what he did forty years ago?

The right is truly delusional.

The Godfather said...

Freder, remind me: how many people were killed at the Watergate?

coketown said...

In writing up my comment, I considered all these synonyms for lenient: allowing, amiable, assuaging, assuasive, being big, benign, benignant, charitable, clement, compassionate, complaisant, compliant, condoning, easy, easygoing, emollient, excusing, favoring, forbearing, forgiving, gentle, going easy on, good-natured, humoring, indulgent, kind, kindly, letting, live with, loving, merciful, mild, mollycoddling, obliging, pampering, pardoning, permitting, soft, soft-shell, softhearted, sparing, spoiling, sympathetic, tender, tolerant, yielding.

Then I realized 'complaisant' is different from 'complacent', and is quite the right word I was searching for, instead of 'lenient.' So:

I found Woodward's "fact checking" pretty fucking complaisant. Yes, he's writing for a mainstream newspaper so his editor and audience have extreme Democratic sympathies.

But that's no excuse for such a pussyfooted, ridiculous fact check. He tempered the entire piece with silly qualifications and generous allowances to the president. Every criticism of the Democrats was followed with two or three of Republicans. He made sure to mention typical liberal talking points throughout, like, 'yes, rich people should pay their fair share,' and 'Republicans have been obstructionists.'

And he never outright calls Obama a liar--even though by any candid observation Obama is blatantly lying. He gets closer to calling congressional Republicans liars, though, so we know the word exists in the Woodward Lexicon of Liberal English.

It's sad that this is the closest thing the American public gets to a fact-check of the president--that Bob fraking Woodward is "the exception" to our fawning press corp.

SteveR said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

"Gross incompetence is not a crime."

While I'll grant you no crime was involved, I think to not even attempt to rescue American embassy personnel under fire is far worse.


Original Mike said...

Rescue, hell. He didn't even stay up to watch the outcome.

Anonymous said...

"budget neogtiators", no;
"blame assessors", it's their job.

Henry said...

I think Freder has hit upon the perfect slogan for the Obama administration:

"Gross incompetence is not a crime."

Brian Brown said...

Freder Frederson said...

I love this line. The right thinks Woodward is "left-of-center and a liberal hero". Why? Because of what he did forty years ago?

The right is truly delusional.


I love the fact that you think typing "truly delusional" is some sort of refutation of the premise.

cubanbob said...

February 26, 2013
"We have a whole press corps that doesn’t take Obama on... we’re in a period where the press has no respect."
"Woodward’s sort of the exception, but I’m uncomfortable with the idea that we turn reporters into budget negotiators or blame assessors."
Posted by Ann Althouse at 11:18 AM
Tags: journalism, Obama and the press, Obama economics

Whores are used and at times abused but they are never respected. Woodward doesn't need to prostitute himself anymore so he can play at being a just the facts kind of guy.

lonetown said...

From what I can see of the press, math is not a strong suit.

Assigning blame based upon faulty analysis is in ther wheelhouse.

SJ said...

@Freder,

if Benghazi isn't a crime, was Operation Fast and Furious a crime?

It's not as visible as the Benghazi attack. But lots of poeple broke the law, and American lawmen died at the hands of gangsters armed though Op. Fast and Furious.

Robert Cook said...

Woodward is hardly "left of center." Why would anyone think this?

That aside, the sequester nonsense is Obama's fault.

Anonymous said...

"Gross incompetence is not a crime."

Negligence is.

Original Mike said...

"...the sequester nonsense is Obama's fault."

Fault? I'd give him credit for it if he would man up and own it.

Kelly said...

We all know how this will end. In about three and a half years the media will begin doing some serious soul searching. They will conclude that they let Obama off to lightly and resolve to do better, especially if it looks like a republican might make it into the White House.

jacksonjay said...


The prevailing world view of a "journalist" is that the America is a mess because of white male privilege! They are now heavily invested in the notion that Obama will fix this mess! Hillary will be the sequel to this romantic fairy tale!

Scandal and failure does not fit that narrative!

Anonymous said...

Robert Cook said...
"the sequester nonsense is Obama's fault"

Why is the sequester "nonsense"? Why is it a fault? It's the best Obama has done if it's followed thru. Our military is already hollowed out. It's better that we don't have the fundings for their deployments than deploy them and let them die on account of the Chief's gross incompetence.

Anonymous said...

the press needs to examine the concept of independence and objectivity.

furious_a said...

Freder: Gross incompetence is not a crime.

Glad you agree Obama is grossly incompetent and...

...heckuvan endorsement there, Sparky.

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
furious_a said...

The palace media aren't reporting news, they're transcribing White House press releases.

Original Mike said...

"...heckuvan endorsement there, Sparky."

Careful. Freder's sensitive to electrical references.

Chuck66 said...

Big Media sued to get all of Governor Palin's emails, from when she was governor. That is 25,000 emails. There was no reason for it. Nothing had been leaked that lead them to think there was something there.

It was simply a fishing expedition by MSM to find something they could use to attack her. Of course, they found nothing, but hey, they tried.

Can anyone think of ONE, just one, example of MSM going after a Democrat in a similiar manner? Or for that mattter a male Republican?

furious_a said...

It's not even that the press corps as a whole displays a leftward bias(Christopher Hitchens was 'biased', but I trusted his body of work), it's that they're really not very good at their jobs.

Big Media sued to get all of Governor Palin's emails, from when she was governor. That is 25,000 emails.

It's not even that the press sued to get those emails, it's that the major US dailies crowdsourced the reading and analysis of the emails:

"We’re asking readers to help us identify interesting and newsworthy e-mails, people and events that we may want to highlight. Interested users can fill out a simple form to describe the nature of the e-mail, and provide a name and e-mail address so we’ll know who should get the credit,"

"The Paper of Record" admits here that they have neither the bandwidth nor the journalistic skills to execute a basic function of their craft, nor the ethical grasp of the risks of entrusting source material to unvetted (but likeminded!) outsiders. Shameful.

Hagar said...

Obama is the front man for their side.
You don't shoot at your own standard bearer.

mark said...

Freder Frederson said...
How on earth is Benghazi even comparable to Watergate. Even if the worst is true about what Obama did or didn't do that night, what crime was committed?


A case can be made for criminally negligent manslaughter. I'm sure the president would wrap himself in the protection of his position. "Tough decisions that cost lives are part of the job" .. or something like that.

But, the facts of the case (by talking to the survivors publicly, detailing his negligence, etc) should be public knowledge. It would help us understand his actions and better judge his administration. Specifically on the middle east. For example: on decisions to support terrorist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood.

mark said...

Chuck66 said...
Can anyone think of ONE, just one, example of MSM going after a Democrat in a similiar manner?


I'd be content if they sued to get the president's records from his college career. From freshman to lecturer.

If you wrap yourself as an intellectual, it would be nice to actually discuss your credentials. It is a MINIMUM requirement to apply for a lecturer job. Probably just embarrassed that President Bush did better in college.

traditionalguy said...

IMO the media are fooled by their own propaganda that educated people are liberals like Obama while the GOP are unevolved Christians that own private property and therefore must be defeated and looted.

Such a fairytale takes a Hollywood script that must be followed thus making truth telling an act of betrayal of the good guys script.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

What coketown said.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

“But let’s not forget that even if it began with Jack Lew it was embraced by John Boehner, who did a Powerpoint presentation to sell it to his members of Congress...”

What difference, at this point, does it make?

Unless the whole point of assigning blame is to help turn the pressure knob on one side to cave once more.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Politics as theatre and rule by crisis manipulation. Obama's playbook is as old as sin. In fact it is sinful in its cynical desire to sway American political power through fascist coercion.

Note: there are no budget cuts, except to the military budget. Our Federal government will spend more this year than last, even with the "sequester" hoohaw. Any pain inflicted on the public through long lines, delays, furloughs etc. are simply more theatre produced by Obama, designed to cause pain and suffering of the emotional type especially.

Any bureaucrat who can't do his job this year, using more funds than were available last year should be hauled before Congress and roasted (figuratively) alive before the national press corpse. Yes I spelled that correctly.

sonicfrog said...

Jay said:

Remember, Journalism, at its core, is about justice and fairness,

Agreed.

Add to that that they are more concerned about having access to the most powerful people a.k.a. people who are the desired sources that they will look the other way even when evidence is there of a great story. John Edwards of course comes to mind. There is a reason, of all the news media out there, that it ended up being the National Enquirer that broke the story. They don't give a shit about having celebrities as source, whereas in the regular press?... They wear their celebrity contacts like some sort of technicolor coat to show the world!

Look who I can talk too!!!!!

Lance Armstrong.... Same thing. There is only one journalist who dared to pursue that guy, and he was an Italian journalist.

And, as the Journ-o-list debacle revealed, far too many are more concerned with protecting a liberal ideology than getting in the dirt and revealing facts, even if it hurts the ones you love.

PS. Much of the right wing press is no different. They also protect their own with the same zeal as the liberal press.

Brian Brown said...

sonicfrog said...

Agreed


My comment was not serious.

It was a rehash of this post.

Journalism is not about "justice" at all.

Phil 314 said...

“Democratic presidents sit down with Woodward and think they’re going to get a much better deal than Woodward gave Bush,”

One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.
The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?"

"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog hesitantly.

"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"

Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"

"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the river!"

"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the frog.

"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once you've taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!"

So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog's back.

"I could not help myself. It is my nature."

NitneLiun said...

How on earth is Benghazi even comparable to Watergate. Even if the worst is true about what Obama did or didn't do that night, what crime was committed? Gross incompetence is not a crime.

What makes you think it was a matter of incompetence? Perhaps it was, but sometimes gross incompetence is actually something far more sinister. That's what we need to find out -- and probably never will, thanks to a complicit press corps.

Achilles said...

Benghazi the night of and inaction was not a crime. It was pathetic but not a crime. The coverup afterwards, the obvious lie of the video, and the subsequent jailing of an American Citizen to facilitate it? Sounds like a crime to me.

Lets not forget Fast and Furious, where Obama has used executive privilege to halt an investigation. This is Watergate with 300+ dead Mexicans and 2 dead border patrol agents. But Obama is only interested in the minority of Mexicans he can coerce over the border with food stamps and welfare and will consistently vote democrat. The majority of Mexicans that want to work are going back to Mexico where the economy is actually growing.

edutcher said...

Freder Frederson said...

What reporters have pressed the president on what he did the night of Benghazi?

How on earth is Benghazi even comparable to Watergate. Even if the worst is true about what Obama did or didn't do that night, what crime was committed? Gross incompetence is not a crime.


Ever hear of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office?

People go to jail for them all the time.

chickelit said...

Woodward doesn't supply a reason why the Press Corpse is so protective. Is it just because he's black or is it because he represents a return to Camelot?

Or is it that they like their little Beltway Bubble? I used to respect Jake Tapper but after his little pre-election tweet on Benghazi he lost me. Completely.

Anonymous said...

Or for that mattter a male Republican?

yep

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The whole point of "sequester" was to force a compromise... because the cuts proposed by the sequester would be "too painful" to even contemplate. The "sequester" was supposed to be a gun to the head of everybody to force them to a deal.

Remember... Up to that point (when the idea of the sequester was put together) the pressure was on to come to a deal... any deal... (remember grand bargain?)
The press, thru the use of polls, was hammering daily the idea that people wanted republicans and democrats "to work together"... bla bla bla.

The sequester was sold as a way to "compromise"... and Boehner probably thought this sequester deal is better than no deal... which, at the time, he and the players in the other side were the only ones in a position to know one way or the other... So Boehner accepted to split/decouple tax raises and budget cuts into separate deals... I seem to remember that at the time the consensus was that Boehner had caved... that he had lost all leverage on any possible budget cuts.

So, here we are, facing the deadline the WH proposed and everything is proceeding according to plan.

By separating the tax increases and the budgets cuts, the WH has been able to trot out their #1 play twice... Whereas, if the deal remained together, the play - class envy, republicans are just out to protect the rich - would have only been used once, minimising returns... Why would Obama pass up a chance to run up the score?

Despite Woodward's efforts at clarification of history... thats all that is... history.

Anonymous said...

Ever hear of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office?

Do you know the definition of any of those terms?

sonicfrog said...


My comment was not serious.


Maybe not, but it hit on a truth. Journalist have always in some regard been concerned about fairness and justice, but they've twisted the notion to the point where they are blind to stories if it interferes with the goal of creating a world that is fair and just.

chickelit said...

Freder inveighs...Do you know the definition of any of those terms?

Malfeasance is etymologically linked to Althouse's recent redefinition of "malefactor." So I guess it makes Obama a bad actor.

Michael K said...

"How on earth is Benghazi even comparable to Watergate. Even if the worst is true about what Obama did or didn't do that night, what crime was committed? Gross incompetence is not a crime."

Well, of course there were all those people who died in Watergate.

Oh, wait....

chickelit said...

Maybe not, but it hit on a truth. Journalist have always in some regard been concerned about fairness and justice, but they've twisted the notion to the point where they are blind to stories if it interferes with the goal of creating a world that is fair and just.

I also think that some of them have paying jobs in an artificially inflated DC economy and they wouldn't want to lose said job and become an unpaid blogger. They may also enjoy political perks, and access--the same motivators Bob Woodward had. There's probably an exclusive story there if someone were gutsy enough to pull it off.

Crunchy Frog said...

Remarkable article.

Remarkable in the sense that it's a Politico piece that is not an Obama fluff job.

Is the tide starting to turn?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I started to look for links to back up some of those assertions I was making in my 'brilliant' comment... but then I thought, anybody who has been paying any modicum of attention already knows this... dont they?

I'm not plowing any new territory here... virgin territory.

We need virgin territory... like that crotch post from last night... find a flashy way to tell our side of the story.

sonicfrog said...

Lem....

That was almost pulling a Titus!

Colonel Angus said...

Rescue, hell. He didn't even stay up to watch the outcome.

Well in all fairness to Obama, he did have that early flight the next day for his Vegas fundraiser.

Colonel Angus said...

Our military is already hollowed out.

Are you kidding? We are spending somewhere north of $600 billion annually. That's a 300% increase from 2000.

Chip Ahoy said...

I clicked on that and began reading about how Woodward committed a mild random act of journalism and hands came flying into the visual frame offering the good little boy treats. To reward him. Like a dog. I felt a bit sick right there and left, but I'm also hungry so maybe that's it.

Odd visualization to have, I never used treats although other people did, it was all just playing and interacting with the dog and providing the dog a space it knows it can always do something right that's fun. It was a way to show off, and a routine was a way to erase a bad incident, to get back to normal after tipping out the trash or some other scolding for something like rolling in poo on purpose and come prancing back like that's just wonderful.

And actual k-9 dogs I had were very similar to this.

khesanh0802 said...

Even the WAPO editorial staff is trying hard to complain about the president:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sequester-offers-president-obama-a-time-to-lead/2013/02/25/8a9b0e04-7f64-

Not very energetic, but a chink, perhaps.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I watch the CBS news national broadcast... they have brought up the sequester every night since it started to look like a deal was not going to happened... for several weeks now.

Not once, have they mentioned that the "cuts", which aren't even cuts btw, are spread out over ten years.

Just last night Scott Pelley got around to explaining how much of a percentage the cuts amount to in a projected budget of over 3 trillion dollars... and that was because he said the audience requested that he go into it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

... a mild random act of journalism and hands came flying into the visual frame offering the good little boy treats.

Chip gushed with embarrassing enthusiasm in the presence of a journalist who says some journalistic things.

lol.

Seeing Red said...

With insurance increases, FICA increases & gas prices rising which is essentially a tax increase, we've had to cut more than 2% of our budget.

It's childish to think Uncle Sam can't cut 2% of an increase. OTOH if it maks the TSA even more unpleasant & despised, they don't want the rabble to fly anyway.

They're getting raises (more income), outside of Garage, who just goes and makes more money, how many people can say the same?

Amartel said...

He's getting congratulations and praise and adulation for DOING HIS JOB. And then here comes the false depiction of Woodward as "centrist" which he is not. He's full on statist. Oh, but he's DOING HIS JOB. OMG!

Tank said...

As Sean Hannity has said, journalism died during the 2008 election. Hasn't been seen since.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Last night CBS's sequester segment went to the NIH and reported that proposed cures for cancer, aging, alzheimer's and diabetes may go unfunded because of these cuts.

I had not idea we were looking for the cure for aging.

These heartless mean republicans want people to grow old and die.

furious_a said...

Freder: Do you know the definition of any of those terms?

Freder needs help, but is too embarassed to ask.

furious_a said...

Much of the right wing press is no different.

WSJ plus Fox News do not equal "much", given the spread of left-leaning mainstream outlets arrayed against them.

Bob Loblaw said...

Even if the worst is true about what Obama did or didn't do that night, what crime was committed?

Freder, where have you been? There's a criminal statute that applies to just about everything these days. I'd be shocked if there were no crime. We're all criminals these days.

Brian Brown said...

Isn't this nice?

ABC’s Good Morning America producers edited out the First Lady’s “automatic weapon” line.

Truth!
Integrity!

Obama for America!

The Godfather said...

Speaking of Good Morning America, last week while they were "covering" the sequester issue, the tag line at the bottom of the screen read "Tax Cut Crisis".

Original Mike said...

"Tax Cut Crisis"

Oy.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Tonight CBS Sequester Segment was about the Pentagon...

Navy ships are going to go w/o fuel...

I remember in the aftermath of Sandy, here in NJ, we were facing fuel shortages and governor Cristie instituted an odd/even licence plate gas day.

I may be naive but is CBS News saying governor Chris Christie is smarter than all the brass at the pentagon?

Chef Mojo said...

Navy ships are going to go w/o fuel...

A progressive's wet dream cum true.

As it is, USS Abraham Lincoln will be out of service, because we "can't afford" to refuel her reactor. That's supposed to be routine.

Funny how the progressives go for the meat instead of the fat. The fat is where their votes come from, after all.

Supremely ironic.

Anonymous said...

Funny how the progressives go for the meat instead of the fat.

Meat?! Do you know how many commissioned aircraft carriers we have? Do you know how many all the other countries in the world have combined (even if you include the ones that don't have any aircraft)?

10 to 9, and that includes 4 operated by our NATO allies and a Chinese one that doesn't even have any aircraft.

Chef Mojo said...

Fredor, you are fucking ignorant prick.

The reason we keep the peace at sea is that we have so many fucking aircraft carriers. If, for some reason, we end up really needing USS Abraham Lincoln, the delays will keep it in port far beyond the time it should be.

Lets' see... Kennedy and Enterprise have been or are being decommissioned. Eisenhower is having it's flight deck resurfaced. GHW Bush's cruise was canceled due to the sequester. Ditto with Truman. Lincoln was in for a 2 YEAR reactor refueling, that has been put off indefinitely. That means 4 of 10 commissioned carriers are out of service, with up to 2 more being docked for routine maintenance over the next 18 months. Currently that leaves 6 carriers covering the Seven Seas.

Way. To. Go. Obambi.

The only reason we have an world class economy is that we have those aircraft carriers, you fucking moron. We ensure the sea lanes stay open and protect our interests with those carriers.

Shit. Why do I even bother with primordial idiots like you, Fredor. You're fucking hopeless.

Original Mike said...

"Why do I even bother with primordial idiots like you, Fredor. You're fucking hopeless."

He ain't any better with physics.

Unknown said...


The president is planning to release illegal immigrants (yes I said Illegal Immigrants) to meet sequester requirements. Perhaps we'll have a reprise of Fast and Furious on our side of the border

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/02/26/obamas-first-sequester-move-releasing-waves-of-illegal-immigrants-from-detention-centers/

Anonymous said...

Freder Frederson = The Onion