So on that most hardhitting of "news shows," "The View," President Obama has declared that the Sherrod Snafu was nothing more than a "bogus controversy." He's right to an extent, but it was his administration's blind kowtowing to right wing race-baiting media, of which Fox News is the most prominent example, that raised its level from a minor incident to a monstrous ethical and PR blunder.
By this time the Obama Administration, and in fact any Democratic administration, should recognize Fox News as the public relations branch of the most reactionary elements of the Republican Party and the further right.
The Obama Administration appears to forget that it received the most votes in the last election and has substantial support, even if that support doesn't have a massive media organization that panders to it (the few talking heads on MSNBC don't make up in either their own numbers or in national ratings any sort of credible resistance to the Fox machine, which is running constantly during both news and "talk" programs). However, since taking office, Obama has backpedaled on or simply shelved his more daring initiatives, a strategy that Democrats seem to think leads to success.
Democrats would be wise to remember that they were elected not on the basis of their similarities to what used to be the now non-existent moderate wing of the Republican Party, but on a promise that they were returning to the bold initiatives that saw them offer true alternatives to the bankrupt laissez-faire, "winner take all," "kick 'em to the curb" mentality of the Republicans.
Unfortunately, the Sherrod scandal indicates that Democrats have learned little to nothing about the current state of politics and the media. Instead of sniffing out a brilliant opportunity to demonstrate Fox News' shoddy fact-checking and ideologically driven huff-n-puff, they scrambled as fast as they could to accede to the hate-mongers' demands.
It shouldn't be this way.
5 comments:
"Obama has backpedaled on or simply shelved his more daring initiatives"
Hey man, because of Obama, in a few years nearly 100% of Americans will be able to obtain health coverage.
Lonnie, I hope you're right, but he backpedaled on that one, hemmed and hawed, and let the Repubs dominate the propaganda channels. If the Dems are destroyed in midterms, I'm willing to bet they'll go after that bill before it ever takes effect.
There's no way Repubs will re-take the Senate. The House is a possibility. Regardless, what Obama achieved in healthcare is extraordinary.
OK, you're right. The Senate is beyond reach this time around, but as the chickenshit dems went apoplectic over the loss of their supermajority and acted as if they'd lost control of the Senate outright, I'm sure the loss of even one seat will have them all wringing their hands wondering how they can ever get anything done.
It will be a shame if they lose Pelosi. Possibly the best Speaker in decades. Without her, they would've never passed healthcare.
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