Obama Administration Continues to Brow-beat the Media Into Submission

Baghdad Bob and Bob Gibbs, Separated at Birth?

How hard a concept is it to grasp that public officials have a responsibility to answer questions from the media and not manipulate it to their own ends like some Ba'athist mouthpiece? The US Military understands this, most law enforcement institutions understand this, and dare I say congress might even understand this. But the Obama administration, ever in permanent campaign mode, seems obsessed with getting the media to heap praise upon them and not dare criticize The One's decisions. It's not like the White House press corps has been very critical in the first 100 days, but the President is unsatisfied that every front page article doesn't read like a press release.

Fox News recently got shut out of a Q&A session with the White House because they didn't broadcast the damn thing. Robert Gibbs started heckling NBC today when a straight-forward question from Chuck Todd was asked about Obama's sorry attempt at fiscal restraint. And now, Obama is just going straight to the reporters to tell them how to phrase his monstrous budget. From CBS:

In his remarks today, the president sought to change that tenor of that coverage. He mocked the notion that smaller savings are considered "trivial" in Washington and stressed that "these savings, large and small, add up."

And he told journalists directly that they should stress the fact that the cuts are "significant" – a surprisingly direct appeal to reporters concerning which angle they should take in their coverage.

"It is important, though, for all of you, as you're writing up these stories, to recognize that $17 billion taken out of our discretionary, non-defense budget, as well as portions of our defense budget, are significant," he said. "They mean something." (Here's the White House report on the cuts.)

And you thought the term "Banana Republic" was just some right-wing meme, mwahaha.

My Banana Republic Tis of Thee...

Lousy Presidential candidate/decent guy, Sen. John McCain, said going on a "witch hunt" for people involved in the notorious legal memos regarding enhanced interrogation would turn us into a screwy Banana Republic. From Politico:

“Look, I didn't agree, as you said, with the techniques — and I'd be glad to continue that debate with people. But to criminalize their legal counsel, unless you can prove that they intentionally violated existing laws or ethics, then this is going to turn into a witch hunt,” he said.

McCain compared the potential prosecutions with the actions of “banana republics” that “prosecute people for actions they didn't agree with under previous administrations.”

I tend to take the Shep Smith position on the torture issue personally, but, like when maintenance gets "magically completed" between the hours of 0000-0200 on a Navy ship, sometimes it's best to not know how the CIA conducts business. What would the public have to gain by demanding the release of classified documentation during a time of war? MoveOn.Org's latest ad provides some insight into that question. Prosecuting Darth Cheney of course!

This along with the Obama's administration half-assed attempt at bank nationalization by not allowing TARP recipients to pay back the money, sending law enforcement after political enemies and veterans, and our skyrocketing debt certainly might put us in the running for Banana Republic status.

But we're not even a cool Banana Republic. There's no marching around the jungle with a machete in a tropical climate as part of Generalissimo's hit squad. There's no kickbacks from shady fat dudes in Hawaiian shirts laundering drug money. And there's no gaudy uniforms with big ass hats and made-up medals. All we get is lousy Oboner tributes from the sycophantic media about Obama's "house of rock" and shitty artwork of the El Presidente. This Banana Republic sucks.

Daschle Thought Limo and Driver Was Non-Taxable

Daschle Inconvenienced

Those Dems are really the party of the average Joe, lemme tell ya! All of my friends at the country club have the same trouble reporting their limo and driver on the IRS 1040 form. From ABC:

ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to be President Obama's secretary of health and human services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee.

The controversy deals with a car and driver lent to Daschle by a wealthy Democratic friend -- a chauffeur service the former senator used for years without declaring it on his taxes.

It remains an open question as to whether this is a "speed bump," as a Democratic Senate ally of Daschle put it, or something more damaging.

Why can't Democrats (so inclined to tax the piss out of the rest of us) figure out how to pay their own damn taxes? This follows closely on the heels of Geithner (Obama's Treausry Sec) who couldn't figure out how to pony up his share either. But, Daschle will most likely get confirmed to head the HHS and the media will lose interest in this story faster than the Mystery of Chris Dodd's Mortgage Papers (where are those things anyways?).Tax problems are only for regular Americans, not self-righteous Americans that claim they can renew America.

-Famine

Embarrassingly Drunk Diane Sawyer Rails on About Obama

Most people get fired when they show up for work this blatantly intoxicated, but in the Oboner media, you can probably use the excuse that you were just "so moved" by the spirit of The One. (h/t Subrookie)

The Real Obama Cheerleaders

Politico has a video clip of a young high school troupe of cheerleaders doing a montage for the President Elect prior to inauguration. No harm, no foul, as anything that keeps young people off my lawn is a good, wholesome activity. But the video fails to mention the real Obama cheerleaders, which has been the media reluctant to criticize The Obama and unashamedly partisan in their "objective" reporting. No wonder they won The Fiskie this year, even beating perennial nuisance Code Pink.

It's Official, Obama is Now Mr. Cool

Move over, Fonz, because Obama has usurped the title of "Mr. Cool", according to the media. David Ignatius has a good Monday morning stroke-fest at WaPo:

As the days tick down toward inauguration, Obama remains Mr. Cool. His advisers say he makes decisions more confidently than anyone they've ever watched in politics. He's fashioning a new style of governing, as if by instinct. He's rebuilding a center that many analysts thought was impossible. He's heading into the loneliest, most difficult terrain on earth, and he's still making it look easy. But it won't be.

It should be noted that this is not the first time Ignatius has referred to Obama as Mr. Cool. From back in May:

What's compelling about Obama is that fusion of grace and ambition. He's playing for the highest stakes, but he makes it look easy. That cool, graceful quality evokes John F. Kennedy and the Rat Pack -- all these sleek, handsome men in silk suits and skinny ties who never break character, never miss a beat.

Damn dude, just blow the guy while you're down there.

With a hard-hitting, attack-dog press corps like this, why would the President even bother having competence or transparency in office. Even ball-busting media programs like PBS: Frontline are giving Obama a pass. What a joke. On the plus side, it makes this blog look like it's run by huge assholes, haha.

-Famine

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength!

One good thing for a progressive majority is that when they control the media and the three branches of government, they are able to easily subdue criticism by saying that the opposition are a pack of paranoid liars. Obama's Change.Gov agenda is back online after "retooling", and making the Assault Weapons Ban permanent is still there. Obama is no friend to gun rights, evidenced by his lackluster support for the Supreme Court D.C. vs. Heller ruling and the NRA having to rile up cash on behalf of responsible gun owners this election cycle. But knucklehead Bill Maher is already pointing out that anyone who isn't concerned with Obama's 2nd amendment positions is some kind of yokel. The latest clip from his show he speaks in a spooky monotone to joke:

The one part of the economy that is doing well I swear to god is the gun industry. Since Obama got elected gun sales have shot up because there's a, you know, this is, I read this in USA Today, a survey of Americans, how they felt about Obama's election, 67% proud, 59% excited, 30% pessimistic, 27% afraid. So we'd like to f#%k with those people right now. The people who are afraid. A little something we call Obama World. In Obama World all guns will be confiscated and melted down to make a giant statue of Allah.

Another example of Obama surrogates erroneously labeling the opposition as paranoid is progressive blogger Yglesias, member of the Center for American Progress, stating that no one on the left is pushing to limit free speech via the Fairness Doctrine. This is despite the fact that the Center for American Progress agenda states:

The new president and the Federal Communications Commission should restore the primacy of the public interest standard and our national commitment to diverse voices and diversity of ownership. The FCC should also prioritize including all of our rapidly diversifying population in the mainstream of the technological revolution so that women and members of minority and immigrant communities are not just consumers of technology, but also owners, producers, and creators of content, applications, and facilities.

Obama's agenda is also calling for "diverse" viewpoints in media ownership, which implies shutting down troublesome critics to publicly fund more "politically friendly" outlets under the guise of media ownership looking like a multi-ethnic Burger King Kids club. I have to hand it to Team Obama, they have effectively found a way to squash dissenting viewpoints by denying that their own positions are not really what they seem. At this rate, we'll be hearing about a Soylent Green ration policy for the huddled masses and the Obama surrogates will be denying that its people.

Dim Outlook For Gun Owners

From My Cold Sexy Hands! (Pic From 2 Day Blog)

Before Obama's website was purged of his controversial agenda, it mentioned that he would reinstate the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Despite needing a law degree to understand what the hell constitutes an "assault weapon", the media has already begun their culture war against lawful gun-owners labeling them red-state rubes with Napoleonic complexes. From NJ.com (h/t Crook's Shadow):

One further point - I'm inclined to believe that the vast bulk of folks buying guns per recent gun shop owners' claims are repeat buyers, they already have guns at home.

You can see it, can't you? The 'boys with their toys' using any excuse to do the old: "Hey, Honey, because (Obama was elected, a big snow is predicted, an old tree looks frail, any excuse for a new toy) I need to go down to the (gun shop, hardware store, etc.) and pick up a new (gun, snow blower, chain saw, whatever)."

I doubt there are many new buyers. So, again, this 'crisis' is of far less concern than the press makes it. It's really no big deal.

The Oboner media would obviously like American citizens to be uneducated serfs who will bow their head to whatever turd of an agenda Washington flushes our way. Fortunately, we have a second amendment to prevent such government encroachment. However, people with well-heard voices are offering up extremely creative interpretations of "the right to bear arms". Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Simplified Understanding of Obama Media Bias

The embarrassing media bias that favors Obama is such conventional wisdom that it is almost pointless to blog about. It'd be like a lengthy post about Indian food giving you the runs or some other societal ill that everyone knows about. Sure, you could go read some boring study about media bias, but Robin has done us one better with a video set to the Dee Snider classic "We're not going to take it":

There are blogs to provide counter-balance to the Oboner media, and Hilzoy has vowed to remain objective, thankfully. But don't except anything but Obamarama from the rest of the big-name, progressive blogs out there.