Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “Taming the Beast”

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May 5, 2009

Taming the Beast

Hatched by Dafydd

The Washington Times -- still one of the very few national newspapers not worshipping at the shrine of the Obamacle -- reports on the "taming" of the White House press mob since You-Know-Who moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave:

The White House press corps, once accustomed to examining the world in excruciating detail, is now under the microscope.

Speculations are afoot among observers who say the media have gone soft, solemnly rising when President Obama walks into the room or delivering cushy questions like strategic softballs. Journalists, the arguments go, are either delirious over Mr. Obama or shellshocked by eight years with President Bush.

But not to worry! Long-time veterans, such as ABC's Sam Donaldson, assures us that this is only a temporary swoon, that soon the ship of fourth estate will right itself, and everything will be back to norbal:

"Have no fear. The White House press corps will come to life in good time," said Sam Donaldson, a longtime ABC News anchorman.

"Right now, President Obama is riding a great wave of public approval and, let's face it, so far has not made any large missteps. But his real challenges lie ahead and, as all presidents do, he will face some tough times. And, I say again, fear not: The press corps will do its duty in holding his 'feet to the fire.' "

No large missteps? Au contraire, mon ami. Has Sammy D. given some thought to any of the following?

A $3.6 trillion (and counting!) budget with at least $1 trillion deficits as far as the eye can see, that has reduced President Barack H. Obama to pleading with China to continue financing his spending spree -- while simultaneously setting up a Ponzi scheme (sayeth GW at Wolf Howling) where debt incurred by U.S. government agencies will be purchased by other U.S. government agencies, then (one must assume) resold back to its original owners. Sound familiar? It's what Japanese banks were doing anent real estate to create a "bubble" of price inflation, so they could lend far more money than their actual reserves would permit. Then the bubble burst, and the rest is history.

This mind-numbing level of federal indebtedness would be "paid for" either by a colossal tax hike (on everyone, not just the rich -- unless you believe "the rich" includes anyone who pays any income tax at all), Latin-America-sized hyperinflation, or most likely, both.

A mewling, belly-crawling foreign policy that appears to combine one part begging other countries, especially our enemies (Iran, China, North Korea), to help us achieve our policy objectives, even when they run directly counter to theirs, with three parts apologizing profusely for ever having pursued our own national interest in the first place.

A policy of treating man-caused disaster-causing men detained during our overseas contingency operation (abroad) or our overseas contingency operation (homeland) just as if they had been arrested by local cops and charged with credit-card fraud. Each detainee shall have the right:
- to refuse to answer any questions (and not to be interrogated without his Hezbollah or al-Qaeda lawyer present);
- to have a speedy trial under civilian court rules, before a civilian judge appointed by Carter, Clinton, or Obama, in front of a jury of his peers (other radical Moslems);
- to see all the evidence to be used against him, including highly classified intelligence information, all of which must also be shown to his legal team;
- to be set free on bail pending trial;
- to remain free even after being convicted, pending endless appeals to higher courts;
- to ultimately appeal the entire case to the International Court of Euroleft Opinion for mandatory review.

A domestic policy that envisions expanding government to control virtually every aspect of our lives, including medical care (rationing, both direct -- what medical treatments you're allowed to get -- and indirect -- rationing by waiting list); education (the feds decide every school's curriculum, funding, classroom size, special programs, and of course the political orientation of the school; note that this will apply from K all the way through University); the workplace (many of which the government will actually own... sort of like Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, or Cuba under the Castros); union membership (the Employee Freedom from Choice Act); and the entire financial sector (federal government decides who gets a loan, how much, what interest rate, when, and for what reason).

A political jam-down of all of the above without the slightest nod to the democratic process by:
- secret Democratic-Party caucusing;
- injective massive, revolutionary changes into the reconciliation process (to prevent Republicans from even having the opportunity to fillibuster any of Obama's agenda);
- corrupting the decennial census to artificially inflate Democratic districts and artificially suppress Republican ones;
- out and out electoral fraud, such as that for which ACORN was just criminally charged (again);
- and enticing Democratic districts in purple states to engage in corrupt inflation of their vote counts, as we saw in the Al Franken campaign in Minnesota's senatorial race.

All informed by an adolescent worldview (see, e.g., Obamunism - Through the Eyes of a Child; Obamunism II - the Infection Spreads; and Obamunism III - Biden His Time) that elevates "teen logic" to the level of philosophy -- and party loyalty to the level of religious faith.

Note: This is just what Obama or his administration has already enunciated -- discussed, floated, proposed, or enacted; we haven't even delved into abortion on demand, from conception likely all the way through the fifth trimester; strict gun control; same-sex marriage (and eventually polygamy); an actual, for-real amnesty for illegal immigrants (not the plea-bargain offered by Bush and Sen. John S. McCain, R-AZ, 63%, but literal amnesty); and a war against Judeo-Christian religion that will dwarf that waged by Jimmy Carter -- even the Jimmy Carter of today. That's all coming, but it's not here quite yet, so I mention it not.

Of course, Sam Donaldson likely doesn't consider any of these discontinuities to be a "misstep;" he might think some are politically premature. But I wonder if he has bothered consulting with his colleague at ABC, Jake Tapper, about whether Tapper thinks Obama has committed any "large missteps."

Tapper is currently undergoing an artillery barrage from the sinistrosphere for daring to report that some of Chrysler's "secured" (there's a laugh!) creditors are being bullied and strong-armed by the One and his acolytes into abandoning all but a few pennies on the dollar of the loans they extended, in good faith, to the car company. Why should they write off those loans, taking billions and billions of dollars in losses? So that the administration can fully reimburse the United Auto Workers union with a combination of preferential payoffs in the bankruptcy proceedings and 55-gallon drums of Chrysler stock that will leave the government owning about 50% -- and the UAW owning about 40%. (Hat tip to Wolf Howling)

(One wonders how this will affect collective bargaining, when the union both represents the workers... yet is also "management." Will the UAW call a strike against itself?)

Perhaps I'm unduly cynical in my late youth. Perhaps in just a year or so, in enough time to affect the 2010 elections, the elite news media will begin applying the degree of scrutiny to the administration of Barack H. Obama that they applied to George W. Bush for nine years (starting during the campaign).

Perhaps they will drop the double standard and begin treating both Left and Right the same, in terms of trust, investigation, and holding accountable for hypocrisy.

Perhaps they will once again seek to earn their readers' and viewers' trust by reporting the facts, in as unbiased a fashion as humanly possible, without political and ideological spin.

Perhaps they will rediscover their duty, as the "fourth estate," to hold government accountable to the American polity; their patriotism, to defend American exceptionalism; their decency, not to savage their opponents just because they can; and above all, their journalistic curiosity: to report the news, not simply take dictation from the Democratic Party and print slightly rewritten White House press releases.

Perhaps baboons will learn to dance the Argentine Tango.

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, May 5, 2009, at the time of 6:56 PM

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Comments

The following hissed in response by: GW

A superb post, and thank you for the links. As to Donaldson, I read that with amazement. There is more going on here in the "1st 100 days" then in any presidency that I can recall. The fact that this is all passing by a media behaving like teenagers who just discovered their first burning love should damn well be a cause for concern. Donaldson is either dissimulating or delusional. Indeed, the level of adoration amongst the press suggests that we are far more likely to see cover-ups in the press going forward than we are to ever see an expose. For example, if you haven't read it, do see Dana Milbanks paean to Obama today. It contains not even a patina of objectivity. To the contrary, it is an exercise in journalist fellatio.

My actual point for commenting though, is to say that I believe Obama has already started his war on religion. His explicit renunciation of the judeo-Christian nature of America was certainly a heavy opening salvo - though only a symbolic one. Much more substantive is his announced plan to do away with the laws protecting doctors who refuse to do abortions on grounds of conscience. That obviously effects both doctors with strong religious objections and hospitals funded by denominations, and in particular the Catholics. That is a huge blow to religion in America and one that certainly cannot be justified on the grounds that abortions will not otherwise be avaiable without such a change.

The above hissed in response by: GW at May 5, 2009 8:28 PM

The following hissed in response by: Geoman

Let's see, what did you forget? Oh right: Scare Force 1; Biden Swine Flu fear mongering; Crappy state gifts to Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth; botched negotiations with North Korea (remember the missile test? The one we would not stand for?); The reset button fiasco; The obscenity of a stimulus package; the many follies of Tim Geitner; Lack of promised transparency; having vets pay their medical bills; Confirmation fiasco's; the potential for a TARP II....I could go on and on...in fact I just did.

Large and small, comical and deadly serious, actual and theoretical, there certainly appears to be plenty of missteps, and more than enough material to fuel some interesting objective investigative reporting. Or perhaps a couple of tough questions at a press conference.

It is all just appalling.

The above hissed in response by: Geoman at May 6, 2009 12:39 PM

The following hissed in response by: cdor

Thank god for the internet, and occasionally Fox News. Our educational system is controlled by the left, our beaurocracy is controlled by the left, our media is controlled by the left (with the sole exceptions of talk radio and Fox), our congress is controlled by the left, and our President is a socialist.

They will bankrupt this country of its capital and its values. I can only pray that our citizens awake.

The above hissed in response by: cdor at May 7, 2009 7:37 PM