NB's Finkelstein To Scarborough On Obama School Speech: It's Not The Indoctrination, It's The Cult Of Personality

September 9th, 2009 10:36 AM

NewsBuster Mark Finkelstein was a guest yesterday on the Joe Scarborough Show, the nationally-syndicated radio show that the Morning Joe anchor co-hosts with Mika Brzezinski. 

Listen to audio here.

For days, Scarborough had been lambasting Republicans for going after Pres. Obama on his speech to schoolchildren.  Finkelstein argued that it was not so much the potential for indoctrination as the cult of personality which was objectionable. He pointed out that the Obama-centric study guide for the speech was of a piece with messianic image that the president has allowed to grow up around him, going back to the presidential campaign and his famous "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal" speech.

The trio also touched on Van Jones, agreed that someone was asleep at the White House switch not to have seen the controversy coming, and that the MSM would have been all over a Republican with a comparably controversial background.   Mark mentioned how NewsBusters had documented the way in which the MSM had ignored the Van Jones situation until forced to report his resignation.

Joe had kind words for NewsBusters, calling it a "great website," and Mika graciously concluded that when it comes to hearing from a NewsBuster, "I love the conversation; I think we need to have it."