Chicago Tribune Chokes When Its Columnist Tells Obama to Step Aside
When Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman wrote for last Sunday's paper that Barack Obama "might do his party a big favor" and step aside and take the blame so "someone less reviled could replace him at the top of the ticket," the column went viral on the Drudge Report. It was also cited by Jay Leno in a monologue on NBC.
But the Tribune seemed huffy that anyone would think this opinon was an official nod of the Chicago Tribune, the president's hometown paper. That might carry more weight, since the Tribune aggressively smoothed out Obama's path to the Senate in 2004 by suing to acquire his opponents' divorce papers and reporting the tabloidish parts. Obama walked over former Democratic front-runner Blair Hull and Republican Jack Ryan dropped out, leaving as his Republican general-election opponent the carpet-bagging Alan Keyes. James Janega reported:
"Like other columnists who appear on our Commentary pages, Steve presented his own particular point of view," Tribune Editor Gerould Kern said Thursday. "We think Steve is an accomplished, insightful and thought-provoking columnist."
"But the voice of the Chicago Tribune as an institution and our positions on important public issues are embodied in our editorials that appear on the Editorial Page opposite the Commentary Page."
"The Chicago Tribune endorsed Barack Obama in 2008. Since then, we have supported a number of his actions and opposed or criticized others."
“As is our customary practice,” Kern added, “the Tribune will make endorsements in the presidential race in 2012."
That’s next year.
The column was a phenomenon this week. As Chicago Tribune Digital Editor Ben Estes watched our real-time metrics the day Drudge linked to Steve's essay, it was getting more readers at one time than Ben recalled the Blagojevich verdict getting.
I asked Steve what it was like to have your work referenced in a comedian's monologue.
"I've been writing a column for 30 years, and none has ever gotten as much reaction as this one," he said.
"Why? I think it was mainly because the suggestion that Obama not run for re-election came from someone at his hometown newspaper," Steve said.
"What surprised me was how the response was split. It wasn't conservatives on one side and liberals on the other. Some conservatives and liberals liked it, and some conservatives and liberals hated it," he said. "President Obama obviously stirs up complicated sentiments."
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Comments
'President Obama obviously
Submitted by killa37 on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 9:30am.
'President Obama obviously stirs up complicated sentiments'.............well, this guy nailed that one pretty good - even coming from Barry's hometown!!! I think Boy Barry has definitly complicated just about anything that he has touched, handled, dealt with, or tried to interfere with. Chaos and mayhem are part of his agenda...........keeping everything in a state of limbo and spreading as much misinformation and out-and-out falsehoods, while doing the dirty work in secret, is all part of his plan. This writer is from Chicago - I'm sure that he knows all about that.
Oops....Free Speech, well, kinda sorta
Submitted by Blonde on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 9:58am.
My internet pal MOTUS did a great piece Friday, on Obama's new "We The People" website....wherein one can go, start a petition, and if there are five thousand signatures in a month, the administration will "look into" and respond to the issue.
Here is a link to MOTUS' petition on Obama's website: "We the people petition Barack Obama to resign the office of President of the United States effective immediately."
Of course, this may merely be an election ploy for more e-mail addys and/or the black helicopters. But I thought I'd throw this out there.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
This is great
Submitted by Boudin on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 2:30pm.
I am going to sign it,
Steve seems to be the only person in Chicago
Submitted by dr-go on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 10:02am.
that isn't confused.
In might be worth noting ...
Submitted by clintm19 on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 10:37am.
Chapman sits on the Trib's editorial board, so he is, at least, a voice of the Chicago Tribune's official opinion.
lone wolves endangered species
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 10:53am.
Chicago is a company town. That is, there is only one team. Whether a person is a politician,union leader, meter maid, newspaperman or a uuuhhh... we will call them businessmen, all pretty much dance to the same tune.
"Like other columnists who
Submitted by USMC8411 on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 11:14am.
"Like other columnists who appear on our Commentary pages, Steve presented his own particular point of view," Tribune Editor Gerould Kern said Thursday. "We think Steve is an accomplished, insightful and thought-provoking columnist."
But unlike other columnists who always agree 100% with Obama, we would like to apologize to Mr. Obama for Steve's temper tantrum and remind Mr. Obama that we got his back in 2012!
It doesn't matter. We all
Submitted by Van Halen on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 11:21am.
It doesn't matter. We all know the Democrats are fighting internally. Do they keep him or force him under the bus? Either way, the longer this goes on the worse it's going to get. So, Democrats, the ball's in your court.
That's good advice.
Submitted by CobraMan on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 2:20pm.
"He can scrap the campaign, bag the fundraising calls and never watch another Republican debate as long as he's willing to vacate the premises by Jan. 20, 2013."
That's actually some good advice. After all, Obama can run for President again sometime in the future. He should just sit out the next one or two Presidential elections, and run for a seat in Congress, State Legislator, or even Governor. At his age, he has several decades worth of politics ahead of him. The latest trend amongst failed Presidential re-election bids, especially for Democrats but it applies to Republicans too, seems to be: if you lose, you snooze, for eternity! What office has Jimmy Carter, or Bush Sr., held since their failed re-election bids?
Of course, I don't think Obama's ego will allow him to just sit this one out. I also don't think that his ego will ever allow him to hold a lesser office than the presidency, now that he has had a taste of the Pomp and Ceremony that is associated with it. How many people rise to the tune of Hail to the Senator, Representative, or Governor? No, that'll never happen. He'll do what most other "modern" ex-presidents do. He'll write a few books, make millions on the talk circuit, and live for the rest of his live on his past fame, or infamy, depending upon how one looks at it.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.