It's perhaps indicative of the culture, but there has been a media obsession with the scandalous aspects of Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashing a White House State Dinner on Nov. 24.
However, the incident also demonstrated how vulnerable President Barack Obama could be to outside intruders, and that fact isn't getting the lion's share of the attention. Instead, coverage like that from NBC's "Today" show has been about reality TV and exclusive interviews. This soft focus, argued Fox News host Glenn Beck on his Dec. 1 broadcast, could have repercussions.
"Let me ask you, what's more reasonable: people walking by the Secret Service, and they're just, like, I don't know, sleeping - zzzz ... Really?" Beck said. "Or this is a publicity stunt? I don't think either of these are reasonable, but given the choice just between those two, I think I'd probably go with the publicity stunt."
The problem, Beck warned, is that if the media fail to do their job, it could lead to the start of a conspiracy theory - which some on the left loathe, like the whole Obama/birth certificate conspiracy theory.
"But this is how a conspiracy theory grows, because we're not - we don't have honesty, we don't have facts," Beck said. "The situation doesn't - where is the common sense in this? How do we stop conspiracy theories? We do not bury our heads in the sand, and the media demands answers. It's called the Internet. People will come up with these if you in the media don't do your job. I mean, it can all go away if you're honest, you give us answers and facts and it makes common sense."
Beck offered up his own theory behind what happened - that someone got the couple into the event and didn't own up to the responsibility for it.
"I mean, here's what I think happened. These two guys were in line, they were having problems getting in, they weren't on anybody's list. And somebody walked by, I don't know who, and they said, ‘Oh, no, let me in. They're with me.' The Secret Service - knowing the Secret Service - they went, ‘Oh, no, I don't think so.' [But the other person said] ‘I've got responsibility and authority, let them in.' It turned out bad. It's now a big deal. And that person didn't take responsibility. That seems most likely to me."
This situation, Beck said, is a lot more serious than some may realize with so much on the line: the global economy, national security and the overall stability of the country.
"But, again, we're only talking about the safety of the President of the United States," he said. "No matter how much I disagree with him, I want and need the president of the United States for the stability of our country - the stability of our world - to be safe. I also think it would be a good idea to keep his family and the guests in the White House safe. I really doubt that this was the Secret Service solely at fault, if at all. The reason why we live in a world today riddled with conspiracy theories, many of them - most of them - ridiculous, is because people know they're not being told the truth, because they have something we're all given: sense. So much sense, it is common. The common man has it - common sense."
To Beck, the situation begs a larger question: is anyone keeping track of who is in the White House? According to Beck, a 9/11 truther managed to get a job in the White House. Now a publicity stunt is pulled off.
"I am not saying everybody in this story is lying," Beck continued. "I am just saying these answers that were being given don't make sense. And then there are too many of them that we are not getting answered for. I mean, we do not know about the 9/11 truther, Van Jones. Who got him into the White House? I mean, this is about the safety and security of the President of the United States. Do they know who is in the room with the president? Is the president safe? Tonight, that answer remains - I do not know. Is it just me that thinks somebody needs to be accountable? It must make sense, and it must happen soon."
