Millions of Americans are out of work, some of them for several years.
Yet the Washington Post's Bob Woodward said on the Chris Matthews Show this weekend that Barack Obama's top priority is getting reelected (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Welcome back. Bob, tell me something I don't know.
BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: That the White House has a secret plan to win the election, and it's complex and it's secret, but, look. Barack Obama wants to win so badly as I understand it, everything in the White House is driven by the election, and that level of commitment will take them to a point where he is going to show some leg in a way that people are going to say, “Wow, he really wants the job,” and this emotional connection could take place.
MATTHEWS: Wow! I am impressed by that.
After a commercial break, Matthews asked his guests, “What is President Obama's biggest goal on the world stage?”
Woodward doubled down:
MATTHEWS: Welcome back. Exactly 50 years ago, President Kennedy had to lead this country through a two-front face-off with the Soviets. Tanks confronted each other at the Berlin Wall, and the Soviets surprised the world with a test of a 50 megaton bomb. Here was President Kennedy 50 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: I do not have to dwell on the irresponsible nature of these Soviet actions. The Soviet Union has shown its complete disregard for the welfare of mankind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Well his single goal was to avoid the Cold War becoming a shooting war. But this week’s big question: what is President Obama's biggest goal on the world stage?
WOODWARD: Win the election. I mean that is the driving force, and I think, you know, it's political, but I think it is becoming an internal commitment because like most presidents, they think they're the person for the job.
MATTHEWS: The country needs him as he sees it.
Now imagine for a moment Obama were a Republican with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate and Americans taking to the streets to protest joblessness as well as income inequality.
Would the media be "impressed" with him ignoring all the nation's problems in order to get reelected?
Quite the country, this would be a sign of tremendous weakness that likely would be savagely attacked by press outlets from coast to coast.
But because Obama is so beloved that these folks want him to get reelected, they actually see this as a noble goal on his part irrespective of what ails the nation.
In essence, since their goal is returning him to the White House, they also don't care about the unemployed either.
To them, Obama's reelection is paramount, and they therefore see him making this his top priority above the nation's best interests as a smart move on his part.
And this is the state of journalism in 2011.
Maybe the video above should be broadcast at every Occupy event each day to inform protesters just how little the current White House resident and his media minions care about them.
