Left of center columnist Kirsten Powers on Wednesday called the Obama administration's repeated attacks on Fox News "completely despicable."
Appearing on Fox News's Hannity, Powers noted that "any president would be happy" if there were just one news outlet "that allows people to say things about him that he doesn't like" (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):
SEAN HANNITY. HOST: The Obama Justice Department's targeting of our Chief Washington correspondent James Rosen is just the latest example of the administration's disdain for little old FOX News. Now, we could spend an entire program devoted to this topic, but here are just a few examples.
Who can forget? Back in 2009, when then White House Communications Director Anita Dunn tried to launch a war against FOX News. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANITA DUNN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I mean the reality of it is that FOX News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, that did not go over very well, but it wasn't just Obama's liberal allies who did his dirty work. The president has also taken swipes at us. Here is just one example.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I've got one television station entirely devoted to attacking my administration. I mean that is what --
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I assume you are talking about FOX.
OBAMA: That is a pretty big mega phone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: That is not all. Who can forget when then candidate Obama took many shots at little old me on the campaign trail. Here is just one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: If this is our next president, he will in fact lead not only the Democratic Party but this entire country from a culture of criticism to a culture of recognition. Thank you.
OBAMA: All right, well, that was -- all right. That was pretty good. That was pretty good.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
That was pretty good. That was pretty good. I might have to put Mr. Burgess on FOX News. You know, I'll put -- I'll put Mr. Burgess up against Sean Hannity. He'll tear him up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Tear me up. Now, was that a threat, Mr. President or just a preview of what's to come in terms of your desire to intimidate conservatives?
Joining me now with reaction, FOX News political analyst Kirsten Powers, radio talk show host with the Salem radio network, our friend Dennis Prager. Guys, welcome back to the show.
KIRSTEN POWERS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Sean.
DENNIS PRAGER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good to be here.
HANNITY: Kirsten, imagine little old me ever saying, I'm going to put so and so against Obama. We will tear him up.
POWERS: I know, poor Sean.
HANNITY: I miss the attacks. You know, it was a great promo every time they did it.
POWERS: But in all seriousness, what the White House did was completely despicable and I think now, people are starting to see. You know, we got the tapes of it early on. This all started pretty quickly after he was in office. It was just about, not even quite a year into office that they launched this war on FOX News. And the thing that I love about that clip that you showed of him at the beginning is that he says, there is this one news -- you know, I have one news station that attacks me all day long.
Now, setting aside whether it is true that he is being attacked all day long, it's one. You know, and he is complaining that out of all of the media there is one place that allows people to say things about him that he doesn't like. You know, let's get a little perspective. I think any president would be happy if that was their situation.
HANNITY: I think that's really well said. And I've always felt Dennis that he is pretty thin skinned and he doesn't really want any criticism. He likes the worship that he gets from the rest of the media.
PRAGER: Look, this is actually a trade line -- I say this about the president all the time, it is not personal. He's a man of the left. The left needs a bubble to succeed. If there is one professor at a university who's conservative, he's a problem. If there is one form of media that is not liberal, that's a problem. Do you know I saw a list of the 200 most prestigious colleges - if there is such a thing you can even speak of - and not one of the graduation speakers this year was a conservative. Not one. They don't want to hear us because they have to live in a hermetically sealed intellectual and moral world in order to prevail. And that's why your existence and the existence of talk radio - which of course we're both on - are such an anathema to them.
HANNITY: And the blogosphere, too. I mean, there is a new journalism out there, and it's having a pretty dramatic impact.
(HT Mediaite)
