It's becoming quite clear that the Obama administration's treatment of the press, along with revelations of deceit associated with promises about the Affordable Care Act, are causing some members of the media to think differently about this White House than they did in the first term.
On Wednesday, National Journal's Ron Fournier told talk radio's Laura Ingraham, "[T]his is a propaganda outfit...they are running a government-sponsored media organization" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
RON FOURNIER: I wrote a piece yesterday, it was called "Din of Spin," that showed how hard it is, how hard it’s going to be for them to once sell ObamaCare, which they have to. They have to convince us to sign up, especially young healthy adults, which, by the way I’m going to have a story out later on today that you’ll see how much trouble he’s having with young voters.
LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST: That’s the demographic number, yup.
FOURNIER: Oh, and it’s, it could be the nail in the coffin for ObamaCare. But anyhow, they have to sell it, but they can’t over sell it. They can’t spin, and they have a hard time not spinning. Last week I did a column that just focused on what they do with photos, that shows that this is a propaganda outfit, that they do put out government sponsored propaganda, and they are running a government-sponsored media organization.
Now, in fairness, Bush did it more than Clinton, and Clinton did it more than Bush, and that Bush did it more than Reagan. But it’s going to an extreme now that’s really unhealthy for them.
INGRAHAM: It’s Miramax. No, it’s Miramax. It’s Miramax of Pennsylvania Avenue. Harvey Weinstein gets in, Spielberg, these guys are proud. They got to be proud.
FOURNIER: But do you know the problem, Laura, is first of all, the American public’s never been as dumb as politicians and the media think we are. And, secondly, we’re more informed than we’ve ever been. So when you say sixteen times that you can keep your healthcare and your doctor, we can with a click of a button see “No, no, no, no, no,” you know? “You’re lying about that." That’s not right. And that’s the problem they’re running into now.
To be sure, Fournier's comments should not be that shocking to NewsBusters readers who have known this for quite some time.
However, it's becoming clear that the Administration's treatment of the press - the Associated Press scandal, the harassment of Fox News's James Rosen, and the barring of photographers from events just to name a few - along with blatant misrepresentations concerning ObamaCare are diminishing the trust members of the media have in this White House.
If more criticism like this surfaces - from folks other than MSNBC and the New York Times, of course - it could be a very long three years for Obama.
The question is whether or not such observations are just coming out in an off-election year, and if press members will be just as vigilant in 2014 with crucial elections looming.
Stay tuned.
