Those who doubt the idea that modern liberalism is essentially about denying reality need to hear the latest laughable bit of media analysis from President Barack Obama.
According to the former junior senator from Illinois, the American media elite, the same group of people who have described themselves as "swooning" for him, is actually too nice to Republicans. This same group of people has taken the notion of "objectivity" too far, according to Obama.
During an extensive interview released on Monday, President Obama harshly criticized the press for placing equal criticism on Democrats and Republicans when he believes the GOP should bear more of the blame for lack of progress on issues of national importance.
One of the biggest factors in the president's second term “is going to be how the media shapes debates,” he stated. “If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you'll see more of them doing it.
"The same dynamic happens on the Democratic side," he said. "I think the difference is just that the more left-leaning media outlets recognize that compromise is not a dirty word.”
And so the default position for reporting is to say: “A plague on both their houses.” On almost every issue, it’s “Well, Democrats and Republicans can’t agree” -- as opposed to looking at why it is that they can’t agree. Who exactly is preventing us from agreeing?”
“But let me be clear,” the president stated. “There's no equivalence” between the political parties.
Democrats have “a lot of warts, and some of the bad habits here in Washington when it comes to lobbyists and money and access really goes to the political system generally.”
But when it comes to certain positions on issues, when it comes to trying to do what's best for the country, when it comes to really trying to make decisions based on fact as opposed to ideology, when it comes to being willing to compromise, the Democrats, not just here in this White House, but I would say in Congress also, have shown themselves consistently to be willing to do tough things even when it's not convenient because it's the right thing to do. And we haven't seen that same kind of attitude on the other side.
“Until Republicans feel that there's a real price to pay for them just saying no and being obstructionist, you'll probably see at least a number of them arguing that we should keep on doing it,” he stated. “It worked for them in the 2010 election cycle, and I think there are those who believe that it can work again.
“I disagree with them, and I think the cost to the country has been enormous,” Obama stated
The Democratic occupant of the White House also suggested that the media's obsession with confrontation presents a roadblock.
"Some of [the institutional barriers] have to do with our media and what gets attention," he said. "Nobody gets on TV saying: 'I agree with my colleague from the other party.' People get on TV for calling each other names and saying the most outlandish things."
However, the president stated:
I've always believed that there are a bunch of Republicans of good will who would rather get something done than suffer through the sort of nasty atmosphere that prevails in Washington right now. It's not a fun time to be a member of Congress.
Responding to Obama's call for the media to favor Democrats over Republicans, Jazz Shaw at HotAir.com stated: “See? That’s the problem with the media! You can’t just go around reporting on the views of both parties or even blaming one party more than the other.”
In order for media coverage of politics and governments to truly be fair, they need to point out that Barack Obama is always right, the Republicans are always wrong, and the Democrats would be getting so much more done if the GOP would only stop trying to block their agenda. Is that so much to ask?
Jazz stated that “the national media has a lot of problems,” and those “are not found exclusively at MSNBC or the Fox News Channel.”
“Print media has essentially died, no longer commanding the resources to do the kind of reporting -- particularly on local stories -- which they once took charge of,” he said. “Television news seems all too often to have become jealous of the success of the Real Housewives franchise and begun emulating them wherever possible.”
"But if the president wants to call them out for bias, he’s going to have to do a bit more credible job than that," he added.
Of course, the notion that the media isn't bending over backwards to promote Obama and the Democrats is ludicrous. Apparently as with health care and other issues, the White House won't be content until they have total control of the "mainstream" media.
And every few years, the liberal Democrats call for “truth” over “balance” since their ideas often fail when fairly compared with opposing views. Consider this an opening salvo to reduce the impact of conservative media before the mid-term elections roll around in 2014.
