It could easily be argued that one of Barack Obama’s biggest cheerleaders at CNN since the day he threw his hat into the presidential ring in 2007 has been Soledad O’Brien.
This is why one had to laugh uproariously when she ended her final Starting Point show Friday hypocritically saying, “I think if I’ve learned anything over the past year it's that facts matter and we shouldn't be afraid to have tough and honest conversations" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
“So I think if I’ve learned anything over the past year it's that facts matter and we shouldn't be afraid to have tough and honest conversations and maybe even argue a little bit when there’s a lot at stake. And yes, Governor Sununu, I am talking to you. Up next for me, I’m going to continue to focus on the 25 girls that we serve. We send girls to college at my foundation. Continue to focus too on good journalism, examining the critical issues that our country faces from jobs to poverty and focusing on the people who have stories to tell. And often those stories don’t get told. Huge thanks to my colleagues here at Starting Point. We’ve worked some very insane hours to bring strong journalism and important stories to our viewers.”
Facts matter?
If facts mattered to people like O'Brien, Obama never would have beaten Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries.
If facts mattered to people like O'Brien, the public would know that policies put in place before George W. Bush became president led to the financial collapse of 2008.
Yet O'Brien has the gall to speak of "strong journalism."
That's not what she's done at CNN. Far from it, she has been a leader in advocacy journalism pushing an agenda with total disregard for facts.
How fitting that she would continue feigning objectivity on her final day at the supposedly most trusted name in news.
