News Media Bias
in President Obama's Favor

Note:  You might want to start at the Barack Obama Index Page, especially if you arrived here by using a search engine.

The subsections on this page were originally located on three other pages, but I thought it would be useful to put the subject of pro-Obama media bias on a page of its own.  The American news media seemed to have picked a winner in the 2008 election about two years before the hoi polloi went through the motions of voting for him.  Every imaginable positive pronouncement was made loud and clear, and every negative warning sign was ignored, suppressed, or sent to the most obscure sections of the newspapers where nobody would likely see them.

The warning signs popped up on the internet soon enough, bypassing the mainstream media, and some of them were collected and posted here, here, here, and here.  Yes, I know Mr. Obama's principal opponent was no great prize himself, but at least that former opponent appears to be a sane and rational man, and in my opinion, the country would have been a better place (already!) if the other guy had won.  At least America's downward spiral wouldn't be so frighteningly steep!

Examples of media bias in Obama's favor are almost too numerous to list — but I'll try.

On this page:

Media favoritism in Obama's first term

The Unexpected

ABC is the most obvious about it

The Obama team manipulates the media

"Spontaneous" events and "randomly selected" people

Friday night document dumps


On other nearby pages:

Media favoritism in the 2008 presidential campaign

Media favoritism between the November 2008 election and the January 2009 inauguration

The strange case of "Ellie Light"

Barack Obama vs Fox News Channel

And not only Fox News...
 White House pressure is applied to all who disagree

Obama and the news media versus Toyota

Using doctors as props on the White House lawn

Using the National Endowment for the Arts as a propaganda tool

The dog ate my thesis.

Biased news coverage of "tea parties"

Obama is a cigarette smoker  but nothing is said about that on TV.

Similarly, the media has covered up Joe Biden's gaffes and baggage, before and after the election.

There are many other examples of news items unfavorable to Obama that have been actively suppressed by the "mainstream" news media.

The clamor for Obama's impeachment, although muffled by the news media, is beginning to brew.



Media favoritism in Obama's first term as President

Media bias is probably the second biggest reason Mr. Obama was elected.  Numerous examples of bias in Obama's favor during the 2008 campaign can be found here.  (Conversely, Obama's team has been shown to exert its leverage on the media.)  Now that he is in office, the bias hasn't subsided a bit.

Media Fawns Over Obama Inauguration.  President Barack Obama's inauguration received 35 times the coverage in the world media than George Bush did in 2005.

The smoker-in-chief.  It's been a long time since we've had a smoker in the White House.  The media, of course, never really got around to telling the American public that the Democratic candidate for president was a nicotine addict.  Even now, they prefer to write stories about his 45 minute daily work outs, and how awesomely lean and fit he is.  But the plain fact is that the President first smokerhas a nicotine jones, and can't get the monkey off his back.

Is President Barack Obama still smoking?  [Anderson] Cooper's question:  "Have you had a cigarette since you've been to the White House?"  The president's answer:  "No, I haven't had one on these grounds."

What's that?  You didn't know he was a smoker?

Obama Thinks Original Declaration of Independence is Not Good Enough?  In his Saturday remarks during his campaign train ride, President-elect Barack Obama issued some soaring rhetoric about the state of the country today.  At least the Old Media thought it was soaring rhetoric, anyway.  Typically, the media was overawed by his mellifluous tones, of course.  But during these remarks in Baltimore Obama made a startling suggestion.  He said we need a "new Declaration of Independence." ... Can you imagine the media giving a pass to a Republican that proposed making a new Declaration of Independence?

Obama as God's Instrument:  There was the populist effect of the "Joe the Plumber" narrative, the eleventh hour unearthing of a video exposing Obama's undiluted wealth redistribution philosophy in his own words, and Obama's past liaisons with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and Reverent (sic) Jeremiah Wright, to name a few.  It is left to the discretion of future historians to decide how to exculpate the media for the many other, even more disturbing nuggets that it actively suppressed or simply chose not to report.

Fifteen Reasons I'm Already Tired of the Obama Era:  [#9] It's grotesque to see the worshipful treatment Obama is getting. It seems like his face is on the cover of half the magazines in the country, the press treats him with kid gloves, and they're naming schools after him. Meanwhile, he's just another sleazy politician who has yet to show an aptitude for much of anything other than reading off of a teleprompter.

Seven reasons for healthy skepticism:  The big media companies that once invested in serious accountability journalism are shells of their former selves. ... The end result:  There are few reporters in this country doing the kind of investigative reporting that hold government officials' feet to the fire.

Sorry media, Obama's just not that into you.  The vaunted fourth estate of American democracy has transformed itself into a bunch of breathless and biologically-pressured thirtyish career women hoping to be noticed by the hot guy who just walked into the room and winked in their direction. ... It would appear Obama phones ahead to the ones he plans to call upon at news conferences, and the leftover ladies and gentlemen of the press don't like it.

Clear and Present Danger.  Now that the festivities are over, it is time for the masters of the media to stop asking inane questions of the new folks in town — such as, "How do you like your new office?" — and for the Obama administration to get down to work on a clear and present danger.

The Phenomenon as President:  Obama is the object of unprecedented media adoration.  Part of it, of course, is because he is the first black man to be elected president, which is an extraordinary and authentically moving achievement in American history.  But ideology is also at work.  If, say, Clarence Thomas had been elected president, the media attention would not be anything like what we have witnessed.  I find Obama to be an interesting and in many ways an attractive figure, but watching the media coverage of him over the last several days has been embarrassing.

Inauguration extravaganza sees journalists caught up in the moment.  When George Bush's people put on a $42-million inaugural program four years ago, many editorial writers and columnists around America came unglued.  A St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times commentator said the president needed to prove that his call for sacrifice "is more than just empty words." ... A columnist at the New York Observer evoked images of Louis XIV.  It would have been nice, for the sake of consistency and fairness, if the commentariat had leveled a measure of that same attitude at last week's Obamapalooza, which cost roughly the same but drew a fraction of the blow-back.

The Immaculate Perception.  He hasn't taken the oath of office yet, but Barack Obama is expected to Do Great Things.  What this expectation is based on is anybody's guess, unless you count promising all things to all people on the campaign trail.  He is, for many, a new Messiah who can do no wrong.  To see the media coverage, one would think his election is the greatest thing this nation has seen since its very inception.

Media averts eyes from subpoenas to Obama top staff.  If this had happened to Bush 43, do you suppose the media would have ignored it?  The meme of Karl Rove being frog marched out of the White House would have been born immediately.

Ushering in the error of Obama.  The inauguration-ordination-coronation of Barack Obama on Tuesday was heralded by his fawning media as nothing less than a "messianic" revival, with endless inaugural balls and star-studded celebrations on either end.  Strange, but I seem to recall that the Leftmedia skewered George W. Bush for spending almost $40 million on his first inauguration, proclaiming the events to be "grotesque" and all about "excess."  But with deficit spending estimated to fly past the trillion-dollar mark in Obama's first year in office, not one of his media sycophants has questioned the cost of this week's events.

Obama: The Endless Honeymoon?  "When," someone recently asked me, "does President Obama's media 'honeymoon' period end?"  Answer:  It won't.  Oh, sure, every relationship experiences peaks and valleys.  But the "mainstream media" wanted Obama to win, and helped him do so.  If Obama were a stock, the media would be "fully invested." ... The major news media saw former President George W. Bush as a villain and themselves as sheriff.  Obama, on the other hand, enjoys their support.

Time Mag Photographer Works as Both a 'Journalist' AND Team Obama Employee?  Time Magazine has employed a photographer named Callie Shell that has apparently been doing double duty as both a "journalist" AND a member of team Obama, taking pictures subsequently sent out as official White House photos.  How is it that we can have someone thinking that bias cannot be presumed when that same person is working for both a news agency and at the same time for the subject of that news?

Pliability Journalism.  More than 144 hours into Barack Obama's presidency, the economy is still in recession, the country is still at war, and in many parts of the country it's still cold outside.  Citizens are growing impatient:  Wasn't President Obama supposed to bring change?  Yet one institution has changed dramatically, and in a very short time:  the press.  After spending the Bush years as a voice of opposition, American journalists have by and large turned on a dime and become cheerleaders for the man in power.

CBS's Andy Rooney Can't Find Anyone Who Dislikes Obama.  At the end of Sunday's 60 Minutes on CBS, commentator Andy Rooney did some of his usual thinking out loud, praising Barack Obama:  "I've lived through the election of a lot of American presidents — more than ten, I think — and about half the people I knew at the time hated one or the other of the two candidates ... Maybe I'm reading the wrong newspapers and listening to the wrong people, but I'm not hearing anyone who hates Barack Obama."  Perhaps Rooney should stop listening to his own network's fawning Obama coverage and consult the 46% of the country that did not vote for the Democratic president.

Stop Shoving Obama Down Our Throats.  No space needs to be taken up here to provide examples of the mainstream media's unyielding affection for the new leader.  There are too many to list.  In ordinary times, it might not matter that so-called journalists choose to become toadies and roadies for the president's band.  But we are in a place and time where we need the President of the United States to have a successful administration, as defined by economic growth, not the growth of a personality cult.  We want an ailing economy to get healthier.  But some of us don't see how the personality cult being watered and fed daily by the mainstream media is going to produce that result.

CNN is Still Pushing Lie of Wright/Hagee Comparison.  Not only did CNN fall back on the lie that Hagee is somehow just as bad as Wright — and thereby smearing John McCain with Wright's racist hatespeak — but CNN got a twofer with this piece by again portraying America as the land of permanent, unrelenting racism by hinting that Obama will never get a chance because he's black.

It's hard to believe I'm no longer American.  On the front of USA Today was the screaming headline, "Americans go gaga over first lady's inaugural gown."  I didn't even know she had an inaugural gown.  Then, and this is the tricky part, it turns out, according to rumor, that she hadn't actually picked out the gown she would wear; it was still before noon on the day of the inaugural.  Evidently, I would be gaga later, but the USA Today was so sure that I, as an American, would be gaga that the headline could be written in advance.

The Impending Obama Meltdown.  Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary.  And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.  We are quite literally after two weeks teetering on an Obama implosion — and with no Dick Morris to bail him out — brought on by messianic delusions of grandeur, hubris, and a strange naivete that soaring rhetoric and a multiracial profile can add requisite cover to good old-fashioned Chicago politicking.

Exclusive:  Interview with Bernie Goldberg.  This is not a book about the same old media bias.  They crossed a very bright line this time, the main-stream media, a very bright line.  And they moved from media bias to media activism.  We know about judicial activism where judges know what's best for everybody, and to [heck] with the legislature, we know what's best.  And in a similar way a lot of reporters thought that they knew what was best, and what was best was not only to be partisan witnesses to history, but to help shape history.

Obama's Press List:  Presidents are free to conduct press conferences however they like, but the decision to preselect questioners is an odd one, especially for a White House famously pledged to openness.  We doubt that President Bush, who was notorious for being parsimonious with follow-ups, would have gotten away with prescreening his interlocutors.  Mr. Obama can more than handle his own, so our guess is that this is an attempt to discipline reporters who aren't White House favorites.  Few accounts of Monday night's event even mentioned the curious fact that the White House had picked its speakers in advance.

Blue Skies For Obama.  Katrina crashes into New Orleans, FEMA responds feebly and President Bush is blamed for the loss of life and limb.  Winter smacks middle America, killing 55, FEMA's late again, but President Obama gets a pass.

The Slobbering Love Affair Between Obama and the Press.  [Bernard] Goldberg often inserts corny jokes into the text for levity, but underneath it all is a sadness, a sense that a profession he once was proud to call his own is less than a shell of its old self.  And he's not just bemoaning an industry's self-induced collapse.  He's afraid of what an ineffective press means for the country.

ABC:  Part of the Obama Media Machine.  Is it unethical for former Clinton flack George Stephanopoulos — an independent journalist — to participate in daily conversations with three of the Democratic Party's top strategists while employed as ABC News' chief Washington correspondent and anchor of "This Week"?  "If Karl Rove took a job as an anchor on FOX News you would have to pass smelling salts around Washington DC," Media Research Center President Brent Bozell told Human Events.

Obama Ignores Intelligence Findings.  When Barack Obama hit his head while entering Marine One, this is how one objective journalist covered it:  "It looks like those finely honed reflexes sharpened on the basketball court served him well as he appeared to bend in order to soften the blow almost as soon as he sensed it coming."  When Gerald Ford did it, we got Chevy Chase mocking him every Saturday night.  When Barack Obama does it, it just shows how honed his reflexes are, and the need for an upgraded helicopter.

Obama and "Me".  It's one thing for a supposedly combative press to fawn over a presidential candidate — and now a president.  Who wants to devote precious column inches to Barack Obama's ties to radical bomber Bill Ayers when Sarah Palin's wardrobe demands investigation?  Why shoot ordinary photographs of the president when you can portray him as a haloed Byzantine saint? But now the New York Times has gone too far:  it is attempting to rewrite the history of English grammar in order to flatter the president.

Media idiot of the day.  Combine Obama idolatry with malignant fanning of racism, and you get today's winner.  The title goes to Jon-Christopher Bua, political analyst for Sky News, whose embarrassing near-orgasmic tribute to Obama betrays a singular lack of knowledge, combined with a malignant fanning of racism.

How media sucks up to the White House:  In the early days of any administration, reporters reach out to the men and women who might become their sources over the next four years — then slather them with glowing profiles suitable for framing in their mothers' bedrooms. ... But this proliferation of profiles isn't about the reader's need to know, or at least not entirely.

Obama and the Stock Market.  [Almost nobody in the media is] saying anything critical of Obama's policies which, obviously, the stock market — conventionally the predictor of our economy — thinks are dead wrong.  Cognitive dissonance?  Mental imbalance?  Slavish idolatry?  Or just plain inability to admit you made a mistake?  You tell me.  Meanwhile, the market goes lower and lower while the media continues its hosannas to BHO.

Obama Can't Double-Talk Us Out Of This.  Obama is a great pretender.  He repeatedly says he's doing things that he isn't, trusting his powerful rhetoric to obscure the difference. ... He's helped by much of the media, who seem so enthralled with him that they don't see glaring contradictions.  During the campaign, Obama said he would change Washington's petty partisanship; he also advocated a highly partisan agenda.  Both claims could not be true.  The media barely noticed; the same obliviousness persists.

Nickelodeon Broadcasts Cartoon Homage to 'Dear Leader' Obama.  Does anyone here recall Nickelodeon presenting a cartoon homage to President George W. Bush?  No?  Of course not.  "Wrong" politics.  However, if you think your very young children are safe from being exposed to subtle political brainwashing while watching Nick Jr., which presents Nickelodeon cartoons for children 5 and under, you would be wrong.

There'll Be No Debate.  While the erudite, urbane left demonstrates its sophistication and collegiality by personally attacking Rush Limbaugh, the nation is going down in financial flames, largely because of the unchecked policy insanity being unleashed by our new president.  Yet his flacks in the media continue to shield him from even rudimentary questions that any other president would receive.

The Plight of the Right Could Have an End in Sight.  Politics these last few weeks have been a game of distraction.  Pres. Barack Obama gives a State of the Union?like speech, and we subsequently fixate on the first lady's daring to bare her well-toned arms in February.  A young, rising-star Republican gives a response to Obama's address, and we focus on the way his suit billows off his shoulders.

Late-Night Comics Still in Thrall to Obama.  As a fan of comedy in general and satire in particular, I've always enjoyed the late night television circuit. ... One of the chief complaints I've been hearing from conservative friends over the last several years, though, is that these shows are nothing more than thinly disguised bastions of left-wing brainwashing where pseudo-intellectual elites bash the Grand Old Party and indoctrinate the nation's socialist youth against sound conservative thinking.

If Bush Had Done What Obama Is Doing...  Herewith some questions about contrasts and double standards — and how the leftists comprising the nameless "they" who rule the world would react to what Barack Obama is doing if Obama were George Bush.  For instance ... If Obama were Bush, what would their reaction be to the president's failure — even now — to submit a plan to salvage the nation's banks?  What would they think of their president if he and his acolytes took out after the other party's leading entertainer — Oprah Winfrey — declaring her not only de facto head of the Democratic Party but the foremost embodiment of that party's ideological excesses?

Media Bias Against Traditional Values:  Not only does Google enjoy a 70-percent share of the ads accompanying search results and articles and 90 percent of U.S. advertising profits, but it also accounts for almost 70 percent of U.S. searches.  This means if Google buries a site, an archeological dig may be necessary to find it.  That is, for most Americans, anyway.  We should also note that Google has forged quite an alliance with Barack Obama. Not only did CEO Eric Schmidt campaign for the president, he also was on Obama's economic advisory committee.  This isn't surprising, given that they're ideological soulmates.  But this similarity does bring to mind my observation that people not only get the government they deserve, they also get the media they deserve.  Let's just hope they don't end up being one and the same.

Wikipedia scrubs Obama eligibility.  Wikipedia, the online "free encyclopedia" mega-site written and edited entirely by its users, has been deleting within minutes any mention of eligibility issues surrounding Barack Obama's presidency, with administrators kicking off anyone who writes about the subject, WND has learned. ... The Wikipedia entry about former President George W. Bush, by contrast, is highly critical.

A Front-Page Story:  President McCain's First 50 Days.  Suppose Sen. John McCain, rather than Sen. Barack Obama, won the presidency but made the same decisions and pursued the same goals to turn around the economy.

Conservatives and the death of newspapers.  It didn't require the Obama candidacy to tell us that newspapers are virtually the house organs of the Democratic Party (which is why an industry bailout may soon be in the offing).  Yet MSM journalists continue to see no bias, hear no bias and speak no bias.  Despite the extensive damage this problem has done to the industry and the profession, journalists refuse even to address the issue, let alone talk about remedies.

Imagine if 'President McCain' Joked About the Special Olympics.  President Barack Obama ... quickly apologized.  Crisis averted.  Fair enough.  But the real story is the media double standard:  Imagine the uproar if a President John McCain made the Special Olympics comment.  For that matter, imagine if a President McCain mistook a White House window for a door; his secretary of Treasury had not paid taxes; he granted two dozen waivers to his no-lobbyists-in-government rule; and he had promised bipartisanship but got only three across-the-aisle votes for his "stimulus" package.

Freeman Affair Reveals Problems For Obama and the Media.  The recent appointment and ultimate withdrawal of Chas Freeman to head the National Intelligence Council has exposed much that is wrong with President Barack Obama's first months in office, both in terms of policy and vetting, as well as the media coverage surrounding both.  Many of Obama's supporters said it was unfair to criticize Obama's associations with people like the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and the anti-Semitic preacher of hate, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and called it guilt by association.  It is now becoming clearer why those sorts of associations matter.

TV Journalists Enchanted by Obamas:  'America's Unofficial Royalty'.  NBC's Chuck Todd then admired how "the President was able to do a diplomatic decathlon, packing in a week's worth of international diplomacy into 12 hours," before he hailed how "America's unofficial royalty, the President and First Lady, reconnected tonight for more ceremonial duties, including a private audience with actual royalty, the Queen herself."

Gag me — Press goes ga-ga over Michelle.  Is Michelle Obama the second coming of Jackie Kennedy?  That seems to be a common theme among a press that has gone over the top with their coverage of the First Lady.

Laura Ingraham Tweaks 'Today' On Obama Obsession.  The "Today" show devoted much of last week's coverage of Obama's European trip to obsessing over such frivolous matters as what Michelle Obama was wearing and what kind of gift the Obamas gave the Queen, so when Laura Ingraham was invited on Wednesday's "Today" show, the conservative radio talk show host couldn't resist knocking the silly coverage...

A Fawning Frenzy For Michelle.  Imagine being Laura Bush and turning on the television and watching the absolute deluge of sticky-sweet syrup being poured all over Michelle Obama during her European debut as first lady.  It is as if every TV reporter was handed a pamphlet of talking points and ordered to compare Mrs. Obama to Jackie Kennedy.  NBC's Dawna Friesen gushed:  "Though Harvardeducated Michelle Obama has substance, not just style, and that's what sets her apart."  Apart from ... whom?

Media Insiders Say Internet Hurts Journalism.  In a poll of prominent members of the national news media, nearly two-thirds say the Internet is hurting journalism more than it is helping. ... The media insiders were also asked about coverage of President Obama.  Of 45 respondents, 71 percent say it has been "about right," 22 percent say it's been "too easy" and 7 percent say it has been "too tough."

Obama, aided by media, falling short on pledge for change.  The purpose of the press is supposed to be to report the news in an objective manner to the public.  Once reporters start adding their own personal perspectives to the story it is hard for the public to trust the accuracy and objectivity of the reporting and it starts to become similar to entertainment reporting.  It is worse when the press underreports or down plays newsworthy items.  An example would be the increase troops in Afghanistan.  If I had not been watching the news on that particular day, I would not have even known about it.

It's all Obama, all the time.  If it's Thursday, it must be Obama.  Or Friday.  Or Saturday.  Or just about any day.  Barack Obama has gone from being historic to being ubiquitous.  He doesn't just control the news cycle, he is the news cycle.

Boss Obama.  The mainstream media has been called the fourth branch of government because it has a duty to monitor the actions of our politicians.  However, journalists have already abdicated this role — as was clear during the campaign.  We are seeing the rise on an imperial presidency, and the media, or what is left of it, snoozes.

O's Foreign Follies.  The world has rabies and our swooning media deliver headlines about the new Obama family dog.  Yeah, the puppy's cute.  But must journalists be lapdogs?

Media Cover Obama Like He's Ultimate A-List Celebrity.  For the national media, Barack Obama isn't merely the president of the United States.  He's so much more than that.  Obama is a celebrity, and he and his family are covered that way.  That means there is a heavy focus on the personal, making Obama the first "Entertainment Tonight president."  First, it was Michelle's wardrobe.  Then, it was the kids' school.  Then it was Michelle's White House vegetable garden.  And most recently, it is the new dog, Bo.

Consequences Of An "American Idol" Presidency.  According to the press, collegiality and even love now abounds among nations that excoriated the United States and its former President, George W. Bush, only months ago.  In wonderful contrast, they extol America for its openness and professed willingness to sit down and talk with adversaries.  At least that is the picture that Obama's leftist cohorts want the general public to receive.  Unfortunately, the truth is far less rosy.  And the likelihood of a day of reckoning for all of this foolishness is far greater.

Media Cover Up Obama's Spelling Error in Letter to Fan.  If former President George W. Bush made a spelling error in a written reply to a piece of fan mail, would press outlets have covered for him or pointed it out?

Shirtless Obama magazine cover generates heat.  A photograph of a bare-chested Barack Obama on the cover of a popular Washington magazine had some fans swooning while others cried foul, saying the image had been doctored.  The Washingtonian has been swamped by readers who had seen the May edition showing the US President wearing nothing but swimming trunks and sunglasses, next to the line:  "Our new neighbor is hot."

Passing Judgment.  We are now on the 95th day of Barack Obama's presidency, and that revving sound you hear is the machinery of the media-industrial complex, gearing up for the Big Day.  There will be special sections, news analyses, cable logos and round-the-clock chatter as journalists race into their 100-day evaluations.  This arbitrary benchmark has become nothing less than another opportunity for media marketing. ... So why do we do it?  The media love anniversary-type stories.  They want to feed off the high public interest in Obama, his family and his dog.  They are desperate to keep the excitement of the campaign alive.

"Never Again," Obama Style.  No president in modern times has managed to conceal so much of his biography as this one.  The journalists assigned to the Obama beat seem to have lost their traditional avidity for digging out the missing details.  We do not have a medical report, or a college transcript from Columbia, or a notion of how well he did in Harvard Law School.  These things are not automatically significant, but they can be.

100 Days of Love.  There's something very curious — even laughable — about watching the media assemble to offer President Obama a grade after the first 100 days.  They weren't exactly a team of dispassionate scientists in a lab.  They continue to be what they've been all along — a rolling gaggle of Obama cheerleaders — only before it was a campaign and now it's an administration.  So now they're assessing whether their awe-inspiring historic candidate still glows with the luster of victory.

Obama Staffers Attend Secret Dinners With Lefty Media.  The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has let the cat out of the bag in the Post's April 27 issue about a regularly scheduled secret media dinner attended by some of the top left-wing journalists in the country. ... The secret dinners for Obama staffers and his boosters in the Old Media have been going on for "more than a year" and are sponsored by David Bradley, the owner of the Atlantic.  In attendance have been some of the most well known lefty journalists in Washington.

What Would the Media Say if Obama's Frequent Hollywood Guests Were Oil Execs?  The Hollywood contingent is downright chummy with this president.  That's not a surprise — Hollywood gave tens of millions to Obama, and Obama returned the favor by attempting to shoehorn a $246 million tax break for Hollywood into the stimulus package.  What's shocking is the media's soft treatment of this phenomenon.  Suppose that every single day, oil magnates stopped by the White House to chat with Obama.  Or — Heaven forefend — executives from WalMart.  Do you think the press would stand for that sort of favoritism?  Or would they scream bloody murder from the rooftops?

Barack Obama aglow after 100-day honeymoon — just like Carter.  [Scroll down]  The day has been seized as another opportunity to hone the Obama image, which was carefully crafted and protected during a campaign in which his persona and life story, rather than his policies, led to triumph.  Advisers who publicly mock the theme of 100 days have been discreetly parcelling out made-to-order anecdotes to the press, each one designed to show how decisive, far-thinking or cool under pressure he is.

The things you don't read about Barack Obama:  The Chronicle Herald recently made space for an urgent Associated Press dispatch from Washington informing readers the Obamas had chosen a Portuguese water dog.  Not original reporting, of course, but an AP rephrasing of a White House-arranged scoop in the Washington Post online. ... So here is a small selection of news on the most powerful man on Earth which has been deemed unfit to print.

Gingrich:  'Press Corps Has Taken Such a Pathetic Dive' with Obama.  Reacting to the questions posed during Wednesday's presidential news conference, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich expressed disappointment with the White House press corps, telling FNC's Greta Van Susteren the journalists have "taken such a pathetic dive with this President that they ought to be part of his PR firm.  I mean it's embarrassing to watch."

Watchdogs are heeling for Obama.  With few exceptions, the mainstream news media have been dutifully pushing the Obama message, burnishing his carefully crafted image and offering few challenges when he makes questionable or misleading pronouncements, gestures or policy statements.  In short, they seem mesmerized by the glamour of this new and different president. ... Whatever Obama says, or doesn't say, is usually good enough for them.

Lies And Liars.  Last week saw an unusual number of outright lies from our media and political class.  Lies that went virtually unchallenged. ... Lie #1:  ABC, celebrating Obama's 100 day mark, announced he is enjoying the best presidential job approval rating of any president at this point in 20 years.  Not so.  A simple google search shows that George W. Bush, at the 100 day mark in his presidency, enjoyed a 62% approval rating.  Obama, alas, enjoys only a 52% approval rating.  ABC lied.

Broadcast Networks Devote Half Their Nightly Newscasts to Obama.  Earlier on Monday [4/27/2009], my colleague Tim Graham previewed a study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs finding that Barack Obama received more television coverage in his first 50 days in office than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton did through similar points in their presidencies combined.  The final report has now been published, and the results are even more absurd.

When Reporters Rise For The President.  Some people noticed that many reporters rose from their seats last Friday [5/1/2009] when President Obama unexpectedly entered the White House briefing room, but the same courtesy was not always extended in the past when President Bush would make an appearance.  Comparison videos were even posted on YouTube.

Puffball Nation.  As the lamestream media continues to swoon Scarlett O'Hara-like over this president, we now know two things for sure:  they're really cheap dates.  Easy too.

Pardon Me, But Did He Just Ask for Grey Poupon?  [Scroll down]  And that burger "joint" — well, it's not exactly a glorified White Castle or Steak and Shake — or even a Five Guys, it's a spot where you can drop up to $17.50 on a burger.  You can get yours with foie gras, bordalaise sauce, and even white truffle oil.  Just like Mickey D's, right?  It turns out that maybe the cool "let's-show-them-we-are-just-like-them" adventure was at least a little flawed, but you'd never know it by the news coverage.

Obama gives the far Left 99 dreamy days.  President Obama reaches his 100th day in the White House Wednesday, so the liberal press is about to burst with flowery tributes to multiple milestones — some real, most imagined — of this most radical American chief executive ever.  Contrary to the plaudits flowing from America's left-leaning journalists this week, The Examiner must dissent by noting three of Obama "achievements" that likely mark his administration as a disaster in the making.

Pro-Obama bias is so routine that the few exceptions are newsworthy:
 Too Silly, Even for the MSM.  For once the mainstream media was not entirely snowed by the Obama administration's dog-and-pony show.  The subject was healthcare "savings" and everyone from the AMA to major insurers to drug companies pledged to do their part.  The only thing missing was any reasonable explanation for how they'd do so.  And the MSM figured it out.

Just suppose for a moment ...
 President Palin's First 100 Days: A near disaster.  The first 100 days of the Palin presidency, according to a consensus of media commentators, have proven a near disaster.  Perhaps it was Palin's scant two years' experience in a major government position that has eroded her gravitas, or maybe it was her flirty reliance on looks and informal chit-chat.

Thoughtful voice all but lost in Obama-Notre Dame drama.  Given how this has been spun, by an adoring pro-Obama (and pro-abortion rights) media, the weekend's news coverage is tiresomely predictable:  Christian protesters whose faith teaches them to oppose abortion will be depicted as intolerant extremist fanatics, perhaps just one step removed from the Appalachian snake dancers.

News Media:  Stop Digging.  The first rule of getting out of a hole you have dug yourself into is to stop digging.  But at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday, they handed out shovels at the door. ... Now, if I remember correctly, about 53% of voters voted for the President.  Well, there's no disputing that American journalism serves that chunk of the audience.  Their fawning subservience to those in presently in power is even starting to creep out President Obama.  "Most of you covered me; all of you voted for me," he told his audience of tingle-legged supplicants.

CNN Invents the News, Again.  Yesterday's top news story was the very public debate between President Barack Obama and former Vice-President Dick Cheney regarding the interrogation of captured terrorists. ... [But] CNN chose as its top news item something that happened over five years ago, not even providing its readers with a single sentence explaining how this particular story was remotely newsworthy.

Narcissus And Echo: Obama And The Mainstream Media.  It is troubling that our president is a pathological narcissist caught up in the thought patterns of Darwin, Marx, and Alinsky.  Even more troubling is the fact that the Mainstream Media, suffering from an Obama-inspired narcosis, shirks its duty, refusing to publish or even explore any aspect of Obama's dark side.

The Cynical Idealism of Obama.  Barack Obama is able to wrap his Chicago cynicism in the language of idealism, making him appear to be what he is not.  But much of the press, which has an unprecedented emotional investment in Obama and his success, has decided to look the other way, time and again.  Countless reporters and commentators thirst for his approval; they clearly count it a privilege to be part of his team.  At least a few of them have done us the courtesy of doing so explicitly and officially rather than maintaining the fiction of disinterestedness.

The Obama Infatuation.  The Obama infatuation is a great unreported story of our time.  Has any recent president basked in so much favorable media coverage?  Well, maybe John Kennedy for a moment; but no president since.  On the whole, this is not healthy for America.  Our political system works best when a president faces checks on his power.  But the main checks on Obama are modest.  They come from congressional Democrats, who largely share his goals if not always his means.  The leaderless and confused Republicans don't provide effective opposition.  And the press — on domestic, if not foreign, policy — has so far largely abdicated its role as skeptical observer.

Obama's lie of the day.  The USA in fact has less than 1% of the world's Muslim population of an estimated 1 billion people.  So why would a president make such an outrageous lie?  Because no one will fact check him.  Least of all the New York Times.

Another Men's Mag Votes for The One.  It's time for me to end another men's magazine subscription.  Sad.  I thought this one might last an entire 12 issues.  "Details" just declared its unconditional love for President Obama with a "think" piece teased on the front cover — "Can Obama make you better in bed?"

Journalists who don't kiss Obama's feet.  The White House press corps is now completely supine, utterly shameless in its groveling cowardice.  Stalin himself couldn't have wished for a more slobbering press corps.  Rather than mailing them nice little Lipton tea bags, millions of sane Americans might consider sending air sickness bags to our Reigning Media.  But not, thank haven, across the broad Atlantic.

For journalists, how close is too close?  Author and former Newsweek journalist Richard Wolffe is refuting charges that he acted more like Barack Obama's campaign spokesman than as a journalist covering Obama's presidential campaign.  It was Obama, himself, who suggested that Wolffe write his book Renegade: The Making of a President.  Wolffe, however, denied that writing the book meant trading objectivity for access.

Obama, a "Sort of God"?  On Friday evening Newsweek editor Evan Thomas had an extraordinary exchange with MSNBC's Chris Matthews.  Thomas, commenting on Obama's Cairo speech, said, "I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above — above the world, he's sort of God." ... It is now impossible to mock the media's adoration for Obama.  In the past, if conservatives had said that MSM commentators viewed Obama as God, people would have assumed they were exaggerating in order to make a point.  But in this instance, there is no exaggeration; Thomas stated that Obama is "sort of God."

Missing in Action: American Mainstream Media.  The government now puts itself in charge of everything from running large companies, such as General Motors, to determining compensation for businesses under government control. ... Objections or concerns about an unconstitutional seizure of power, anyone? Where are the stories reminding us of the smashing job government does in running Amtrak or the post office? Where are the stories contrasting Canada's move toward greater privatization of its health care system to the President's desire to move toward a Canadian model?

Unquestioned Authority.  This religious-like faith in Obama has led the media not to question much of what he does.  He claims his stimulus plan has "saved or created" 150,000 jobs and that "stimulus II" will "save or create" 600,000 jobs this summer.  How does government "save" a job and how does one measure such a claim?  In January, before taking office, the president said 90 percent of the new jobs he would create would be in the private sector.  The media have yet to ask him why that promise has not yet been fulfilled.

Why the suddenly shy press corps?  The May employment figures are out.  The new jobs data blatantly, unambiguously contradict the claims made by the President earlier in the year when he was justifying the stimulus bill.  But the silence from the mainstream media over the difference between President's promises and his results has been nothing short of deafening.

The Man Who Would Be God.  One of the things that annoy me the most about Obama is how easily he lies.  One of the things that annoy me about the media is the way they enable him to get away with it.  For instance, when he jammed through the trillion-dollar pork pie, he claimed it was so urgently needed he couldn't spare the legislators even 48 hours to plow through the 1,100 pages.  However, once they passed the bill, Obama waited four days before flying off to Denver to sign it.

Obama's Other Controversial Church.  While John McCain was being tortured as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, First Unitarian Church of Honolulu — at which the elementary-age Obama would later attend Sunday school after returning from Indonesia in 1970 or 71 — was sheltering deserters and AWOLs recruited by 'flirty fishing' coeds from a Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) group known as "The Resistance". ... The story of his ties to the church began to emerge only after he attended [his grandmother's] memorial service. ... The connection to Vietnam deserters has not been included in any of the Obama-related coverage.

Wolffe: President Missed Rev. Wright's Racist Rants Because 'He Wasn't Much of a Churchgoer'.  If you've ever wondered why the mainstream media didn't show much curiosity about how 20 years of attending Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church shaped President Barack Obama, there is a perfectly logical explanation.  Obama wasn't really there.

Obama cruises past media.  President Bush and his team were regularly savaged by the media elite if they so much as sniffed a hint of evasion over the rule of law and the bounds of constitutional authority in fighting terrorism.  So why is President Obama's unprecedented intervention in the auto industry, including a TARP-fund bailout expressly ruled out by Congress, all but ignored?

1984 all over again.  On the night of June 24, ABC News will turn their broadcast over to the White House so that Obama can sell his national health insurance program. ... It is true that the networks routinely hand over time to the party in power so that the president can address the nation.  But this is much different.  In essence, I agree with Drudge; this makes ABC a part of the executive branch — a cog in the Obama PR machine.  It makes a cruel joke of the idea of an independent press.

The Obamedia.  [Scroll down]  This exchange is revealing on several fronts. First, it demonstrates that Obama — who is (literally) compared to God by some journalists, who sends a thrill up the leg of others, and who causes reporters and editors to weep and choke up with emotion in simply thinking about The One — apparently believes he deserves worshipful coverage across the board; when he doesn't receive it, he views it as a grave injustice.  It warrants a stronger response from him than, say, the repression of freedom in Iran.

From Newsroom to Bedroom.  Today ... the press has become a subsidiary of the advertising department, catering to target groups that are most likely to buy advertisers' products.  The ABC News division has taken this one step further.  On June 24, it will essentially become a mouthpiece for the Obama administration and its position on reforming health care.

The Editor says...
 The article below is an example of glowing Obama worship in the press. Father's Day, San Francisco Chronicle.

Obama's example: Putting family first.  On this Father's Day, the American public should proudly note that our president takes his personal role as father (and spouse) as seriously as he does his job as father of the country. ... We can only hope that fathers and spouses everywhere will be thinking "What Would Obama Do?" as they navigate through the murky waters of parenthood and family life.

The Editor continues...
 Besides the author's blindness toward's Obama's massive character flaws, her ignorance of history is showing as well:  George Washington, not Barack Obama, is generally thought of as the "father of our country."

Media's Mask Is Slipping As Deficits Surge.  A calm Sunday breakfast might have been ruined after a glance at the Washington Post's front page on June 14.  A chart below the fold explained that under Obama's federal spending proposals, the U.S. would be required to borrow $9 trillion during the next decade.  That's $9,000,000,000,000.  The Post compared that, in today's dollars, to the financial burden of World War II:  $3.6 trillion.  That's not all of Obama's spending plan.  That's only the part that's in the red. ... Sadly, this Washington Post article notwithstanding, the news media aren't questioning the new health "reform" drive.  They are enabling it.

An end to the Obama love affair.  "Obama Kills A Fly."  "FLOTUS In The Garden."  "The Obama Diet."  These aren't tabloid tales.  These are a few of the headlines — just from one day — by journalists who regularly cover the Obama administration.  Is this really what Americans want to know about our commander-in-chief?

Media Cheer Obama's Golf Outings; Criticized Republicans' Trips to Course.  President Barack Obama has gone to the golf course at least 11 times since he took the oath of office a little more than six months ago — three rounds were played during the late January, 12-day holiday Obama took with his family in Hawaii; one at Andrews Air Force Base; and seven at Ft. Belvoir Golf Course, including a round on Sunday, Father's Day, with Vice President Joe Biden.  These 11 rounds played by the president are documented through media reports of his golf trips.

Politics of personal perfection.  Let's be honest:  Barack Obama is better than you are.  He's a better father — taking breaks from running the world to cheer on his daughters at soccer and basketball games.  He's a better husband — zipping his wife off for dinner in New York and Paris.  He's got a better diet — nibbling on vegetables from his homegrown garden to keep his love handles in check.  And he's got a terrific jump shot. ... "This is a guy who was elected as a celebrity and is governing as a celebrity," said Republican consultant Rick Wilson.  "If George Bush had been photographed taking his daughters out for ice cream [as Obama was on Saturday], it would have been:  'Nero fiddles while Rome burns.'"

Cap and Trade: Political Alchemy, Economy Buster and Disaster for Poor.  [Scroll down]  Many believe there is a more sinister aspect behind Obama's Cap & Trade legislation.  Faltering companies, like General Electric, have been awarded or promised huge government contracts regarding the research and development of alternative energy sources.  NOTE:  General Electric is expected to receive billions of dollars in government contracts.  General Electric owns NBC and MSNBC and they have been some of Obama's biggest supporters in the mainstream media, both prior to and after his election.

The Editor says...
 GE has been called "Obama's Halliburton" because the company has received a lot of "stimulus" money, and it is heavily involved in missile defense systems, broadcast news, and wind-driven generators.

Obama Administration Gave GE 24.9 Million in 'Stimulus' Grants.  The Obama administration gave corporate giant General Electric — the parent company of NBC — $24.9 million in grants from the $787-billion economic "stimulus" law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009, according to records posted by the administration at Recovery.gov.  Despite getting $24.9 million from U.S. taxpayers, GE decreased its U.S.-based employees by 18,000 in 2009, according to the company's 2009 annual report.  According to Standard & Poor's, GE took in $156 billion in revenue in 2009.

Endless Love.  Thanks to a few pointed questions from the press corps at a White House news conference, the long Obama captivity of the media is at an end.  The Hotline, an inside-the-Beltway tip sheet, proclaimed June 23 "The Day the Love Ended." ... But what truly confuses is how a few tough questions make up for months of forehead-scraping obeisance to The One. ... Indeed, shouldn't this be a moment for reflection on how bad the press has been until now?

When did the lowbrows take over the culture?  [Scroll down]  In his press conferences he hypnotizes all the ink-stained wretches of the media.  It's a sight to behold.  The man swats a fly and the suck-ups of the media go ga-ga with applause, and go back and write articles about it.  That's not just a reflection on their (lack of) character and judgment.  It's not just their childish immaturity.  It's a reflection on their brains, or rather, on all that empty space between their ears.  Our media stars are just not very bright.

Silent Scandals:  In just the last month, an unusual number of what were formerly regarded as scandals went unnoticed and largely unreported by the old media, to wit:  Obama recently fired an Inspector General of Americorps, giving him one hour to resign or be fired.  This, in direct contradiction to legislation Obama co-sponsored as Senator, requiring 30-day notice and an explanation.

Did someone mention Inspector General Gerald Walpin?

Media pussy cats.  What were the people at NBC News thinking?  Long-time NBC anchor Tom Brokaw was being considered for a White House appointment when he interviewed President Obama on Jan. 5 and covered him on the news.  The position in question was to become a commissioner on the White House Fellows Commission.  Neither NBC nor Mr. Brokaw ever made any disclosure that Mr. Brokaw had been offered or was considering the position.  It was not until June 17 that NBC made public that Mr. Brokaw was joining the commission.

I'd like to ask Mr. President a few hardball questions.  I don't go to those fancy presidential press conferences and ask the softball questions the reporters there like to ask. ... The questions I have in mind are more of the hardball variety, to wit: ... Mr. President, when are you going to develop an exit strategy for getting out of owning General Motors?  Why didn't you have such a strategy before you obligated all of us to buying such a turkey?

Hey media, Obama isn't 'God'.  So, as it turns out, U.S. President Barack Obama is not "God" when it comes to dealing with the Islamic world, after all.  This, contrary to that gushingly inane description of him by Newsweek editor-at-large Evan Thomas, following Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo, seeking reconciliation with Muslims.

Washington Post Hired Left-Wing Obama Enabler as Its 'Chief Digital Officer'.  The Washington Posts's first ever "chief digital officer" came aboard the newspaper, where he also oversees Newsweek's online efforts, after three years of working diligently to help elect liberals and Democrats to office — including Barack Obama.

Administration, Lobbyist, Journalist:  Who Can Tell the Difference?  The [Washington] Post, embarrassed by disclosure of its cozy, profitable relationships with lobbyists and the Obama administration, has repudiated the "salon" program.  Given that their publisher was the program's host and the paper's "news executives" were set to participate, the paper's suddenly discovering its ethical standards rings rather hollow.  It's worth mentioning that the story came to light because a lobbyist who received the Post's flyer was offended by the ethics of the event and blew the whistle.

Welcome to Obamacare Theater.  The White House sure likes to put on a show.  Fresh off its joint stage production with ABC News, the Obama administration broadcast another health care propaganda play this week under the guise of a citizen "town hall."  Chicago consigliere and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett managed the floor and human props for Obama.  In a telling moment as the event kicked off, she protested a wee bit much:  "I want to emphasize that the President has not seen the questions ahead of time."  The audience responded with polite laughter.  But the denials of pre-planning and stacked decks deserve nothing but derisive mockery.

Obama reads Pushkin.  Two weeks ago it was the Urdu poets.  This week it's Obama's love for Pushkin's poetry.  The week before it was probably the Bhadavad-Gita in Sanskrit.  If it's Tuesday this must be Zorba the Greek — in Greek.  It's all in a day's light reading for our Obama.

News Executives In The Tank.  It seems like a never-ending spin cycle:  laudatory coverage leads to popularity, which leads to higher TV ratings, which leads to more laudatory coverage.  But it's not working any more.  Behind the glittery curtains, Obama's polls are falling.  Worse, some ink-stained wretches are getting a little sick of the propaganda merry-go-round.

Fox News Notes Communist Past of the 'Green Jobs' Czar.  The administration's "Green Jobs" czar, Van Jones, has a "very checkered past" deep-rooted in radical politics, including black nationalism, anarchism, and communism.  The broadcast network newscasts have mostly failed to report on Mr. Jones's past political affiliations which are lock-step with the network's downplay of coverage regarding President Obama's associations with the former radical and terrorist William Ayers during the election.

Obama's Weakened Condition:  What did President Obama achieve for himself and for America during last week's G-8 summit?  Not much.  Despite what presumably was his best effort at using the charm, personality and teleprompter that catapulted him into office, he was unsuccessful in persuading either wealthy or developing nations to sign off on a plan to combat "global warming."  It's not that he lacks support from the European media.  CNN International and the BBC, among others, continue to blanket their networks with "green" propaganda in a disinformation blitz that would have made Joseph Goebbels proud.

Two Scientists, Two Standards.  The New York Times recently warned its readers about a wacky scientist in the Obama administration.  But the fish wrap of record let the real nut job off the hook. ... The rationality police in the newsroom have not ... seen fit to print the rantings of a radical secular evangelist now serving as the White House "science czar."  John Holdren, Obama's director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, co-authored the innocuously titled "Ecoscience" in the 1970s with population control extremists Paul and Anne Ehrlich.

Barack Obama is dumb.  Admittedly, George Bush was not the most eloquent President we've ever had, but of course, neither is Barack Obama once he gets off his teleprompter.  The biggest difference between the two men is not their speaking ability; it's that the mainstream media decided from day one that George Bush was dumb just because he was a Republican from Texas. ... Was it George Bush who claimed that there were more than 57 states?  Did Bush say he saw our "fallen heroes" in the audience during a speech?  Was it George Bush who made a racist comment about "typical white people?"  Did W. spend 20 years without complaint at a church where the pastor spouted off ignorant, anti-Semitic ideas and conspiracy theories?  Was George Bush so much of an airhead that he actually ended up "thanking himself in a speech" because that's what his teleprompter said to do?

We Must Destroy The Economy To Save The Economy.  In a recent New York Times post, [Paul] Krugman proclaims that "Deficits saved the world."  The unspoken logic is pretty clear, and inside Krugman states, "government deficits... are the only thing that has saved us from a second Great Depression."  The unspoken logic is pretty clear.  Since Obama must be given credit for saving the world, and saving America from a second depression... and the only thing Obama has done is run up a huge deficit... the new line of argument has to be that "Deficits saved America and the World from a second Great Depression."

Rare, Truthful Treat:
 AP's 'Fact Check' On Obama Presser Hits Surprisingly Hard.  [Calvin] Woodward [of the Associated Press] and ABC's Jake Tapper remain virtually alone in the White House press corps in their willingness to report negative news about Obama when it occurs (unless it's impossible to avoid, as in the Obama-Gates matter), or to criticize him in identified analysis items.  Will that ever change?

Just how smart is Obama?  Just how smart is the President? Famous presidential historian Michael Beschloss, a regular on PBS's Newshour show, says his IQ is "off the charts" and that he is "probably the smartest guy ever to become president," while admitting he doesn't know what his IQ is.  I say:  let's look at the evidence.

Where's Obama's Birth Certificate?  The mainstream media have been extraordinarily disinterested in any credible documentation of Obama's life story. Something is very wrong about that. Something is bizarre that Time Magazine is putting Obama's picture on the cover for a twelfth time in twelve months! Obama's rise to power has been meteoric.  His path there remains shrouded in deliberate obscurity.

Obama's birth certificate and the real issues:  The major media have done their best to obscure the existence of oddities in Obama's life story that never made it to the two autobiographical works purportedly authored by him. It has been left to the blogosphere to point out his many lies about his past.  Yet the general public remains blissfully unaware of these lies, though it does know everything about Sarah Palin's family thanks to inquiring minds of the media.  Even worse, the mainstream media twice dug up intimate details of the lives of two men who stood in his way in acquiring his seat in the United States Senate. ... If the media had not abandoned its watchdog role for Obama, while aggressively pushing it on two strategically situated opponents, he would never have become president.

Camera Hog In Chief.  President Barack Obama appears to be breaking every record kept on U.S. presidential press coverage.  Over the first six months of this year, he was cited in a staggering 1.1 million stories across mainstream, Internet and social media — an average of 6,100 references a day.  That's more than triple what Obama's last two predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, got in the mainstream press during their first six months.

Revolving Door from Journalism to Team Obama Now Up to a Dozen.  With the revelation that Newsweek Washington bureau reporter Daren Briscoe will start a new job on Monday as Deputy Associate Director of Public Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, my list of journalists who have jumped to the Obama administration — plus one who traveled through the revolving door from helping the Obama campaign into a news media slot — is up to a dozen.

Newsweek's Embedded Obama Campaign Reporter Joins Obama Administration.  The revolving door between the media and Team Obama continues to rotate.  Some journalists on the campaign trail were infatuated with Obama, and that's certainly true of the Newsweek reporter who covered Obama in-depth (with the promise that nothing he learned would be revealed until after the election).

The President's Biggest Whopper and MSM's Complicity In Serving It Up:  President Obama did it again yesterday, "guaranteeing" Americans that if they liked their health insurance, they could keep it.  (Exact quote:  "Here's a guarantee that I've made:  If you have insurance that you like, then you will be able to keep that insurance.  If you've got a doctor that you like, you will be able to keep your doctor.")  This is obviously, almost absurdly not true, but still the president repeats it again and again, probably because he knows that if Americans genuinely understood the threat to their existing insurance posed by his plan, they would pursue their representatives and senators with a fury that would kill the plan off immediately.

All-Access Obama.  A new study by the Business and Media Institute shows that if liberal health plans are losing popularity, it can't be blamed on TV news.  From Jan. 20 to June 24 on ABC, CBS and NBC, fully 70 percent of the soundbites supported Obama's leftist health-care ideas.  Network reporters exaggerated the number of uninsured Americans up to "50 million."  The networks ignored how big-government health schemes like the one in Massachusetts were more costly than planned.

Health Care Facts Not In Evidence.  It's pretty daring to question the very premise required to stampede-sell the destruction of the private insurance industry and takeover of health care. ... For the most part, though, it seems that urgent need for "health care reform" — whatever that actually means — is a fact unquestioned by the media, like the article of faith anointing the president as "The Greatest Communicator Ever" (despite the evidence to the contrary:  his total dependence on scripted words on teleprompters; his ever increasing disasters when off-prompter).

Obama on Time magazine cover

Seven Time Mag Covers Since Election for Obama.  Time magazine's August 10 edition with President Barack Obama on the cover ("Paging Dr. Obama") trying to heal the nation in a photo illustration as a physician, wearing a white smock with a stethoscope around his neck, brings to seven the number of issues the magazine's cover has featured Obama just since November's election — make that eight for the First Family if you add in June 1's genuflecting "The Meaning of Michelle."

Unread Lips.  It should not take alternative news sources to bring the president's multiple "read my lips" reversals to public awareness.  Isn't it obvious that if such inconsistencies — suggesting calculated untruthfulness — had come from a Republican president, the establishment media would have unearthed them long, long ago?

CNN Runs Glowing Segment About Pro-ObamaCare Rally.  CNN's Newsroom on Thursday [8/6/2009] ran a glowing documentary-style report about a pro-ObamaCare rally on Capitol Hill that was organized by a coalition of left-wing organizations.  Anchor Heidi Collins introduced the report without referencing any of the organizers, which included ACORN, MoveOn.org and SEIU.  The report also featured a former Obama campaign operative who pushed for the president's plan.

The empty words of a journalist turned flack.  Linda Douglass, the former CBS and ABC News correspondent who joined the Obama presidential campaign and later the administration, has emerged as the point person in the White House push back against "disinformation" regarding national health care.  She's one of several former journalists who are part of Team Obama, and her story, in particular, illustrates the difficulties that politically connected Democratic journalists can face both inside and outside the government.

The Obama family sure does spend a lot of time on vacation.
 First Family Heading to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon.  The First Family is taking a vacation before their vacation.  White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday [8/7/2009] the president, First Lady Michelle and the kids are heading west on Aug. 14 for a long weekend to visit Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National parks.  Just days later, the First Family travels to Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.

The Editor says...
 Where are the reporters who complained so loudly about George W. Bush taking so much vacation time?  You may recall that when President Bush was in office, "mainstream" reporters counted weekends as vacation time, and complained that Mr. Bush was away from the White House one third of his term.  The big difference is that President Bush spent his time at Crawford, or Camp David, or Kennebunkport.  Obama travels to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central America — wherever totalitarian dictators can be found — and the press is perfectly content.

MSNBC Anchor:  "'Socialist' Is Becoming the New N-word".  Did you know that when you refer to someone as a socialist, you're really calling them the N-word?  Such an astonishing hypothesis was offered by MSNBC's Carlos Watson Monday [8/10/2009]...

Protesting the Protesters.  How odd that in a different context, with different protesters, these disruptions would be seen as brave.  But it's not brave at all, according to the media.  That's because, for once, the media is not on the protesting side.  Instead, the media is the "power" that's being spoken to — and that confuses them.  And so they mock.

CNN Lets White House 'Fact Check' Anti-Obama Claims.  CNN's 3pm ET Newsroom anchor Rick Sanchez on Tuesday pleaded with White House spokesperson (and former ABC and CBS reporter) Linda Douglass to reject as a "falsity" that the health care "public option" desired by congressional liberals would include government payments for abortions.  "There's no evidence, as we've found out, that there's any plans to make the government or make all Americans pay for abortions in the plan," Sanchez insisted before lobbing this softball to Douglass:  "What's your strategy for dealing with those falsities?"

Obama Merchandise a Big Seller at NBC Store.  If you're a fan of all things Obama, NBC Universal's online store has no fewer than 29 options for your buying pleasure — from a shirt with the president's picture proclaiming "YES WE DID" to both of his books to a special inauguration DVD to a refrigerator magnet of the first couple.

New York Times' Disgrace Deepens.  It is not just the rapid growth of online news alternatives that is destroying newspapers.  The New York Times was once the most respected paper in America.  Now it has become a paper in service to an agenda and a political party.  Is it any wonder why people look elsewhere for news?

What Went Wrong:  [Scroll down]  There is a growing fear that Obamism is becoming cult-like and Orwellian.  Almost on script, Hollywood ceased all its Rendition/ Redacted-style films.  Iraq — once the new Vietnam — is out of the news.  Afghanistan is "problematic," not a "blunder."  Tribunals, renditions, the Patriot Act, and Predators are no longer proof of a Seven Days in May coup, but legitimate tools to keep us safe.  Words change meanings as acts of terror become "man-caused disasters."  Hunting down jihadists is really an "overseas contingency operation."  Media sycophants do not merely parrot Obama, but now proclaim him a "god."

Obama unaccustomed to having his lies challenged.  President Barack Obama is one of the most spoiled politicians ever to capture the imagination of a nation.  He has enjoyed what author and newsman Bernard Goldberg has described as "a slobbering love affair" with the American media.  So many members of the Fourth Estate in this country have so thoroughly compromised themselves to sell his radical agenda that the American people no longer trust them even to report the news.

Michelle Obama and the double-edged sword of fashion.  I suppose there must be some people who genuinely regard Michelle Robinson Obama as beautiful, elegant, and tasteful.  But I am not among them.  I have yet to meet a heterosexual male who finds Michelle a hottie.  The media hype portraying her as the heir to Jackie Kennedy may persuade a few, but in most instances I believe that it only reinforces the reputation of such media outlets as purely propagandistic organs, the same folks selling the equally implausible narrative of the town halls as full of Nazis and astroturfers.

The thrill is gone for Obama and the media.  There's nothing like a summer vacation to rekindle a romance.  So maybe a week on Martha's Vineyard can bring back some of the magic between the Obama administration and the media.

Obama and faith:  Reaching out to progressive faith leaders in two massive conference calls, Obama insisted that God was on his side. ... When President George W. Bush invoked God as his inspiration, many liberals lamented the shattering of the wall between church and state by our theocrat in chief.  When Obama does likewise, it's inspiring, spiritual leadership.

Palin Flummoxes the Elites with Common Sense.  As you may have noticed, the "traditional" media recently morphed from administration critics into a pro bono public relations firm for the White House.  It happened on or about January 20, 2009.  Now, they're flummoxed by their failure to refute a woman they believe has the communications savvy of a pimento.

The Editor says...
 In my opinion, "it happened" no later than November 4, 2008.

Obama and the Media:  Trouble in Paradise.  Many have remarked upon the growing rift between the former sweethearts. ... It's the president and the mainstream media.  Those soul mates are at odds — squabbling in public and tossing about recriminations.  What had been a match made in heaven has turned sour, and it's not clear they can ever go back to the way things were during their long and intense courtship.

False reports about guns.  Countless newspapers and television networks — from CBS to MSNBC — have misreported that conservative protesters are threatening President Obama with guns at public events.  It hasn't happened.

The Internet power grab by the Obama White House.  "Once Americans realize what's happening it may be too late thanks to Obama's supporters in the news media.  Do a search and you won't see stories about this power grab in the major media," warns [political strategist Mike] Baker.

MSNBC Guest Comments on Obama in Classroom.  Once again, one of the masters of the universe trotted out on MSNBC has discovered the cure to one of society's ills — more Obama.

Van Jones story finally goes mainstream.  I say finally because as Byron York pointed out yesterday in the Examiner, not one major media organ had a word about the Truther.  Today [9/5/2009], however, that has changed as WaPo, CBS, and CNN have discussed the controversy.

Networks censor health care debate.  Both [ABC and NBC] have refused to run an ad proposed for national telecast by the League of American Voters, a nonprofit group with 15,000 members.  The supposedly offensive ad makes the simple claim that the proposed government-run health care program would ration medical care.

Couric should look in mirror.  Now that White House "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones has resigned, what's next?  Inevitably, the American mainstream media — ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, et al — must be held to account for sitting on the sidelines as this major story kept building without them, went viral on YouTube, and then became so large that a key appointee of President Obama was forced to step down.

Obama Set to Force ObamaCare while His Eligibility Trial Date Set?  If Obama's motion to dismiss is not granted, [Orly] Taitz' discovery hearing will take place that same day and the case challenging Obama's eligibility will proceed.  ... As of this writing not one of the major news outlets (aka Obama's State-run media) have reported anything at all on Judge Carter's ruling.

Imagine Van Jones in a GOP White House.  Perhaps you are tired of pundits writing "If a Republican president had done what Obama just did..." or "If a Republican had said something like that..."  It does get rather boring to point out double standards that the press uses to report on Democrats and Republicans — and especially Barack Obama and any GOP president, past or future.  But the record must be made...

Obama's Lies Matter, Too.  It is telling that so many people who claim to be speaking on the side of Truth, Justice, and the American Way of Journalism have consistently focused their outrage-o-meters at individual townhall attendees, political broadcast entertainers, and the lesser lights of a lame (if resurgent-by-default) opposition party, while letting walk nearly fact-check-free the non-irrelevant occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Flashback:  CBS Had No Difficulty Finding Van Jones in 2003.  If you rely only on the three major broadcast networks or one of the top major national papers as your news sources, the name "Van Jones" might prompt you to say,"Who?"  But, while the media had difficulty reporting on Van Jones the embattled member of the Obama Administration, it had no such trouble covering Van Jones the anti-Iraq War protestor.

Flick Off Obama.  The omnipresence of Barack Hussein Obama is guaranteed by the television, more aptly identified by the little people as, "the boob tube".  Obama's speech to Congress last night was forced upon the unwashed masses.  Or was it? ... The television networks and lying politicians do not deserve your patronage.

First reports from AP and NY Times indicate 'thousands' at DC protest?  Pictures supplied by Fox and CNN appeared to me to show a crowd stretching all the way from the Capitol steps, back many, many blocks, stretching off into the distance.  By any stretch of the imagination, such a crowd should have been indentified in "the hundreds of thousands."

Analysis of the House ACORN vote:  The House's 345-75 vote to defund ACORN is indeed, as my Examiner colleague Byron York put it, extraordinary.  Democrats voted 172-75 to defund ACORN; Republicans voted 173-0 to do so.  This would not have occurred but for the [BigGovernment.com] videos of ACORN employees encouraging tax evasion and prostitution.  "Mainstream media" studiously ignored this big, big story, because it put Obama's political allies in ACORN in a bad light ... As indicated by members' votes, mainstream America was clearly repulsed by the facts that "mainstream media" tried to conceal.

Did someone mention ACORN?

'Killing Granny'.  Newsweek seeks to make us more comfortable with the idea of killing our parents and grandparents.  The ObamaCare deal they want us buy is that only if more old people die, will there be better medical treatment for everyone else.  That is, you and me.  It's a sucker's deal.  Because not only will more "old" people die with ObamaCare, but more of everyone else will die too.

YouTube Caught Red-handed Cooking Stats for Obama.  DrudgeReport.com is currently linking to a YouTube video of a government schoolteacher instructing young students to praise Obama in song.  While this is shocking, there is an even bigger story here.  Consider this:  the video's "views" counter listed only 363 views as of 1:04 p.m. EST on Sept. 24.  But at the same time it had 2,279 comments.  What's wrong with this picture? ... YouTube likely doesn't want you to know about the Obama worship video.  So, perhaps, like a sleazy car dealer dialing down an odometer, they dial down the hit counter to a point where the video languishes in the recesses of the site.

Obama and ACORN:  Barack Obama gave five interviews last Sunday, and only one interviewer bothered to ask him about the ACORN scandal.

More about Obama and ACORN.

Pollsters push people to accept Obamacare.  Gallup has unintentionally revealed how they, and other polling organizations, have been pushing the public to accept Obamacare.  The revelation came in a report late last month which revealed that a significant majority of Americans believes that individuals themselves, and not the government, should be responsible for ensuring they have health insurance. ... Even though the survey was released on September 30, not too many folks have seen these numbers.  As they do with most anti-Obamacare news, the Democrats' Big Media acolytes have avoided the report...

How The VRWC Really Works:  The more accurate the reporting on a story that unnerves the Democrats, the more likely the major media are to block it.  There is no more stunning example of this than the reporting on Christopher Andersen's new best-seller, Barack and Michelle:  The Portrait of an American Marriage.

MSNBC Goes Into Astroturf Mode.  Remember back just a few short months ago — when thousands, if not millions, of Americans were protesting out-of-control government spending and other policies favored by President Barack Obama's administration?  Surprised by the resounding turnout, the usual lefty talking heads on MSNBC ... explained the protests away as being fake grassroots aka AstroTurf.

CBS Awed By Obama — for Blocking a Basketball Shot.  Hours before the Nobel committee awarded its "Peace Prize" to President Barack Obama, the CBS Evening News found another "achievement" to tout:  A White House-released photo of Obama blocking a basketball shot.

Consumer Reports Chucks Reputation to Hawk ObamaCare.  Consumer Reports has tossed away political neutrality to side with Democrats in support of a government run health care system that will be costly to consumers.  "[W]e are doing something that we've never done before.  For the first time ever, Consumers Union is weighing in with a TV ad that calls on lawmakers to find a solution for health reform," said Jim Guest, publisher of Consumer Reports.

20 More Questions for Barack Obama.  Because our servile journalists spend their days awash in ecstasy, thinking endlessly of the tingle that runs up their leg when they see Barack Obama, they don't seem to be able to find the time to ask him any tough questions.  That leaves the rest of us out in the cold, dreaming of queries we'd like to see asked of the President of the United States — if our press would turn in its Obama Fan Club memberships and start acting like members of the media again.  With that in mind ... I've come up with 20 questions I'd like to see asked to Barack Obama.

Despite Evidence to Contrary, Boston Globe Says MA Economy is 'Generally Improving'.  In an October 16, 2009, article in the Boston Globe, staffer Andrea Estes makes the eye-opening assertion that the economy in Massachusetts is "generally improving."  Facts and reality suggest otherwise.

CBS's Couric Finally Notices Obama's $1.4 Trillion Deficit.  Back on October 7, when the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit had ballooned to a massive $1.4 trillion during President Obama's first year on the job, Katie Couric's CBS Evening News did not tell viewers.  But Couric finally caught up to the bad news after the Obama White House put out its final numbers on Friday afternoon [10/16/2009].

Magazine Editors' Group Creates Award Category for Obama Covers.  The Magazine Publishers of America's American Society of Magazine Editors has added a category to its annual magazine cover awards:  Obama.  This new category is the only ASME category focused on a single person, and highlights the reverential attitude for the President widely held in the magazine publishing community.

Obama's Pedophilia Czar.  This is the only time in our recent history that the White House has directly complained about news coverage by naming an entire news organization. Of course Fox is the only network that did not participate in the last election as if it was one of Obama's campaign outlets.  [Anita] Dunn went on to complain that Fox could not be a real news organization because of the fact that it did not blindly support Obama.

His propaganda has seeped into everything.  With the full blessing of the media, Obama is still in election mode, and I say:  If elections persist more than 24 months, it's a problem.  Especially when the networks are giving him free time to air what amount to campaign commercials.

Firing at Fox, Shooting Themselves.  The White House's effort to target a news organization like Fox is vaguely Nixonian.  The case put forward by the pro-Mao political theorist Anita Dunn is filled with errors and erroneous statements. ... This whole anti-Fox gambit will come across to a lot of people as misguided and petty, the product of a White House that is unusually thin-skinned and somewhat paranoid — and, perhaps, as one that can't be trusted with power.

Does Anyone Know Barack Obama?  If, as the saying goes, the perfect is the enemy of the good, then Barack Obama is his own worst enemy.  That becomes clear in the upcoming HBO documentary "By the People:  The Election of Barack Obama," which is the product of many months of behind-the-scenes access to Obama during the presidential campaign.  It reveals — you will be surprised to learn — that Barack Obama is pretty close to the most perfect person you will never get to know.

Silence of the Lambs.  Words have the power to wake people up.  Silence can lull them to sleep.  Silence legitimizes abnormal behavior, makes it appear normal and acceptable.  People become desensitized, numb.  First there's one advisor to Obama linked to Communism.  The MSM doesn't say a word.  Then there are three or five or ten or [who] knows how many.  If The New Black Panthers bring billy clubs to polling sites and get away with it, that's the new normal.  The next thing we know, a union thug bites off a finger at a Town Hall.  If Hillary and Sarah are vilified and enough people don't speak out, then everyone, from Rush to us, becomes fair game.

Evita Obama.  A New York Times op-ed today verges on self-parody, as the biggest cheerleader for Michelle Obama, graphics editor Charles Blow, expresses his adoration for the First lady.  He has enough sense to begin with the words, "Forgive me in advance for fawning..." and lives up to the billing.

Media Discovering that Obama Balloon a Hoax.  [Scroll down]  If not for the Obama mania, the soaring rhetoric, the messianic frenzy, the tingling legs, the false hope, the thronging, the fainting, the gushing, the emotionalism, the fawning, the hype, the rapture, the delusion, etc., the news reporters would have noticed. ... They should have noticed that the man didn't come out of Middle America, but out of the crooked streets of Chicago machine politics.  They should have noticed his associates were not exactly normal Americans.  They should have noticed it wasn't guilt by association, but guilt by associating.  They should have noticed that remaining in Jeremiah Wright's racist, divisive, anti-American church for 20 years was simply not reasonable.

Did someone mention Jeremiah Wright again?

This material came from akdart.com
What if George W. Bush had done that?  A four-hour stop in New Orleans, on his way to a $3 million fundraiser.  Snubbing the Dalai Lama.  Signing off on a secret deal with drug makers.  Freezing out a TV network.  Doing more fundraisers than the last president.  More golf, too.  President Barack Obama has done all of those things — and more. ... Conservatives look on with a mix of indignation and amazement and ask:  Imagine the fuss if George W. Bush had done these things?

Congress Uses Sham Poll to Force Total Control ObamaCare.  Liberal and leftist Congressional leaders have recently used what strongly appears to be an exaggerated and embellished-in-ObamaCare's-favor poll in order to bolster the case for their government-run healthcare mandate — no it is neither a public "option" nor Nancy Pelosi's consumer "option" but, it is no option at all.

Obama 'Most Powerful Writer Since Julius Caesar,' Says NEA Chief.  Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, declared in a speech to art philanthropists in Brooklyn last week that President Obama is the world's most powerful writer since the days of Caesar.

Obama's bootlicking NEA chairman.  I suspect that Obama would prefer [Rocco] Landesmann keep his mouth shut when it comes to claims that Obama actually wrote his own books.  Given the accumulating weight of evidence that Obama's first book was actually ghost-written by his neighbor Bill Ayers, the less attention devoted to the subject, the better.

Did someone mention plagiarism?

He Came, He Saw, He Kowtowed.  It seems Rocco Landesman, the head of the National Endowment for the Arts, didn't get the memo, literally. ... By demonstrating with brazenly self-abasing ignorance that he is wholly Obama's man, Landesman is making it clear that the NEA is completely committed to Obamaism.  There's no need for any more of Mr. Sergant's tacky, Chicago-style pay-to-play.  Self-humiliation sends a far more powerful signal.  No doubt the provincial official has pleased his Caesar.

Crushing the media.  The American media elected Obama.  No presidential candidate's past ever went so deliberately underexposed.  So the attack on Fox may simply have been payback to the networks that are hemorrhaging viewers, the equivalent for the media of a night in the Lincoln bedroom.  Whatever the rationale, Team Obama's apparatchiks were fully in step with the global left's war on freedom of speech.

We know more about the Obama's marriage than we do about healthcare.
 False transparency:  I've given up hope of ever finding out what young Barack actually did at Occidental and Columbia or even reading a snippet of what he wrote, if anything, for the Harvard Law Review. ... I'm not really interested in Obama as a man (or as a husband).  I'm interested in what he does.  And most of that, of late, he has done in secret.  We know more about his marriage than about how the healthcare legislation was drafted or how its contents are being negotiated.

Sick-bags at the ready:  The New York Times gushes over the Obamas' state dinner.  If you're feeling queasy, look away now.  The New York Times scales new heights of sycophancy in its report of the White House state dinner last night, which by their account was the most charming, imaginative, glittering — yet tasteful! — social event since Jackie Kennedy was Queen of Camelot.  Indeed, it may even have surpassed Jackie's standards, since Barack and Michelle added a deeply appropriate and thoughtful element of multiculturalism to the glamorous proceedings.

Media follow W.H. script.  [Scroll down]  But a detailed examination of news coverage of the reassessment issue in the major national newspapers, primarily The Washington Post and The New York Times, suggests that many angles and details of the stories were being carefully fed by White House aides to all-too-willing reporters who dressed it up as the inside dope.  In reality, many reporters were steered into spinning the story exactly the way the White House wanted it told, with relatively little skepticism or criticism.

ADL Report Smears Tea Party Conservatives.  The report has been all the "rage" in the Obama PR machine — a.k.a. the mainstream media — which has exhausted any remaining trace of objectivity by spending a summer and fall crudely mocking average Americans who've shown up at town halls and tea parties in a true exercise of "community organizing" that the Beltway-Greenwich cocktail axis just can't stomach.

Did White House "Gatecrashers" Have Ties to Obama?  While the major media have bought the official storyline about the so called White House gatecrashers, could there be more to this scandal?  The mainstream media have ignored obvious holes in the story and important facts about the alleged gatecrashers.

N.Y. Times Downplays 'Non-Religious Christmas' Plans at White House.  Maybe they didn't know it, but The New York Times left a Christmas bomb in paragraph 12 of its syrupy Sunday story on Desiree Rogers, the bumbling Obama social secretary. ... In a description of how Rogers would make sure the White House was "Obama-tized," Stolberg noted Rogers would bend tradition to make Christmas much more secular in the new era.

Entertainment Media Finds Any Excuse to Blast Sarah Palin.  The entertainment media's treatment of Sarah Palin and her family has been abhorrent.  Like their biased and unjust hard news media brethren, entertainment outlets have gone out of their way to tarnish Palin's image.  While tabloids, semi-legitimate entertainment programs and celebrities issue incessant praise for President Obama and his leftist policies, Palin is showered with insults and inappropriate slurs.

Mr. Obama:  Tear Down Your Wall of Secrecy.  At a press conference earlier this year, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Obama's detailed birth certificate.  His response?  He laughed.  And he laughed some more.  The room filled with journalists laughed heartily with Gibbs.  The question continues to "astound" him.  After all, it's posted right there online.  As long as it's a laughing matter, why not humor us, Mr. President?  Humor us with your complete birth records, naming the hospital and physician.

A Year of Obama Love.  The year 2009 might be classified as the year Barack Obama came down to Earth.  The latest NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that 47 percent approve of the job Obama is doing, and 46 percent disapprove.  Those are not exactly Messiah numbers.  And that's the big difference between the public and the press.  The media do believe he's God.

Percy Sutton dies; His Obama revelation omitted from obituaries.  However, one of [Percy] Sutton's most notable moments is absent from the media hagiographies I have seen:  he stated on television that he knew that an Islamic supremacist, Dr. Khalid al-Mansour, and advisor to a wealthy Saudi, had paid for Barack Obama's education at Harvard Law School.  Exactly how young Barack Obama, a man of slender means, managed to pay for a Harvard Law degree has long been a mystery, and the President has not been forthcoming about any details of his elite education.

Boo hoo.
 CBS Frets Obama Must Work.  The failures that allowed the unsuccessful Christmas Day terrorist attack have marred President Barack Obama's relaxation schedule in Hawaii, CBS's Jeff Glor and Chip Reid regretted Thursday night as Reid fretted Obama had "hoped to spend this vacation recharging his batteries, but now he appears to be spending most of it working"...

Translation:  Newsweek is letting White House speech writers produce their magazine.
 Obama to Pen Cover Story on Haiti and the Earthquake for Newsweek.  Like at a lot of publications, Newsweek was forced to start its week over when the earthquake hit Haiti.  Give the magazine credit for an artful recovery.  The Washington Post Co.-owned publication has tapped President Barack Obama to pen a cover story on Haiti for the Jan. 25 issue hitting newsstands on Monday [1/18/2010].

The Editor says...
 The article probably will not be written by Barack H. Obama, because apparently he has never written anything before.

'American Idol' Goes Out of the Way to Pay Tribute to Current President.  Now even pop culture platforms like "American Idol" are in the tank for President Barack Obama?  It appears so.

How To Kill Political Correctness Before It Kills Us.  I've been doing consumer reports for over 34 years and, from my perspective, the No. 1 consumer issue is the sad state of the mainstream media.  It has become something other than a segment of the media, and now can be correctly described as a propaganda organ of a Democratic Party controlled executive branch of the U.S. Government.  What's worse, it is totally biased, dishonest, and fraudulent and can no longer be trusted to deliver the information needed by the American people.  It pulled off the biggest fraud in electoral history by pushing the election of President Barack Obama, and is continuing to work hand-in-hand with the Obama administration in destroying America as we know it.

Obama's Bipartisanship Scam:  [Scroll down]  Flipping between CNN and Fox, I couldn't hear much of what Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said.  Pence's microphone wasn't working.  And when members asked the president questions — tough ones from Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) — the cameras never panned to show the congressmen.  They showed the president and only the president.

The Most Important Story You Didn't See Last Week:  A Senate hearing last week confirmed the public's worst concern about Barack Obama:  that when it comes to national security, Obama hasn't just been asleep at the switch — he hasn't even bothered to find the switch. ... The Obamedia all but ignored the hearing, of course.  It was more important for them to protect their anointed One... even if folks' lives are at stake.

Obama vs. Einstein:  According to the Washington Post, David Axelrod, Barack Obama's senior advisor, said that the president worked with "[Harvard professor] Laurence Tribe on a paper on the legal implications of Einstein's theory of relativity."  I've read that paper, "The Curvature of Constitutional Space."  It's complete nonsense.  It shows no understanding of Einstein's theory of relativity, or of the relationship between relativity theory and Newton's theory.

By Dawn's Early Light:  How the MSM Fawns over Johnsen.  Despite repeated, uxorious, absurdly one-sided endorsements from the liberal media, the February 4 vote on President Obama's year-old nomination of "darling of the left" Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has mercifully been postponed.

More about Dawn Johnsen.

Limbaugh Bashes Blitzer For Ignoring Obama's Sinking Poll Numbers.  Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh absolutely trashed Wolf Blitzer Tuesday [2/9/2010] for ignoring Barack Obama's declining poll numbers. ... "He's down to 44% in a couple of polls, 46% in another, and where is the State-Controlled Media reporting this?"  To drive home the point, Limbaugh shared a montage of how Blitzer one day in March 2006 reported George W. Bush's sagging poll numbers almost every hour on the hour.

Obama's Balloon Hits the Dirt.  The hot-air balloon has crashed to Earth, and you can tell conservatism is back with a swagger.  You can tell because the media's daily output has gone from breathless valentines for Obama to angry denunciations of Tea Party protesters.

Ignorance is Strength.  When it comes to Obama, the "New York Times" always looks on the bright side of life.

From the administration's lips to the pages of the Washington Post.  [Scroll down]  I also find it interesting that [Walter] Pincus is reporting the administration's line so uncritically.  If the Bush administration had presented, a month and a half after the fact, a set of alleged facts designed to counter public perception that it had botched a matter like this, would the Washington Post's crack investigative reporters fail to entertain the possibility that they were being fed self-serving spin?  I don't thnk so.

Wire Watch:  AP's Ben Feller Shamelessly Spins Obama Talking Points.  It's not exactly surprising to see a writer for the Apparatchik Press — er, the Associated Press — compose an in-the-tank item sympathetic with the Obama administration.  But Ben Feller's unlabeled analysis Monday morning [2/15/2010] is so over the top and totally backwards that it may merit its own place in the journalistic Hall of Shame.

Blaming 'Gridlock' For U.S. Budget Woes.  Less than a month after Scott Brown whittled Democrats' Senate majority to a mere 59-41, the Old Gray Lady is already blaming "gridlock" for America's budget woes.

CNN Celebrates Obama Stimulus With a Birthday Cake.  Over at the most trusted name in news, they sure know how to party when it's called for.  That was evident this afternoon on CNN Newsroom when anchor Ali Velshi gushed:  "Happy birthday, dear stimulus.  Our producer Ben Tinker (ph) baked this cake.  It is a stimulus happy birthday — first birthday cake, which is also a pie chart.  It is the birthday of the stimulus."

How the Left Reveals Itself:  I have recently come to the conclusion that leftists reveal their innermost thoughts when attacking those with whom they disagree.  This was perhaps illustrated most clearly when, after President Obama's recent State of the Union address:  MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews revealed that for an hour he forgot the president was black.

What a Difference a Year Makes.  A year ago the media resonated with the celebration of democracy, grassroots pushback against the existing order, the renewal of Congress, and the novel harmony between government and the people.  Now?  Suddenly all this seems to be inoperative: ... The people themselves have almost magically gone from enlightened to dense, gullible, and undeserving of their one chance at progressive salvation.

Breitbart to NY Times Reporter: 'You're a Despicable Human Being'.  After Barack Obama's election as the first black president of the United States, we were supposed to have entered a new, post-racial era.  However, as many feel it has turned out, any dissent or criticism of the most powerful man in the free world or his agenda draws allegations of "racial tones," as happened on the New York Times Web site on Feb. 18.

Everybody but NBC played along with the White House on this one:
 NBC:  Obama Made Dalai Lama Sneak Out of White House Past Trash Bags.  Uniquely among Friday's broadcast network evening newscasts, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams gave his viewers a glimpse into the undignified exit endured by the Dalai Lama, who was made to walk past a number of trash bags as President Obama sought to keep the Chinese government from noticing the meeting.  A photograph of the Tibetan spiritual leader walking past the bags was shown as Williams read the piece.

What's the Plan?  [Scroll down]  The President's tactic, it seems, is to demand that the Republicans put forth a plan, regardless of how often Republicans say, "Here it is!" Obama will just keep demanding that the Republicans put forth a plan.  He is confident — obviously with very good reason — that the MSM, in full lapdog mode, will help all it can in convincing the public that the Republicans have no plan.  The cynicism is just stunning.

Cuba's Free and Fabulous Healthcare.  Back in August 2009 ... CNN was frantically producing infomercials for Obama's healthcare plan.  Lucky for them Michael Moore had a handy supply of valuable footage from his infomercials for Castro's healthcare plan.  So on the August 6 edition of CNN's "Newsroom," while Morgan Neil "reported" on location from a Potemkin Havana hospital, gushing about Cuban healthcare's "impressive statistics!" the broadcast included clips from Michael Moore's Sicko, adding much oomph to the propaganda montage.

Is Disillusionment with Media-Created Obama Causing People to Snap?  [Scroll down slowly]  Many, evidently, believed the whole rotten fairytale spun around this mere mortal.  And let's face it.  Barack Obama had absolutely no accomplishments to his name other than a couple of Ivy League degrees (degrees, but not a transcript or a paper or a shred of research), a bunch of radical political connections from the most corrupt city machine in American history and a childhood narrative of pure political gold in a country still guilt-ridden over the racist actions of their ancestors.  Yet, the establishment media drooled...

At Health Care Summit, Republicans Calm, Collected, and Camera-ready.  Speculation was rampant that today's health care summit could be a trap for Republicans. ... The concern for the GOP going in was that President Obama, with his supreme oratory skills, would back the GOP into a corner and get them to agree to legislation out of sheer political necessity.  The national news media would, of course, be lying in wait, cameras rolling, anticipating a slip up to fill the evening broadcasts.

Matthews:  GOP Worried About Obama Standing Over Them 'Like God'.  Even when Chris Matthews attempts to side with the conservative/Republican position on an issue, he ends up either bashing them or praising Democrats, something he did three times on Wednesday's Hardball.  First up Matthews raised a GOP concern that Barack Obama should not speak in an "elevated" position, by using a podium, at the health care summit because it would present Obama as "standing up there like God" over them.

Where's the accountability?  Two years ago, the Democrats and their friends in the liberal media were patting themselves on the back because of a National Intelligence Estimate that baldly stated, "Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the fall of 2003."  This was thought to make President George Bush look bad because he was insisting that Iran was a rogue nation that presented a growing threat in the Mideast and throughout the world.  Since it made George Bush look bad, it was therefore considered of major significance.

Why Are the Media Still Falling for Obama's Health Care Deadlines?  President Obama's so-called reform is getting readies for yet another "final push," so why do journalists still believe Obama's deadlines?

Michelle Obama named fitness role model.  Fitness magazine named Michelle Obama one of 10 role models committed to bringing healthy living, exercise and better nutrition to U.S. communities.

Stop 'Healthzilla' Monster Now, Or Live With MSM-Created Horror Forever.  [Scroll down]  And don't underestimate the power of the MSM.  When the January jobs report showed a fractional decrease in the number of unemployed, the MSM jubilantly proclaimed that the economy had turned the corner and hailed Obama as an economic savior.  And all for a microscopic, temporary improvement in the jobless rate, due largely to the sad fact that more people simply stopped looking for work.

Talking Points vs. Reality:  [Scroll down]  I can say that I can afford to buy a Rolls Royce, without going into debt, by using my inheritance from a rich uncle.  But, in the real world, the question would arise immediately whether I in fact have a rich uncle, not to mention whether this hypothetical rich uncle would be likely to leave me enough money to buy a Rolls Royce.  In politics, however, you can say all sorts of things that have no relationship with reality.  If you have a mainstream media that sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil — when it comes to Barack Obama — you can say that you will pay for a vast expansion of government-provided insurance by taking money from the Medicare budget and using other gimmicks.

Obama to America:  Bend Over and Cough.  [Scroll down]  Democrats bask in an Obama-loving liberal traditional media.  The media cheerlead for health care "reform" and desperately want to give the President a "victory" — while accepting preposterous claims at face value.

Bachmann Rips Media for Not Covering Deem and Pass; Suggests Pelosi Impeachment Warranted.  [Scroll down]  "Well yeah and the other thing is treason media," Bachmann said.  "Where is the mainstream media in all of this not telling this story?  This is a compelling story — that the Speaker of the House would even consider having us pass a bill that no one votes on?"  According to Bachmann, this is such an egregious maneuver by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, to force through health care reform using the Slaughter Rule, as known as deem and pass, that it warrants her impeachment from the post.

Cheerleaders for ObamaCare:  A Year of Slanted Media Coverage.  As the Media Research Center's latest Media Reality Check details, over the past year, the media have served as cheerleaders for ObamaCare, praising the proposed legislation, while continually slamming its critics.

The Media Have Voted:  Health Care Reform Passes.  Forget democracy, journalists have thrown their weight behind the president on nationalized health care since the beginning.

You Lie!  MSNBC Lets Dem's False 45,000 'Uninsurance Deaths' Go Unchallenged.  Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, for one, does not want blood on his hands from 45,000 Americans who allegedly die every year due to lack of health insurance.  And MSNBC's Alex Witt, for one, doesn't think it worth questioning the veracity of that number.

AP:  Goverment Secrecy Increasing Under Obama, But It's Not His Fault.  In a week that has been chock full of lame claims, it would not be correct to say that the howler propagated by Sharon Thiemer of the Associated Press on Tuesday [3/16/2010] is the worst.  But it's definitely in the upper echelons.

MSNBC Contributor Equates State Lawsuits Against ObamaCare to Causes of the Civil War.  Why miss an opportunity to inject racism accusations into a highly charged debate like health care reform that was recently signed into law by President Barack Obama given the opportunity?  Melissa Harris-Lacewell, also of The Nation Magazine, in appearance on MSNBC's March 24 "Countdown" found a way, without exactly calling detractors "racists."

Obama's Pseudo-Achievement:  The story here is not that he succeeded against all odds and with the winds against him to push through historic legislation, even though that is what the media would have you believe.  The story is that a party holding a 75-seat margin in the House of Representatives was barely able to squeak by with its greatest legislative priority and most devoutly desired policy.

Where Were You When the Republic Died?  [Scroll down slowly]  The worst part of watching the proceedings unfold on Sunday was the endless stream of commentators and pundits calmly discussing this bill as if it were just one more piece of bad legislation that we will have to live under.  In fact, what has transpired is nothing less than an overthrow of the old Constitutional order.

Tens of Thousands Protest ObamaCare in D.C., Legacy Media Unimpressed.  Fox News made it "thousands," and the Washington Post first estimated hundreds and then stopped mentioning crowd size at all.  Yes, it's time for another game of "Legacy media, let's estimate that crowd."

Dissent's Noble — Until Aimed At Democrats.  During the Bush years, the news media were the promoters of protest, the champions of dissent.  Denouncing the president as a brain-damaged warmonger was the most patriotic thing you could do (just ask the Dixie Chicks), and it was guaranteed to please the press.

Message to Dems:  People still don't like Obamacare.  Did the world really change overnight?  If you listen to some Democratic spinners, you might think that the same American people who opposed Obamacare for many, many months now support it.  This week the president's supporters embraced a quickie poll by Gallup/USA Today showing that more Americans say it was a "good thing" than a "bad thing" that the health care plan has now been passed.

Will MSM Let Obama Get Away With 'We Don't Quit' War Whopper?  There are lies, damned lies, and then the kind of brazen rewriting of what a man stands for that Barack Obama engaged in yesterday [3/28/2010].  The swaggering Barack Obama, in his faux-military leather jacket, who boasted to American troops that "the United States of America does not quit once it starts on something," is the same man who in 2007 told the troops and the entire world that America and its military couldn't win in Iraq, never could, and should immediately quit.

Apple Boycotts Glenn Beck — Promotes Che Guevara.  "More than 200 companies have joined a boycott of (Glenn) Beck's program," reports the Washington Post.  "A handful of advertisers, such as (IPhone owner) Apple, have abandoned Fox altogether."  We can only assume this Apple "boycott" was prompted by what CBS's Katie Couric (quoting the Fox commentator's critics) describes as Beck's "inflammatory, unfair, despicable, hateful rhetoric."

Alexander:  Obama's 'Soviet-Style' Takeover of Student Loans.  Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.), the U.S. secretary of education from 1991 to 1993, tells National Review Online that President Obama's revamping of the federal student-loan program is "truly brazen" and the "most underreported big-Washington takeover in history."  "As Americans find out what it really does, they'll be really unhappy," Alexander predicts.

In Cantor Case, Media Fanned Flames of Violence:  'There Will Be Blood'.  [Scroll down]  But if you are waiting for the mainstream media to cover this, put down the bong.  Leftist media propagandists and their despotic leaders continue to smear and slander good, decent Americans who are trying to save the country from subversives, traitors, overthrowers and savages.  While the left and their media handmaidens rammed a bone-crushing, freedom-killing Obamacare bill though Congress, Americans had to listen to the wailing and caterwauling of the media over fake threats to Democrat criminals.

Michelle Obama Garden Photo-Op.  ABC and NBC on Wednesday night [3/31/2010] managed to contain to a brief item their enthusiasm for First Lady Michelle Obama planting her garden for the season, but not CBS which dedicated a full story to how the hula-hooping First Lady "is enjoying the kind of popularity her husband would jump through hoops for."

When Media Become Obama PR Agents.  In December 2004, my wife and I were invited to and attended the White House Hannukah Party.  Try as you might, you will not easily find anything in the mainstream media to reveal that President Bush was the first president to hold such an event.  His guest list included both Democrats and Republicans.  Now we have the spectacle of the White House seder, glowingly detailed on the front page of the New York Times.

Wonder where the next 'crisis' will be manufactured.  Now the MSM plays a vital role covering up initial results that fall well short of "expectations" and the financial justification erodes before our eyes.  Never once does the MSM compare real versus actual results, or re-examine the business case, or question the ability to achieve the desired outcomes.  The stimulus inability to create jobs and the inconsequential climate improvement promised by the "cap and trade" bill are conveniently ignored by the MSM.  The Mainstream Media is an active co-conspirator to government greed and manipulation, hiding in plain sight, and has forfeited any credibility as a fair and balanced check and balance of power.

ObamaCare and the Constitution :  The constitutional challenges to ObamaCare have come quickly, and the media are portraying them mostly as hopeless gestures — the political equivalent of Civil War re-enactors.  Discussion over:  You lost, deal with it.  The press corps never dismissed the legal challenges to the war on terror so easily...

HuffPo Columnist:  Media Didn't Do Enough to Shill for Health Care.  A lefty columnist for the Huffington Post believes that the media's coverage of the health care debate was sorely lacking. ... [Allison] Kilkenny's complaint seems to be that all media did not skew their coverage to the left, and those that did simply didn't skew it enough.

Seriously, why does Newsweek heart Joe Biden?  Please do read Newsweek's mash note to the vice-president "Why Liberals Have Grown to Love Joe Biden" — provided you're able to properly keep your gag reflex in check.  There are so many embarrassing things about it, it's hard to know where to begin.

Time Mag Chief Stengel:  Obama a Mandela for the 21st Century.  Time magazine Managing Editor Richard Stengel, who will be part of the roundtable on today's [4/4/2010] Meet the Press, wrote in a new book released on Tuesday:  "It is impossible to write about Nelson Mandela these days and not compare him to another potentially transformational black leader, Barack Obama.  The parallels are many."

Obama is no Mandela.  At a time when the press corps is competing to find the most creative ways to fawn over President Obama, I really have to hand it to Richard Stengel.  The managing editor of Time has a new book out on Nelson Mandela, released last week, and he goes to great lengths to compare the two leaders.

Obama Spares Us From Energy Independence; Ignorant MSM Cheers.  [Scroll down]  The drilling would not be permitted any closer than 125 miles from any shoreline, which is well into international waters.  In fact, nobody would ever see the drilling platforms.  A person of average height can only see about three miles into the horizon and even folks in the tallest luxury hotels have a vista that extends maybe 25 or 30 miles tops.  No, wrecking the view isn't something that folks are being spared from.

Because Frank Rich Says So.  It's an amazingly consistent process:  Frank Rich conjures up his thesis, scouts around for confirming evidence, and finds it every time!

O'Reilly Blasts Media for Demeaning and Neutralizing All Who Oppose Obama.  "If you oppose the Obama administration, you must be demeaned and neutralized."  So said Fox News's Bill O'Reilly Monday [4/5/2010] about the state of today's media.  "Ever since the Tea Party protest began last summer, the left-wing media in America has been attacking the movement," he began his Talking Points Memo.

Does Anybody Really Understand ObamaCare?  Since the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill, the Democrat leadership has embarked on a strategy of demonizing its opponents as angry, potentially violent racists.  Charles M. Blow developed a new line of attack in his New York Times column last weekend, with an argument based on a recent Pew Research Council poll: Republicans don't understand ObamaCare, so they have no right to criticize it.

Should Obama Step Down?  On page 31 in the transcribed text of the March 25, 2010 session of the Kenyan Parliament, there is a brief statement by the Kenyan Minister for Lands (Mr. Orengo).  What Mr. Orengo says is nothing short of a bombshell, and yet not a mention has been made anywhere in the mainstream media.  I think, for obvious reasons.

Say Barnicle:  Ever Heard Of Bork?  Mike Barnicle just wrapped up the Obama Parrot of the Week.  That's the award I hand out on my local TV show to the MSMer doing his sycophantic best to parrot the Obama party line.  Barnicle gave his award-winning performance on today's Morning Joe, in the course of tossing two super-softballs to David Axelrod.

GE's Big Brother.  [Scroll down slowly]  First and foremost, GE has been the recipient of bailout funds and stands to benefit from current and future contracts with the U.S. government.  This may partly explain MSNBC's highly favorable treatment of the Obama administration.  With GE's CEO sitting on Obama's economic panel, it is no surprise that MSNBC rarely provides critical coverage of the administration.  Furthermore, GE's environmental business interests may explain why NBC recently joined Hollywood in inserting environmentally-friendly messaging into network programming.

White House press corps turns on Barack Obama.  It's well established that Barack Obama, both as a candidate and a President, has received very favourable coverage from the American press.  But what's less known is that many of the White House reporters who cover Obama greatly resent the way they are treated by the Obama administration.

Why Is the L.A. Times Burying the Obama/Khalidi Tape?  Given the extraordinary sudden turnabout in US policy toward Israel under the Obama Administration, I have become obsessed by the repressed 2003 videotape of Rashid Khalidi and Barack Obama.  That tape — or so we are told — is ensconced in a safe at the Los Angeles Times building.  In the current situation, its release by the paper is more important and newsworthy than ever.  The Khalidi tape could be of tremendous significance in revealing the provenance of Obama's views on the Middle East and the degree to which the public was misled on those views during the presidential campaign.

More about the Khalidi tape.

Barack Obama plays eight times more golf than George W Bush.  President Barack Obama has played golf 32 times since he took office, eight times more than his predecessor George W. Bush — who was mocked by the Left for his fondness for the game — did in his entire presidency.

How's His Handicap?  Remember when Democrats used to criticize George W. Bush for golfing at the wrong time?  Maybe there was a crisis somewhere; maybe someone had died in combat; maybe legislation was being debated on the Hill.  It didn't matter.  Every time Bush golfed, the Democrats woofed.  So it is interesting to see that Barack Obama went golfing today rather than attending the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria.  This is the 32nd time Obama has golfed since taking office less than a year and a half ago.

After Obsessing Over Enron, Media Mostly Ignore Obama-Goldman Sachs Connections.  President Obama has extensive ties to Goldman Sachs.  Yet even given record-breaking financial contributions and sketchy relationships between Goldman executives and Obama officials at the highest level, the mainstream media will not afford Obama the same scrutiny it gave to George W. Bush during the collapse of Enron.

The Provocateur-in-Chief.  [Scroll down]  Following the President's lead, the liberal media will reinforce and defend any and all of his provocative statements.  Once the opposition is identified, they will be branded as dangerous right-wing radicals and railed against, on a daily basis, by the liberal media until they are marginalized.  This scenario has been playing out since before President Obama was elected, and will continue throughout his tenure in office.

Time mag lauds Obama as "on the path to huge success," ignores facts.  President Obama's success is underestimated by his critics and he's on path to become one of the most successful presidents ever, writes Mark Halperin of Time magazine. ... As for scandals, let's see:  There's the questionable dismissal of Gerald Walpin, the gangster-like shunting aside of creditors to General Motors and Chrysler, and the Justice Department's refusal to pursue charges against the Black Panthers who threatened Philadelphia on voting day.  There are the phantom districts getting stimulus money.  There's the administration's revolving door relationship with Goldman Sachs and other special interests.

Obama's Weekly Address Ignores Oil Spill.  Talk about your Katrina moments:  as the Gulf Coast deals with one of the biggest oil disasters in history, President Barack Obama used his weekly address to push for campaign finance reform. ... [C]onsider how media members would have responded if he was a Republican.

The Origins of the Lapdog Media.  Noam Chomsky, a self-declared socialist, once said, "Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the US [mainstream] media."  Never would he have imagined that his critique would apply more than ever to the present-day relationship between the mainstream media and President Obama.  This march to the media's present role of being in league with the Obama administration is the culmination of the good-versus-evil narrative of modern journalism.

'Daily Show' Writers Helped Obama With Correspondents' Dinner Jokes.  It now makes total sense why so many liberal media members thought President Obama killed at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner.  Writers from the "Daily Show" helped craft the jokes.  Such was reported Sunday by the Daily Beast's Lloyd Grove.

Obama/Media vs. Arizona/America.  Obama and the liberal mainstream media apparently couldn't care less about the national racial tension and violence fueled by their irresponsible distortion of the Arizona law.  This is the Al Sharpton and Tawana Brawley Hoax all over again.  Only this time, it is the President of the United States spreading lies and fueling the flames of racial hatred.

More about Race-based Political Opportunism.

Time Editor Thrills Over Obama Performance, Compares it to the Beatles.  The hosts and guests of a special Sunday edition of Morning Joe fawned over Barack Obama's May 1 performance at the White House Correspondence [sic] Dinner.  Time managing editor Richard Stengel appeared and knocked host Jay Leno by comparison:  "I think that's one of the things that undermined Jay's routine is that it's like coming after the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show."

The Media's Obamacare Whitewash.  Now they tell us.  The same press that swallowed President Barack Obama's every talking point about healthcare reform over the last year is now starting to shed some unflattering light on the numbers behind the recently passed legislation.

Obama's Burden of Brightness.  President Obama is frequently described as highly intelligent.  His advisor Valerie Jarrett has described this as a "burden." ... The "progressive" media can be counted on to regurgitate this mantra.  They have, in fact, surpassed it, and they have often entered the realm of idolatry or even adolescent infatuation.  Chris Matthews is perhaps the leading example of this.

The Editor says...
 If President Obama is so terribly bright, why does he need a Teleprompter for every speech?  Without a Teleprompter, he is a stammering dolt.  He only knows what he is told by his speech writers.  When he speaks extemporaneously, it is obvious that he is still just a "community organizer" (troublemaker) from Chicago.  Before pronouncing him a genius, let's see some test scores and college transcripts.  Show me his law license.  (He voluntarily surrendered it.)  Show me his diploma from Occidental College.  (Nobody remembers him being there.)  The "burden" of his intellect isn't that great.

When White House Correspondents Go Green, Follow the Money.  In the Politico today [4/30/2010], there's a story about how the Natural Resources Defense Council is advising the White House Correspondents' Association on how to "go green" with their annual dinner.  They seem to be taking this very seriously.

Obama's Supermarket-Scanner Moment: I Don't Know How To Work an iPod.  Remember when the MSM went crazy over [and likely exaggerated] George H.W.'s supposed unfamiliarity with a supermarket scanner?  Pres. Obama has now had his supermarket-scanner moment, claiming he doesn't know how to operate an iPod, among other popular electronic devices.  Do you think the MSM will pick on this in the same way to paint a portrait of an out-of-touch president?

Strange new respect.  Just turn on your TV, open a paper, or walk around your local downtown, and you'll notice love for the troops we've not seen since at least 1991, if not 1945.  Suddenly, aside from the clinically insane, most everyone seems to admire the soldiers who provide us our cherished freedoms; but why, especially when from 2001-2008, that admiration was pitifully lacking?  Oh yes, we have a different president.  That's the unspoken reason.

Media Double Standards:  Some Fair and Others... Not So Much.  Less than five years after George W. Bush wrecked his presidency through his limp response to a natural disaster in Louisiana, Barack Obama has escaped largely unscathed from his similarly feckless response to a man-made disaster in precisely the same part of the country.

Time Magazine Introduces Radical Obama Nominee, Says He's Not Radical.  "Any health care funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized and humane must, must redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate.  Excellent health care is by definition redistributional.  Britain, you chose well."  Was that a British socialist speaking in Parliament?  Nope.  It was Dr. Donald Berwick, a Harvard professor about to face Senate confirmation as President Obama's nominee to head Medicare and Medicaid.

We Have to Talk About Elena Kagan.  While the mainstream — or irrelevant — media waxes on about how she is a surprisingly moderate nominee for the president to have chosen, the extent of their critical examination of Ms. Kagan, former and first female Dean of Harvard Law School, consists of yarns about basketball and softball pickup games.

Google clamps down on Obama's Social Security story.  Internet behemoth Google apparently is clamping down further on consumers' access to a report about President Obama's Social Security number, which points out the number was designated for a Connecticut applicant, by warning that some sites carrying information on the situation "may harm your computer."

The Editor says...
 For those of you who get all your information from television, and have just recently discovered the news media bypass known as the internet, here's the story:  Barack H. Obama is a man with a remarkably murky past.  His own grandmother says she witnessed his birth -- in Kenya!  He's the only American president who has had his name legally changed.  His name used to be Barry Soetoro -- that's why columnists sometimes refer to him mockingly as "Barry."  When he was a kid, he was registered in school as a Muslim.  He says he attended Occidental College, but nobody remembers him being there.  The people who call themselves "journalists" haven't really cared about any of this, but a handful of investigators and attorneys have been digging, and one of the most remarkable discoveries is that Mr. Obama has apparently used multiple social security numbers in the past, including one that was issued to somebody else in Connecticut, where Mr. Obama has never lived.  If Obama were a Republican, would this not be a front-page scandal?

More about Obama's Social Security Number(s).

Holder's 'Haven't Read It' Arizona Immigration Law Admission Gets Little Coverage.  It will surprise almost no one who visits this site that Holder's admitted ignorance about a routinely misrepresented law — misrepresentations that have led to calls for boycotts of Arizona, a PC-obsessed cancellation of a girls high school basketball team's hoop dreams, and hysterical hyperventilation at Holder's Justice Department as well as by the President of the United States himself — has received very little establishment media attention.

Eric Holder Can't Read?  Liberal reporters always think that the liberal politicians they're covering are the smartest people in the room.  In fact, when they're opposing something, they're so smart that they don't have to read the policy they're discussing.  They have a clairvoyant sense of how wrong it is. ... If it weren't for Fox News and The Washington Times and talk radio and blogs, this embarrassing episode might have vanished into thin air.  Once again, the so-called "prestige" media simply blacked out the news that they would dismiss as tiresome Republican talking points.

Kagan Has Donated Exclusively To Democrats; MSM Pretends Not To Notice.  In the aftermath of President Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, ABC and Politico, among others, have reported on Kagan's history of political contributions.  Not surprisingly, she has donated exclusively to Democrats, with Obama receiving more than half ($6300) of the $12,300 in total she contributed to national level campaigns in the preceding 10 years.

More about Elena Kagan.

Did Sestak Get WH Job Offer?  Media Seem Not to Care.  In February, Congressman Joe Sestak, D-Pa., alleged that the White House had offered him a "high-ranking" job in exchange for him refraining from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in that state's primaries.  Since Sestak defeated Specter on Tuesday [5/18/2010], a number of media outlets have profiled him.  The White House denies that it ever made such an offer, which means either the Obama administration or Sestak is lying.

More about this topic is posted under Obama's Culture of Corruption.

Establishment Press Largely Covers Obama's Tracks on Disgraceful Daniel Pearl Remark.  President Barack Obama's statement just before he signed the Freedom of the Press Act on Monday painfully avoided reality to the point of giving offense.  If it became widely known, it would likely become very problematic.

What Did President Obama Know And When Did He Know It?  Unfortunately, there are no alleged reporters in all of the Washington press corps who are either smart or curious enough to ask the President what the American people are to believe about the appearance of the Administration coordinating with unions to intimidate private citizens in their homes, terrorize their children, and break federal laws by organizing mobs to occupy and shut down bank buildings.  If the Executive branch of the government were conspiring with any group to break the laws of this nation, would that be grounds for impeachment, if not a few questions on the subject?

Obama:  He's Better than Teflon — He's a Democrat.  The difference in coverage between Katrina and the twin disasters of the Gulf oil spill and the Nashville flood?  The "D."

What Our Media Taught Me:  Somewhere around the millennium, a new style of aggressive, public-interested, and astute reporter began sermonizing in print, advising on the Internet, and lecturing us on television.  At the time I mistakenly assumed that reporters were too often partisans who were creating new, almost impossible standards of probity in order to embarrass conservative opponents:  they wanted Republican scandal first, news second.  But now, I see that they were simply laying nonpartisan new ground rules for the Bush administration so that they could later prove their integrity and professionalism when a member of their own faith would come into the new crucible of public examination.  There was never, you see, a hate-Bush media.  So we will shortly see that now as they unrelentingly turn their scrutiny on Barack Obama and his legion of ethical and competency lapses.

Sestak:  Once again, it's the "coverup" — or is it?  [Scroll down]  But the real issue now is not the "Deep Dish Sleazemeisters" from Chicago.  They are who they are.  Rod Blagojevich, Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama are all cut from the same cloth.  The real issue is our media — the Fourth Estate that we all are supposed to depend on to vet these people.  When Nixon was president, they did so with an alacrity hitherto unseen.  With Obama, as we all know, it has been completely the reverse.  The press' record on investigating the president — as a candidate and in office — has been nothing short of embarrassing.

Barack Obama didn't part the waters — he just made them dirtier.  On the day of the memorial service for the 11 dead on the oil rig last week, Barack flew to San Francisco for a fund-raiser on behalf of the hideous Sen. Barbara "Botox" Boxer.  It was held in a mansion owned by a member of the Getty family, of Big Oil infamy.  And yet nary a word among the usual Ivy League pukes on MSNBC and in The New York Times.

Michelle Obama's top chef friends.  When Michelle Obama kicks off her "Chefs Move to Schools" program on Friday afternoon [6/4/2010] at the White House, she'll be accompanied by a stellar roster of chefs.  Home cook extraordinaire and talk show host Rachael Ray — a last minute addition to the lineup — will be at Obama's side, along with the Food Network's Cat Cora, Anne Burrell, Aaron Sanchez, Ellie Krieger and Alex Guarnaschelli, sources tell POLITICO.

ABC Bashes Bush on Memorial Day.  The ABC News report on the rainout of President Obama's planned Memorial Day speech in Illinois noted that Obama had been criticized for not staying in Washington to go to Arlington National Cemetery.  But ABC provided a ready excuse, subtitling its report "Obama Not First to Skip Arlington on Memorial Day" and asserting that George W. Bush "did not attend in 2001 or 2002."  ABC was flat-out wrong about 2001, and highly misleading about 2002.

Seizing The News Business.  If journalists ever venerated anything, it was the First Amendment shield that blunted efforts to limit their freedom.  So why, as the administration contemplates a federal takeover of their business, such thundering silence?

The Man Who Would Be King.  Over the heads of some of the sycophants in the mainstream media there appears to be the proverbial light bulb turning on.  After sixteen months of the Obama presidency, questions are being asked about not only his competency, but what motivates this putative savior.  The current President of the United States, acting in a way that would make Nero proud, continues to fiddle while not only the United States burns, but the rest of the world begins to spin out of control.

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough Continues Defense of Obama.  Joe Scarborough continued his open defense of the Obama administration's response to the BP oil spill, on Wednesday's [6/9/2010] "Morning Joe."  Facing off against Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), Scarborough called comparisons of the president's handling of the current crisis with Bush's handling of Katrina "obscene."

CNN's Sanchez Highlights 'Big Oil' Cash to Republicans, Omits Obama.  On Wednesday's Rick's List, CNN's Rick Sanchez twice highlighted how "several Republicans want to keep the cap on what oil companies pay for spills at $75 million" and how apparently that's about "how much they [oil companies] spend on campaign contributions to politicians each year," but omitted that President Obama was the top recipient of money from BP during the 2008 election cycle.

Obama's radical associations matter, but go ignored by press.  From Obama's participation in the socialist New Party in the mid-1990s, to his connections to communist-terrorist Bill Ayers, it's all relevant today.  How?  For example, some of the same anti-American, anti-capitalist revolutionaries from those bad old days now help craft republic-changing legislation.

The Media's Obama Malfeasance.  You don't need a time machine to recall how the media portrayed then Sen. Barack Obama in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election.  Scribes dutifully reported on Obama's bipartisan nature, his intellectual fitness for the task at hand and his promise of a truly transparent administration.  Business as usual would no longer hold the political process in its meaty grip.  That was the narrative not just from Team Obama but from the starry eyed reporters covering the well-spoken candidate.

Obama Speaks At Lower Grade Level Than Bush.  You know why President Obama's Gulf Coast oil spill address from the Oval Office failed so miserably on Tuesday?  It went over too many heads.  At least that's what the folks at CNN.com believe.

CNN:  Americans are Too Stupid to Understand Obama's Brilliant Speech.  President Obama's speech on the gulf oil disaster may have gone over the heads of many in his audience, according to an analysis of the 18-minute talk released Wednesday.

Olbermann Quits Daily Kos After Being Bashed For Criticizing Obama's Oil Speech.  When the vitriol is too much for Keith Olbermann, something is seriously wrong.  The MSNBC prime time anchor parted ways with the far-left Web site Daily Kos on Wednesday [6/16/2010], citing the site's apparent unflinching, see-no-evil attitude towards President Obama, and the omnipresence of wild leftist conspiracy theories there.

Media ignore Obama's radical past.  All of this isn't "guilt by association."  It's association, a key to understanding how the radicalism of Obama's past today shapes the policy dictating our future.  And it cries out for further journalistic digging.  Consumers of New Media blogs, talk radio — already know some of the story, while The Manchurian President's brisk sales guarantee a wide audience.  But the MSM?  Clueless.  Which wouldn't much matter if it still weren't the case that only the MSM cover the president.  Or do they cover-up the president?

Obama's oil disaster.  You can bet that if George W. Bush were in the Oval Office, the media would be blaming the president for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.  But they're largely giving Obama a pass, implying that small-government conservatives have no room to complain when government fails to live up to its responsibilities.

Obama is in over his head.  [Scroll down]  President Obama and his congressional allies expect to be assisted in their casual shuffling off of the most basic of Article I duties by a Manhattan-Beltway media elite, quick to assure their dwindling audiences that the abandonment of budgeting isn't completely without precedent.  Lefty pundits can and will point to a year or two where the pressures of business ended the hope of a formal budget.  The president's pals in the press will be hard-pressed, though, to find any years in which the effort wasn't even begun, and there is no example of a year wherein a deficit like the one the country faces today went unaddressed by a national budget plan.

President Obama media doubles down on doublespeak.  The fawning media rumpswabs are finally turning on Barack Obama — to a point.  So let's review the state-run media's role in creating this calamity, by substituting hagiography for journalism in coverage of this clueless boob. ... Criticizing Bush — the highest form of patriotism.  Criticizing Obama — hate speech.  Who caused Bush's problems? — Bush.  Who causes Obama's problems? — Bush.

MSNBC, Joke Network.  This really has to be seen to be believed.  We all know that MSNBC — Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, etc. — is in the tank for the Obama administration, but I think this is the first time an on-air MSNBC personality has confessed to "working with the White House" on talking points; here, regarding the Gulf oil spill.

Obama White House loved the magazine cover of him walking on water.  Ever since the Obama White House got rid of that colonial era bust of on-loan from Great Britain, they've been on the lookout for new less offensive art.  Now we learn, thanks to Howard Kurtz on CNN, that Obama adviser David Axelrod made a call to the editor of the New Yorker magazine requesting a copy of the Feb. 1 cover of the magazine showing No. 44 walking on water.  (No, not the newly-resurfaced Gulf of Mexico.)  The only stipulation:  the cover art had to be autographed by artist Barry Blitt.

Media Praise Obama's 'Brilliant' Handling of McChrystal Controversy.  President Obama's decision to relieve General Stanley McChrystal of command in Afghanistan and replace him with General David Petraeus was met with a chorus of praise in the media, as anchors and pundits on CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC all sang in unison that it was a "brilliant" move.

Will Media Report Professional Misconduct?  Did you know that President Obama has nominated for a federal judgeship someone who believes a serial killer and rapist's "sexual sadism" should be a cause to give him a less serious punishment?  Probably not, since the media have given it almost no coverage.

Vice president's wife set to guest on 'Army Wives'.  Lifetime network's "Army Wives" is set to welcome the wife of Vice President Joe Biden in a future episode.

When Folks Stop Liking Barry.  [Scroll down]  What, then, is preventing a total collapse of Obama?  In a word, it is Obama's likability.  Before my conservative friends commit me to an asylum, we must be objective:  Many millions more Americans like Obama than see him as an effective leader.  He is (or is seen as) a loving father, a good husband, a sincere man who rose out of difficult circumstances into high office.  Obama speaks well, he talks about sports, he is seen in every flattering photo-op which the servile leftist press can engineer.

What You're Not Hearing from the Liberal Media About Immigration Reform:  A popular narrative about immigration reform has emerged in the media:  that Congress would be discussing comprehensive immigration reform right now if only President Obama could get support from Republicans.  This narrative lets Obama off the hook for a string of broken promises to Latino voters that he would tackle immigration reform — in his first 100 days, or in his first year in office, or before the midterm elections, or after the midterm elections but still in his first term, or in his second term.

MSNBC's Witt:  I Got 'Chills' Listening To Obama Immigration Speech.  When it comes to Barack Obama, MSNBC is the network of thrills and chills ... Chris Matthews famously felt a thrill going up his leg listening to an Obama speech.  Now, MSNBC anchor Alex Witt has been similarly moved by Obamian oratory, declaring this morning "I got a few chills" listening to PBO's "very powerful" speech on immigration.

AP Quietly Lowers the 'Normal' Unemployment Bar to 6%.  Those looking for evidence that there is a move afoot in the establishment press to lower the bar for whatever economic accomplishments might be accomplished during the Obama administration will be interested in how the Associated Press's report on the government's June jobs report defined "normal" unemployment.

Media blackout for Black Panthers.  Where is the New York Times?  Where is The Washington Post?  Where are CBS and NBC?  A whistleblower makes explosive allegations about the Department of Justice; his story is backed by at least two other witnesses; and the allegations involve the two hot-button issues of race and of blatant politicization of the justice system.  A potential constitutional confrontation stemming from the scandal brews between the Justice Department and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  A congressman highly respected for thoughtfulness and bipartisanship has all but accused the department of serious impropriety.  By every standard of objective journalism, this adds up to real news.  Or it would be real news if a Republican Justice Department stood accused.  It would be real news if the liberal media weren't mostly in the tank for our celebrated but failing first black president.

Boring Barry.  Camera angles, editing, selection of questions asked, choice of news covered, and a dozen other tricks can make a candidate more likable.  Magazine covers treat Obama like a rock star and show adoring photos of his wife and children.  Marvel Comics, Tiger Beat, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone, and Vogue are magazines supposedly not connected with partisan politics, but Barack and his family find their photographs in good poses, smiling amiably at readers of those magazines. ... The propagation of leftism in America means that Obama is never shown in unattractive poses or losing his temper at underlings.

Zuckerman, Beckel Reveal Previously Undisclosed Ties to Obama WH.  The confluence between the Obama administration and the journalists who cover it can leave news consumers wondering if they're getting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Two prominent media personalities — liberal Fox News Channel commentator Bob Beckel and media mogul Mort Zuckerman, owner of the New York Daily News — have recently let slip that they have worked closely with the Obama administration.

On the other hand...
 Only Mort Zuckerman Seems To Recall Writing A Speech For Obama.  Apropos of very little, Zuckerman told Fox's Neil Cavuto that "I voted for Obama, I in fact helped write one of his speeches, we endorsed Obama" but declined to say which speech.  Turns out what sounded like misplaced overzealous cocktail chatter might have been just that.  Politico's Ben Smith says no one in the Obama camp can recall even meeting Zuckerman let alone getting speech assistance from him.

Bowdlerizing Berwick.  [Donald Berwick] has written and spoken extensively, and his views concerning wealth redistribution, rationing, and the free market are very much at odds with those of mainstream health policy experts as well as the electorate.  Moreover, he has not been reticent about revealing his positions in writing and public statements.  This is one of the reasons Obama chose to bypass the Senate confirmation process and it is why Democrat-friendly journalists and bloggers have worked diligently, since his nomination last April, to bowdlerize Berwick's record.

Obama Team Blocks Media from Oil Spill.  [Scroll down]  To this day, the media continue to have unnecessarily limited and prohibitive access to the disaster area, including reporters being hassled on public streets.  NPR reported yesterday [7/11/2010] on a reporter who was asked to reveal the images on his camera, and his social security number by members of the local police, FBI and BP.  But there is a second story.  The second story is that while national reporters are fighting the Obama administration's lack of transparency, they're not reporting the Obama administration's lack of competence.

You're a Liberal/Progressive if You Believe...  the mainstream media is completely unbiased — except for Fox News.  Fox is singled out because they dare to question the radical agenda of the Obama administration and our Democratically-controlled Congress, or because they broadcast news stories that other organizations consider "unimportant" — like the video of the New Black Panthers intimidating voters in Philadelphia in 2008.

Today Show Job Search Segment Turns Into Ad for Obama Agenda.  A segment that was billed as a guide to help some of Today's unemployed viewers find work, on Wednesday's show [7/14/2010], turned into a platform for the president of the liberal National Urban League to attack those who opposed the President's plans, as he railed against those in Congress who have been filibustering extension of the unemployment benefits.

Real Simpletons.  In the latest issue [of Real Simple, I saw a short feature titled "How Health-Care Reform Affects You."  The article reads like an advertisement for Obamacare.  One would be forgiven for thinking it a part of the administration's campaign to improve the legislation's popularity.

Documents show media plotting to kill stories about Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama's political career.  In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself.  Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright.  Now the black nationalist preacher's rhetoric was threatening to torpedo Obama's campaign.

Did someone mention Jeremiah Wright?

We know more about the Tiger Woods sex scandal than about our own president.  [Scroll down]  Obama has been in office for over a year now, and this same press:
Still cannot find any of his childhood friends or neighbors,
Or locate any of Obama's college papers or grades,
Or how he paid for a Harvard education,
Or which country issued his visa to travel to Pakistan in the 1980's,
Or Barry Soretoro or even Michelle Obama's Princeton thesis on racism.
... Yet the public still trusts that same press to give them the whole truth!

Alex Jones' Documentary 'The Obama Deception' Censored On YouTube.  A viral YouTube video of documentary movie "The Obama Deception", which was buzzing on Internet in recent days, has been censored.  The movie by Alex Jones is seen to be questioning US President Barack Obama.  "The Obama Deception" YouTube link has been viewed about 6.5 million times, but now all the links throughout the web will reach to a dead page.  How the video disappeared is still not known.

Is MSM Admitting Collaboration With Obama?  Only someone who has been on a spaceship on a mission to a far away planet for the past decade would be unaware of the nauseous and fawning relationship the mainstream media (MSM) has had with Barack H. Obama since his entry into the political world and the years to date.  It is so disgustingly apparent that even people who rarely ever consider involving themselves with political circle happenings have become aware of this heavily one-sided favoritism that causes a blank in what should be reported news.

Obama's Poll Numbers Down, Imaginary Racism Up.  The Democrats are depressed about their collapsing poll numbers, so it's time to start calling conservatives "racist."  As we now know from the Journolist list-serv, where hundreds of liberal journalists chat with one another, and which was leaked to Daily Caller this week, journalists cry "racism" whenever they need to distract from bad news for Obama.

Obama wins! And Journolisters rejoice.  Ostensibly unbiased reporters weep for joy as Obama wins the 2008 election.

More about the JournoList.

Too Many Voters Unaware Of How The Mainstream Media Corrupts The News.  My sister is an intelligent senior citizen but she doesn't watch Fox News very much though does watch CNN and upon further discussion told me she'd never heard of Anthony ("Van") Jones, the green-jobs czar ousted from the White House after Mr. Beck exposed his communist background.  Her television news sources are CBS, NBC, and ABC, and, as a Democrat, she had no problem voting for the relatively unknown Illinois Senator Barack Obama.  She also refuses to get involved with the World Wide Web.  I've done a similar personal survey of persons I know to be Obama supporters and, similarly, their news sources are the same.

With Fox News seated up front, how about some real questions?  [For example,] Mr. President, why do you persist in ignoring the documented security risk of jihadist infiltration through the Mexican border and instead turn the Arizona law into a rather transparent bid for future votes from illegal immigrants?

Trash Drudge, Bash Rush and Get a Career Boost?  Although it has long been well-known that journalists overwhelmingly have liberal leanings, they have typically claimed that it doesn't affect their reporting.  But the boost given Weigel's career by the revelations that he advocated shaping news coverage to help President Obama pass his legislative agenda was extremely surprising.

Will MSM Immortalize Obama's Laughable Proclamations?  For the media, "Mission Accomplished" represents everything that was wrong with the George W. Bush administration and its war policy. ... Will Barack Obama have a "Mission Accomplished" moment?  That is, will the media seize on something he or his administration has said as evidence of the large gap between his rhetoric and the effects of his policies and tout it for years to come as indicative of his flawed style of governing?  The gap already exists.

Reporter Suspended for Accurate Report on BP's Donations to Obama.  WJLA-TV, a Washington, D.C. ABC affiliate, suspended reporter Doug McKelway following his alleged "partisan" comments at a liberal rally on Capitol Hill marking the three-month anniversary of the Gulf oil spill.  Video of the broadcast tells a different story.

Charlie Gasparino:  GE Execs Encouraged CNBC Staff to Go Easy on Obama.  On last night's 'O'Reilly Factor,' Fox Business Network reporter Charlie Gasparino claimed that during his time at CNBC, General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt suggested to senior CNBC staff that they were being too hard on President Obama.  Gasparino did not say that it became official CNBC policy to tone down criticism of the president.  But he claimed that "the question of whether they were being fair to the president was brought up" and that he had "never heard that before."

Newsweek Defends Obama's Leisure But Mocked Bush's Working Vacations at Texas Ranch.  While Newsweek's David Graham is hard at work defending President Obama's summertime leisure — "A Short History of Presidential Vacation Outrage"  — by insisting that the press corps always complains about any president's vacation habits, it's instructive that he failed to indict his own magazine.  "War on terrorism stalled, economy on precipice, time for a month on the Crawford ranch."

WaPo JournoLista Sargent Gets Sandbagged by Obama and Harry Reid.  Greg Sargent is a Washington Post blogger and compromised JournoList hack whose "Plum Line" entries are decidedly left of center.  Greg was overwhelmed with enthusiasm last Friday [8/13/2010] when, for a brief but shining moment, it appeared President Obama was supporting the construction of the ground zero mosque.  He gushed that it would "go down as one of the finest moments of his presidency."

The Media and the Mega-Mosque.  It was deceptive.  At a White House dinner with Muslims celebrating Ramadan, Barack Obama finally weighed in on the Ground Zero mosque controversy.  Incredibly, he lectured Americans about the religious freedom of Muslims "that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan."  Those were prepared remarks, a clear and very deliberate effort to skirt the issue.  But this time, it was blatantly sophomoric, too.

The Separation of Islamophilia from State.  By modern secularist standards, Barack Obama's boosterism for Islam violates the "separation between Church and state."  Had George W. Bush held a rosary and modest fish dinner at the White House to mark the beginning of Lent, the ACLU left would have freaked out.  But these same secularists didn't mind Barack's "Iftar dinner" last Friday night.

Let Me Translate:  We Don't Believe Him — or You.  Memo to the ruling class media:  We are not ignorant or stupid.  We've not forgotten Jeremiah Wright.  It's not that we don't "know" what faith Obama subscribes to — it's more that we don't believe him.  Or you.

Media Nearly Silent as ObamaCare Proponents Drop Deficit, Cost Savings Claims.  It has now been five days since Politico's Ben Smith published a powerpoint presentation created by an amalgamation of powerful left wing interest groups, conceding that two of the central arguments for passing ObamaCare — that it will lower the deficit and will reduce health care costs — have failed.

Obama has Played More Golf in Two Years Than Bush Did Both Terms.  Between 2000 and 2008 one of the left's most cherished ways to ridicule President Bush was to point out how often he went golfing.  Bush's golfing was a clear sign that he was ignoring the work he had to do in Washington and that he just didn't care, they claimed.  He was a playboy, a goof off, a time waster.  But now that Barack Obama has come to office all of a sudden the left has found that golf isn't worth noting...

Where Are the New Jobs?  "Corporate profits are soaring.  Companies are sitting on billions of dollars of cash.  And still, they've yet to amp up hiring or make major investments."  So writes The Washington Post about the recession's stubborn refusal to go away.  The statisticians at the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the Great Recession over — but tell that to people who can't find jobs.

How 'Brilliant' Can President Obama Be?  Every person, newscaster and commentator always prefaces any, even the mildest criticism, of President Obama's policies with some statement about how dazzlingly brilliant the man is.  Liberals, conservatives, independents — it never changes.  Why is this?  And most important of all, is it true?

The making of a dictatorial presidency.  The making of a presidency or the undoing of one is not the job of a free press.  Their function is to search and report the truth to the citizenry as the watchdogs of the government.  The light of truth is an antidote to the establishment of a tyrannical government.  Reporters should present the facts so that citizens can make an intelligent evaluation of the administration in power.  It is the will of the people, not the media's censorship or distortion of the facts that should determine the direction of our government.  The truth has been perverted by the insidious practices of the media ruling class to promote their political agenda.

The Obamorons Strike Back.  During the 2008 election campaign I coined the phrase "Obamorons" to describe the uncritical cheerleaders of Obama — the people who would leap to his defense even if he drove a truck over his aged grandmother.  Love-stricken TV host Chris Matthews comes to mind, complete with thrills running up his leg, as does English major Maureen Dowd, lifestyle columnist for the New York Times.  The Times itself is a leading Obamoron outlet.

Bozell Launches 'Tell the Truth' Campaign.  Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell III is calling on members of the liberal media to "Tell the Truth" about the administration's efforts to push the U.S. toward socialism.

So, MSM... What Did You Do in High School?  The activist old media is hitting an all time low.  Quite a challenge for them.  The same media that didn't [care] what Barack Obama did during the first 46 years of his life when he was running for president (except that he was organizing communities) is now in a full scale sprint to find out what Republican candidates did as kids.

Truth, Justice, or the Obama Way.  It is about to get harder for both the Obama administration and the mainstream media to downplay the New Black Panther party scandal.  The mainstream media did their best to ignore this blatant case of voter intimidation by two New Black Panther party members at a Philadelphia polling place on Election Day 2008.

The Wrongdoing, the Cover-Up, and Executive Privilege.  [Scroll down]  All that information remains hidden from view because the Justice Department is concealing it.  The mainstream media have just woken up to the extent and importance of the scandal, so perhaps they will get around to this aspect of the case.  Yet I get the feeling that if it had been the Bush administration telling whistleblowers not to testify and withholding, absent any legal basis, key documents that could implicate high-ranking officials, the media would have already been all over this.

More about the Black Panthers scandal.

No Follow-Up on Obama's Education Hypocrisy.  The "Today Show" is belatedly celebrating our children's return to school this month with a series on the state of the nation's education system.  So what better way to kick off a superficial look at the subject than with a superficial and fawning interview of President Barack Obama to solicit platitudes and plugs for his pet projects?

To Be Well-Informed You Must Go Online.  [Scroll down]  But it's the 2008 presidential campaign that will go down in history as the most blatant corruption of the Fourth Estate, with most of the mainstream media losing all perspective and going gaga over candidate Barack Obama.  While some of their fervor has dimmed because of the catastrophic state of the economy, there are still loyalist press hounds defending this administration. ... The reason the Democrats are in trouble is that many voters are ignoring the status quo sources with the liberal stamp of approval and getting their news straight from the World Wide Web.

How Obama and NBC Favor the Rich Over the Poor.  While NBC has once again put itself in the service of the Obama administration, this time on education, they are both unwittingly making the case for more choices for parents desperate to get their children out of dead-end public schools.  But is there a reason other than liberal bias that explains NBC's willingness to serve as an outlet for Obama Administration propaganda?

Viacom shills for Obama.  If anyone doubted that Hollywood is in the pockets of Barack Obama and the Democrats, doubt no more.  Politico reports: ... Viacom will announce today that its cable networks BET, CMT and MTV will air a one-hour, commercial-free youth town hall with President Obama at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14.

Hillary Clinton One of the Best Secretaries of State Ever?  How much in the tank for Democrats would you have to be as a mainstream media member to say on national television that Hillary Clinton is one of the best Secretaries of State this nation has ever had?  Or that Joe Biden is one of the best Vice Presidents?  Well that's what liberal radio host Bill Press told Ed Schultz Wednesday [10/6/2010] on MSNBC's "The Ed Show."

Time for the IRS to investigate Media Matters.  Mark Levin is calling for an IRS investigation of Media Matters for using the tax exempt funds to promote Obama and the Democrats, rather than promoting principles, which would be consistent with its status as a 501(c)(3).

Paul Krugman: Obama Really Hasn't Increased Federal Spending.  There are times when you have to wonder whether liberal shills in the media are are just ignorant or dishonest.

Forbes's list of 100 powerful women seems to confuse marriage with achievement.  [Scroll down]  But Michelle Obama as number one — sorry?  Apparently, she beats every chairwoman of the board, political leader and high-rolling one-woman entertainment conglomerate on the planet for her role of being "within pillow-talk range of her husband the president".

MTV Denies That Obama Telecast Is Political.  Viacom networks MTV, BET and CMT are giving an hour of free air time to President Obama less than three weeks before the midterm elections.  The so-called "A Conversation with President Obama" will be live and commercial-free on six Viacom networks at 4 p.m. on Thursday [10/14/2010].  The networks will not give equal time to a Republican before the election, according to a spokeswoman.

Team Obama's Media Helpers Hide Bad News for Democrats.  While network correspondents complain about the unfairness of independent advertising, they might ponder the unfairness of their habitual tendency to omit or downplay bad news for Team Obama, especially in the crucial last weeks of a campaign.  Consider some of the latest stories that would have drawn much more attention and media hostility if the shoe was on the Republican foot.

How the Old Media Deliberately Censored New Media Scoops in 2009.  The Old Media are in danger of losing even more audience members as long as they refuse to acknowledge news until after Democrats in Congress or the White House decide it's news worth a public reaction.  During the last administration, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas insisted:  "Our job is to bash the president, that's what we do."  But in 2009, he proclaimed that President Obama was poised above the country, even above the world:  "He's sort of God."  The news media should not see its job as "bashing" the president, but in 2009, it should not have been their job to inflate him into a celestial being, either.

Obama's Biggest Lies.  President Obama loves to make up things that are patently untrue, like every economist agrees his $800 billion economic stimulus "has done its job," the economy "is moving in the right direction," and the Bush tax cuts caused the trillion dollar deficits.  The facts say otherwise, but he is never challenged by the news media for his repeatedly dishonest myth-making.  Here are some of his worst offenses.

How CBS's 60 Minutes Works Overtime for the Obama Left.  For more than 40 years, CBS has boasted of 60 Minutes as a hard-hitting news show, a weekly story of investigative gumshoes digging up dirt and accusing major business and government leaders of committing dastardly deeds against the public interest.  But the history of 60 Minutes isn't filled to the brim with brutal investigations.  It has a much softer, syrupy side, and it isn't just reserved for movie stars or rock musicians.  When it comes to champions of liberalism and even the radical left, the CBS News program has rolled out a red carpet, asking softball questions and lionizing their policy stands and programs — whether they were actually "achievements" or disasters.

Rolling Stone Love Letter To Obama: He's The Best President Since LBJ.  With less than three weeks to go before the crucial midterm elections, the folks at Rolling Stone magazine have decided to pen a love letter to Barack Obama clearly in the hopes of motivating readers to get out and vote for Democrats.

Scandalously indecorous:
 Should Jon Stewart Have Called the President 'Dude?'  Barack Obama's appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" last night marked the first time a sitting president has been a guest on the Comedy Central program.  It likely marked another first:  the first time a president was called "dude" in a TV interview.

The Inexplicables.  Barack Obama entered office; nationalized health care; ran up record $1 trillion deficits; promised to hike taxes on the rich; pushed cap and trade through the House; took over large chunks of banks, insurance companies, and auto corporations; made hard-left appointments from Van Jones to Sonia Sotomayor ... Yet if one were to read mainstream Democratic analysis, there is almost no acknowledgment that the party has become far too liberal.

I guess Jimmy Carter hasn't seen this web page.
 Carter Blames 'Irresponsible News Media' for Obama's Low Approval Ratings.  [Scroll down]  According to [Former President] Carter, despite "an extraordinary job" by Obama, it is the media's fault his numbers have suffered — not a poor economy or any other lackluster outcomes from the president's policies.  "I think under the circumstances that I just described, he's done an extraordinary job," Carter said.  "He's got some good things done.  They've been totally twisted around by some of the irresponsible news media to project him as a person that he's not and as we all know."

Obama the Tax Cutter:  A Network Fairy Tale: Executive Summary.  In a typical network example, NBC's John Yang credited the president with significant tax cuts when he lauded Obama's successful passage of the enormous stimulus bill that was more than 70 percent spending and less than 30 percent tax relief, saying:  "Obama hasn't been in office even four weeks yet and he's already won passage of the biggest spending increase and tax cut bill in history."  NBC "Nightly News" went on to depict Obama as a tax cutter 14 times as often as they discussed his tax increases.

MSNBC Says 'Fantastic' Report Shows 151,000 Jobs Added, But Rate 'Holds Steady'.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the unemployment numbers for October showing "fantastic" gains of 151,000 jobs, according to MSNBC, and an unchanged 9.6 unemployment rate. ... Neither [CNBC or MSNBC] reminded viewers of the president's promise to create 4 million jobs by the end of 2010.

Man up, Media and Open Your Eyes!  How could the most brilliant leader in the history of the world not know exactly what he is doing?  Change?  He has never explained what he means by the word change.  The media has never asked him, the media has never pinned him down on this, so, I will take it that they do not want to pin him down on this.  They worship his Vagueness. ... Man up, media!  Pin this guy down on what change really means to this guy.  Get specific with him, demand he answer, follow up with him for as long as it takes.

Governor Jindal Slams Obama for His Slow Response to Oil Spill.  Bobby Jindal, on Monday's [11/15/2010] Today show, slammed the Obama administration for its slow response to the BP oil spill off the coast of Lousiana, charging that:  "It seemed like the federal government was disconnected from the facts on the ground."  However Today co-anchor offered excuses for the President as he queried the Louisiana Republican Governor.

All The News That Is Unfit to Print.  [Scroll down]  For over a year of hope and change, we were told by Obama that renditions, preventative detentions, and tribunals were anti-constitutional, that Guantanamo was synonymous with a gulag, that Iraq was lost, that Predators were a sort of airborne terror, that KSM and other terrorist killers should be tried in civilian courts — and what happened?  Suddenly the world was turned upside down and what was once bad was now tolerable.  And not a whimper about why, just the quiet assumption of "that was then, this is now."

Obama records lost down the 'memory hole'.  There remains a startling dearth of documentation pertaining to Obama's progress through his 49 years of life that only begins with his birth certificate.  A gaping hole — dare I say "memory hole"? — seems to have consumed all possible Obama records from his education, health, family records, even his pre-presidential political career.  But this subject is never taken seriously by the media or the political establishment, including, most glaringly, erstwhile GOP opponent John McCain, who, on being challenged on the eligibility question himself, should have called on Candidate Obama to join him in releasing their bona fides together.  But even to suggest such a thing is to indulge in "conspiracy theories."

God Bless Barack Obama.  [Scroll down]  Newsweek, which just was auctioned over for $1, continues its Obama adulation and apologia with a cover equating him to the Hindu god Shiva and a suggestion that he is the god of everything and the job is too big for one man.

New York Times with Obama to the Bitter End.  The Obama administration is coming apart at the seams, with only the most recklessly dishonest of its partisans, among them New York Times reporters, left to defend it.

War, Hell, and a Democratic President.  The last time I checked, war was still hell, and American soldiers were still risking their lives at the orders of our commander-in-chief.  But the day a Democrat became president, daily body counts suddenly went MIA, Code Pink protesters went AWOL, and D.C.'s playground politics took over the MSM's daily propaganda bubble.  As if on cue from some hunch-backed news controller for the party, gruesome stories from the front lines disappeared.

Downplaying The WikiLeaks Disaster.  The Obama administration is minimizing the impact that publication of 251,000 stolen U.S. embassy cables will have on America's foreign relations.  Funny, that's not how our overseas partners see it.  President Obama has yet to make a statement on the broadest U.S. security breach in history.

The mask has slipped.  We've seen our national treasury looted, with the unaccounted for cash handed out to already fabulously wealthy financial houses.  We've seen core industries taken over and control given to thug unions who caused most of the financial woes the industries suffered from in the first place.  We've seen regulations heaped ever deeper on independent agriculture, making us further dependent on the Third World and large multinational corporations for our food.  Despite the wailing about dependency on foreign oil, Obama and his unindicted Democrat/RINO co-conspirators have — quite illegally — thrown up roadblock after roadblock to domestic oil production.  Bad as all this has been, with the stentorian efforts of the "mainstream" media, the fascists have managed to keep up the pretense that this is all for our own good.

Is President Obama getting a free pass over WikiLeaks?  The United States' position as a superpower and the trust of important allies has been undermined by unscrupulous, America-hating figures with the aid and comfort of several major newspapers including The New York Times, Le Monde and The Guardian.  However the WikiLeaks scandal to date has not resulted in demonstrable consequences for the Obama presidency or for the president himself.

Thankless in Obamaland.  [Scroll down]  Too much of the backlash has focused on what people don't want, rather than what they do want.  That has allowed the Obama Administration to frame it as a choice between security and privacy.  When it's actually a choice between good security and bad security.  That isn't entirely accidental.  Too much of the coverage was led by sources who don't think that there even is such a thing as terrorism.

The media's silence on the Pigford Black Reparations story.  The media is protecting the White House again... by ignoring the Pigford Black Reparations Scam expose that Andrew Breitbart is running at Big Government.  As you read the news online, watch TV, and peruse the papers, please keep track of what news outlets are reporting on Breitbart's Pigford expose... and which ones are deliberately silent on this.

Fantasy Figures, Real Pain.  Early Friday morning [12/3/2010], before the Department of Labor released its monthly jobs report, the mainstream media was reporting job gains of as much as 200,000 as more or less the consensus figure.  Never mind that 200,000 was not the consensus among reputable economists.  The mainstreamers wanted the jobs report to turn up as an assist to the Obama administration, and so they fudged their predictions.

WaPo Fails to Publish Own Poll on ObamaCare's Lowest Popularity Ever.  A new ABC-Washington Post poll found ObamaCare sunk to its lowest popularity yet:  52 percent opposed, and only 43 percent in favor.  ABC mentioned the poll without fanfare at the end of a Jake Tapper report on Monday's World News [12/13/2010], and Tapper added this was the health law's "lowest level of popularity ever."  But Tuesday's Washington Post reported not one sentence on the poll in the paper — even as they reported in the paper that the same survey found Obama's tax-and-unemployment-compensation deal has "broad bipartisan support."

Court decision striking down individual mandate is very big deal.  Ezra Klein, the Washington Post's blogging wunderkind, is a smart guy.  He made his name becoming the go-to pundit for health care policy.  He understands health care policy as few do in D.C.  But if you're looking for an unvarnished opinion about the political realities of Obamacare, he's the last guy I would read.

Crucible of a Hero.  This case is of shatteringly great significance, and if you don't know about it, well, you can thank the cowards, commies, and crooks at your favorite mainstream media Bureau of Disinformation, National Desk.  Lt. Col. Lakin has been abandoned by the establishment press, dastards and lackeys almost to a one.

More about Lt. Col. Lakin.

Barbara Walters vs. Sarah Palin:  When ABC's Barbara Walters deems Sarah Palin one of the year's "Most Fascinating People," it's a backhanded compliment.  Walters knows Palin has an adoring fan base, and she's definitely not part of it.  When the Dec. 2 special began, Walters greeted Palin with "Many people find the thought of you as president a little scary."  This is not what Walters asked President Obama in yet another gooey Barack-and-Michelle hour-long ABC interview on Thanksgiving night. ... Liberals like Walters always assume that if you're liberal, you're smart; if you're conservative, you're either evil or stupid.  Or both.

America's media elites are still batting for Barack Obama.  Media watchdog NewsBusters published an important story on Tuesday [12/14/2010] describing how The Washington Post had failed to highlight in its news coverage a key finding of the latest ABC News-Washington Post poll which showed unprecedented levels of public opposition to the White House's controversial health care reform proposals.

Politico Goes to Work on the Obama Rehab Project.  Politico seems to think that all this amounts to a victory for Obama.  True, it does leave him alive to fight another day, but what is he fighting for now?

GOP Calling ObamaCare 'Government Takeover' of Health Care Is Biggest Lie of Year, Touts ABC's 'Nightline'.  ABC's "Nightline" touted a PolitiFact story Thursday that rated the five biggest lies of 2010 in politics.  The number one lie?  Republicans calling the health care bill a "government takeover of health care."  When asked why the claim received the status of biggest lie of the year, PolitiFact.com editor Bill Adair answered that it was "so pervasive" and "just not true."

The Meme That Would Not Die.  They've said this about Obama for years, that he's some sort of Great Compromiser, who would bridge the gaps between Left and Right, between Black and White, and all the other chasms of American political and social life — like... I dunno, like some miraculous kind of spackling paste. ... The same Obama who, when faced for the first time by real opposition, put on the most petty and petulant press conference performance in presidential history.  The same Obama who, just days later, walked out on another briefing, blaming his wife.  I could go on, but why? ... The question is, where did this meme come from and why does the press keep insisting that it's true?

The Second Swoon: President Obama's Kept Press.  Wednesday's [12/22/2010] press conference may have starred President Obama fresh off his alleged big win on START and DADT, his losses on the Dream Act and the Omnibus spending bill, and the tie on the tax deal, but the big story was the eagerness of the White House Press Corp to revert to fawning treatment of their once-and-future leader.

Obama Doesn't Know the Price of an Apple.  President Obama today tried to pay for four apples with one dollar.  Now, if Bush did this, can you imagine the uproar?? ... Recognizing the error, Obama personal aide Reggie Love quickly stepped in with some more money for the fruit seller, who had just been ripped off by the leader of the free world.

The Nine Snootiest Practices of Barack Obama.  President Obama puts in 18 holes nearly every weekend.  Once over a recent two or three day spread he got in 36.  I don't know about you, but if I was spending so much time on the fairways my wife would have my clubs on ebay before you could say "tee time."  Of course, the White House doesn't really like to emphasize Obama's love of the links.  And that's simply because golf is for the rich people, and Obama is for the poor people.

Janet Napolitano, performance artist.  [Scroll down]  The media told us that Barack Obama was the hippest president Americans would ever have, a new kind leader.  His appointment of Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Secretary is part of a sustained postmodernist agenda, featuring other meaning-destroying moves, such as Michelle Obama as fashion plate, 9.8% unemployment as recovery, and Islam as a part of our republic since its founding.  If you don't get it, you are just not cool.

How Did All That Happen?  How did villains become heroes, global warming become "climate change," and the most liberal senator become a "bipartisan" president? ... Lurking somewhere behind all these improbables is a rather small Western elite that is enormously influential in the media, government, the arts, universities, and Hollywood.

The Return of Obama Gravitas.  Stay tuned for 2011, when the political and media establishment will declare that indeed, Barack Obama has found his misplaced gravitas.  Insiders will celebrate an awesomely deep president who will have sharpened his pants crease and will again bask in the unrestrained praise of the media gods.

Gas Prices Back Above $3, Networks Don't Question Obama Policies.  Gas prices are "soaring" again, crossing the $3-a-gallon threshold on Dec. 23 for the first time since Oct. 17, 2008.  Back then the benchmark was a relief as prices plunged from the highest price ever of $4.11.  Pump prices have been climbing all month, yet network reports downplayed the pain and suffering of consumers.

Top Ten Examples of Media Bias in 2010.  [#1] Refusing to describe the U.S. homebuilding industry and new home market as the worst since World War II.  The current meme is that it's the "worst in 47 years of record-keeping," except that in most instances the "record-keeping" phrase is omitted, giving readers the clear impression that at least 2010 wasn't as bad as 1963.  That's not so.  2010 was 43% worse than 1963, and worse than every full year after Japan blessedly surrendered to us — even before adjusting for population.

ABC News Continues Lobby Effort for ObamaCare.  ABC News continues to behave like they are working hand-in-hand with the Obama Administrations' health care take-over message machine.  The latest effort came from ABC News Political Director Amy Walter as she offered a harsh warning to Republicans:  Don't mess with ObamaCare.

Meanwhile, President Obama is in Hawaii.  Many [TV news] producers take great delight in being able to tie stories together that have no natural tie.  Yes, we have all seen new anchors strain at trying to tie stories together.  Now the strain is to totally ignore the perfect segue.  I've been waiting patiently to see one of the net's do this Blizzard Of 2010 story and follow it with ..." Meanwhile, President Obama is in Hawaii playing his 4th or 5th round of golf during his vacation."  Hummmmm.  Haven't seen that yet.

Post says Russian Regime Untrustworthy, After Endorsing Russian Arms Treaty.  A Washington Post editorial on November 19 endorsed Senate passage of the New START treaty with Russia.  On December 27, after the treaty was passed, the Post published an editorial saying that Russia was firmly under the control of former KGB officer Vladimir Putin, the former president who is now Prime Minister, and that the Russian regime could not be counted on to live up to international standards.  Wouldn't it have been nice for the Post to have told its readers this fact before the treaty was passed?

AP Lingo: Republicans 'Hack Away Derisively' at Obama's 'Landmark' Health Care 'Accomplishment'.  The media's coverage of the incoming GOP-controlled House of Representatives could be called the March of the Mean Words.  When Democrats ascend to power, they pass "historic" and "landmark reforms."  When Republicans do the same, the media argot is colorful and violent, sending unsubtle meat-axe messages of conservative "assaults" and "attacks."

Media Excuse Obama's Power Grab.  Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post reported on Friday [12/31/2010] that "the Obama administration is prepared to push its environmental agenda through regulation where it has failed on Capitol Hill..."  There was no hint that this approach is illegal or unconstitutional.  The account simply assumes that the Obama Administration can do what it wants, no matter what Congress or the law says.  This kind of matter-of-fact reporting about lawlessness by the federal government is typical of the decline, if not death, of adversary journalism in the nation's capital.

The Worst Secretary of State.  Simply by virtue of being married to Bill, being a woman, and being as left-wing and progressive as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton gets a pass on pretty much everything.  The media swoon over what a trailblazer she's been, how brilliant she is, and what a spectacular job she's doing as Secretary of State.  None of those things are true, particularly that last one.

Chris Matthews Slams 'Older White People' for Still Having a 'Problem' With Obama.  Appearing on MSNBC, Monday, to promote his new special on Barack Obama, Chris Matthews attacked "older white people" for still holding bigoted feelings against the first African American President.

The Editor says...
 I really don't care if Obama is black.  But I do care if he's red.

AP Erroneously Reports that 'Opposition' to Obamacare is Easing.  A widely reprinted AP story, based on a recent AP/GfK poll, is entitled, "Opposition to health care law eases."  Don't believe it.  What has eased isn't the level of opposition to Obamacare, but rather the level of effort that AP/GfK has made to ensure that its polling sample is representative of American voters.

All Three Networks Agree:  Obama Sounded 'Reaganesque' in State of the Union.  During coverage of President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, all three broadcast networks, CBS, NBC and ABC, managed to compare the tone of the speech to that of Ronald Reagan.  Reporters and pundits uniformly praised the supposed optimism of Obama.

Constitutional contempt.  There are precious few in the media who lack culpability in this matter.  Many pundits who command audiences of millions, whether on the radio or television, have made it a blood sport to mock reasonable people who deserve answers to legitimate questions.  Some make it about race while others make it about conspiracy.  Some intentionally obfuscate the issue, while others make false claims of having seen or holding a paper of historical importance.  Meanwhile, the instruments of this administration have created, willfully and deliberately, a fictitious Internet clearing house to reportedly separate rumor from fact.  There is ample evidence of intent to deceive the American people, and strong suggestions of criminal intent.

MRC's Bozell Blasts Media Coverage of Obama SOTU.  When Republican presidents in years past delivered their State of the Union addresses, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted this morning, "no sooner had the words, 'God bless America,' left their lips than the analysts were there... just pouncing on them, pointing out any discrepancy, pointing out any controversy, ridiculing any mistake."  Now "along comes Barack Obama..."

Obama channeling Reagan? Hardly.  One of the least credible tales to come out of President Obama's recent ideological makeover is the story that he is modeling his presidency on Ronald Reagan's.  Time Magazine asserted this week that "there is no mistaking Obama's increasing reliance on [Mr. Reagan's] career as a helpful template for his own."  Just to keep this preposterous public relations ploy in perspective, we have compiled a handy list to remind people how little these two men have in common.

The Media, Reagan, and Obama.  Some presidents have been used to degrade the image of others.  Herbert Hoover was a convenient whipping boy to tar various Republicans through the years.  Nixon was the epitome of evil in the White House.  The fate of Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, has been a curious one.  The punditry that savaged him before, during, and after his years in office are now trying to burnish Barack Obama's image by comparing the two presidents.  This is just the latest gambit to try to boost the appeal of Barack Obama.

What's wrong with Peggy Noonan?  Whether naiveté or denial, Noonan's refusal to recognize Barack Obama's ideological intransigence is unbelievable.  By all means, hope is a virtue, but it must be tempered with wisdom.  Noonan is unwise and begging to be lied to, as long as those lies are less obvious and better spun than those told by the President last Tuesday evening.

Portrait of an Etch-A-Sketch President.  [Scroll down]  And so last week, we witnessed a feeding frenzy from the media and the blogosphere, discussing the change in Mr. Obama's attitude and rhetoric.  Some made for juicy, thought provoking, reading.  Others were spin.  The Big Three Alphabet Media agreed, Obama was "Reaganesque".  The problem for Mr. Obama is that we are now on to his character, if not yet his legal identity.  Chameleonesque is a better description for this president.

Tale of Two SOTU's.  Even though it was Obama's first State of the Union since his party lost control of the House and saw its Senate majority shredded, the [New York] Times didn't dwell on the decline in his party's fortune.  By contrast, Kate Zernike's 2007 lead story on Bush's first State of the Union after the Republicans lost Congress emphasized the power shift away from the president, while lauding new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Why the Black Panther Case Matters.  Attorney General Eric Holder and his minions, along with some of their slavish apologists in the media, are deliberately trafficking in lies of great note.  They prevaricate with great enthusiasm, and they excuse lawlessness with fierce disdain.  They — both the Department of Justice (DOJ) officials and their leftist amanuenses pretending to be journalists — brazenly ignore the public's right to information, and intentionally distract attention from relevant facts and from their own deep beliefs.  These conclusions arise from the accumulated weight of evidence in what should be a broadening scandal emanating from the infamous New Black Panther Party voter-intimidation case.

The Left-Wing Mainstream Media has over-reached itself this time.  With the advent of the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birthday on Sunday, it was perhaps predictable that Time Magazine would photoshop a picture of Obama and Reagan as if they were standing together.  "Why Obama ♥ Reagan" was the cover line.  Obama would have been twenty years old when Reagan took office and, of course, he not only never met Reagan, but he was no fan of his conservative policies.

Obama's Prayer Breakfast Knuckleball.  [Scroll down]  For a man capable of fabricating a relationship with his father — to the point of writing a book about it — fabricating a relationship with Jesus is no big deal, at least not to [Time Magazine's Michal] Scherer and the mainstream media.  They are prepared to believe whatever Obama says and belittle those who don't.

The Manic-Depressive MSM.  In the fall of 2008 and early 2009, the left dared to dream big.  Back then, we saw the Daily News' hagiographic endorsement of Obama (their publisher and erstwhile Obama speechwriter has since seen the light).  This was quickly followed by Rahm Emanuel's ham-handed "Never let a serious crisis go to waste" quote.  In early January of 2009, even before Obama took office, John Judis of the New Republic wrote, "A decade ago, I might have been embarrassed to admit that I was raised on Marx and Marxism, but I am convinced that the left is coming back."  James Carville promised their reign would last for 40 years. ... Two years later, and all is lost.

How President Obama plays media like a fiddle.  Time's Mark Halperin has hailed Obama as "magnetic," "distinguished" and "inspiring" — in one story.  ABC's Christiane Amanpour saw "Reaganesque" optimism and "Kennedyesque" encouragement — all in one speech.  Howard Fineman, the former Newsweek columnist who now writes for The Huffington Post, said conductor Obama was now leading a "love train" through D.C.

The Era of the Obama 'Blank Screen' is Over.  [Scroll down]  Mr. Obama's "treatment of the issues" (and his opponents) is no longer a mystery.  The days of Obama as a "blank screen" are over.  The "leave-them-guessing strategy" may have worked while campaigning, but not as many are still guessing about the identity of the real Obama.  Yet, it's curious that Obama and his fans in the media still believe that the vehicle of the blank screen is operable.  Time Magazine's recent photoshopped cover showing Ronald Reagan approvingly embracing Obama is such an example.

Imagine the reaction in the press if President Bush had said this.
 Obama assertion: FBI can get phone records without oversight.  The Obama administration's Justice Department has asserted that the FBI can obtain telephone records of international calls made from the U.S. without any formal legal process or court oversight, according to a document obtained by McClatchy.  That assertion was revealed — perhaps inadvertently — by the department in its response to a McClatchy request for a copy of a secret Justice Department memo.

Obama Has Already Thrown in Towel on 'Winning the Future'.  Reuters reports that Obama's proposed budget would cut the deficit by $1.1 trillion over 10 years.  Are you kidding me?  We wouldn't even come close to balancing the budget if we applied all those cuts in one year, but spread out over 10 years, they are insulting.  Plus, many of these "cuts" would be solely the result of bringing troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Lying Left.  It should be painfully clear to conservatives by now that Obama cannot open his mouth without a torrent of lies pouring forth.  His most recent, and some of his most egregious, were in his remarks about the administration's proposed economy-wrecking budget.  And surely by now, they know that TV "journalism" and our major newspapers are nothing but Democrat Party propaganda outlets.  Combine the two, and you have a dangerous mix...

Media Hides Real Reason for Rise in Gas Prices.  Fill 'er up folks.  Gas prices in Southern California have hit $4.59 a gallon.  Oh, the media has finally started covering "Pain at the Pump" but they are not giving us the real reasons for the jump. ... The activist old media intentionally ignores Obama's role in rising gas prices.  His name is intentionally kept miles away from any story dealing with higher gas prices.  When Bush was in the White House the media had no problem reporting the fact that the rise in oil prices were due to the depreciation of the dollar, but they seem to have forgotten that little fact today.

Networks Link Bush to 'Skyrocketing' Gas Prices 15 Times More Than Obama.  As gas prices rose in 2008, network reporters mentioned President Bush in 15 times as many stories than they brought up President Obama in a similar period in 2011.  Bush drew gallons of coverage in 2008.  Comparing a 20-day span of rising gas prices in 2008 to 24 days of rising prices in February 2011, the Business & Media Institute found the networks did more than 2½ times as many stories during the Bush years versus Obama.

A secret Obama doesn't want you to know.  No doubt by now you've heard the story on the nightly news that the Obama economy grew at a weaker pace in the fourth quarter of last year than was expected.  What's that you say?  You didn't hear that on the evening news?  I wonder why.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews is a big Obama fan.  The thrills up his leg embarrassingly came at the beginning and the end of "Hardball" in what at times seemed like an hour-long commercial for the President's reelection.

Chris Matthews Swoons Again.  Professional Obama fan Chris Matthews appeared on Friday's [3/4/2011] edition of the Martin Bashir show to slam the President's critics and to swoon, "Everything he's done has been good for this country."  Matthews went on an extended rant against those who oppose Obama...

The Media and the Republicans.  [Scroll down]  The media has begun its efforts to re-elect Obama and protect their interests.  Already stories are circulating making him out to be invincible and the potential Republican field full of inept, right-wing loons.  Every effort to rein in spending in Congress is met with the obligatory story of child and senior citizen deprivation and joblessness.  The reporting of a possible shutdown has been slanted as a warning to the Republicans that they will suffer as they supposedly did in 1995.  It matters little whether the country is marching off a financial cliff.

Tina Brown: Obama Might Have 'Worst Inbox Of Any President In History'.  Barack Obama's complaints about the burdens of his office have found a sympathetic ear in the person of Tina Brown. ... I generally think of Brown as one of the more astute members of the liberal media.  Which makes one wonder: how could she possibly imagine that the burdens facing Obama are tougher than those confronting any of his predecessors?

Brazil's Anti-Obama Riots Ignored by Media.  A U.S. President beset by angry mobs screaming "Yankee Imperialist Go Home", exploding Molotov cocktails, rubber bullets, tear gas, riot police.  In 2007 the MSNBC headline screamed "Protests greet Bush upon arrival in Brazil" and The Guardian one-upped it with "Angry crowds hunt Bush as protests mark start of Latin America tour".  Fast forward to 2011 as another U.S. President faces identical protests and riots.  Funny thing, though, this time there is absolute stone cold silence on these protests and riots...

Will The Media Call Obama a Hypocrite?  Mr. Nobel Peace Prize has launched hundreds of Cruise Missiles into Libya inflicting major damage and killing civilians.  He has also kept two wars going while ramping up the battle in Afghanistan.  Sounds like a warmonger.

The Big Obama Defeat the Media Ignored.  Lost amid all the excitement over the Rio trip, the anti-obesity campaign, and the March Madness picks was the revelation that Senate Democrats had given up any attempt to confirm Donald Berwick as chief of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  It seems that 42 Republicans had informed the Democratic majority by letter that they would vote for Berwick's confirmation when Hell froze over.

Media Ignore Anti-Obama Protests In Brazil.  Union protests against a Republican governor as well as mass demonstrations aimed at an Egyptian President have been the central focus of our news media the past two months.  But as Big Government's Susan Swift reported Sunday [3/20/2011], Brazilians protesting the imminent arrival of Barack Obama hours after he launched missiles at a country that didn't attack America is not considered newsworthy to his many fans in the press here.

Only ABC Mentions Obama Flip-Flop on Presidential War Powers, CBS and NBC Ignore.  While a report on ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday referenced 2007 comments from then-Senator Barack Obama against a president taking military action without congressional approval, CBS and NBC both failed to point out President Obama contradicting those earlier statements by failing to seek congressional approval before committing U.S. forces in Libya.

If Republicans Acted Exactly Like Democrats.  Imagine George W. Bush, after vacillating for month, deciding to put American troops in harm's way, even as he remained on vacation while the conflict began.  Imagine he did it without the Constitutional necessity of consulting Congress, and subordinated American interests to the whims of the United Nations. ... Imagine if George W. Bush had committed the American military to a conflict where we're on nobody's side.  Now imagine everything above either being virtually ignored by the mainstream media, or deliberately mischaracterized by it.

Will Ignorance Lead to a Second Obama Term?  In the face of a dishonest and complicit mainstream media, it is up to all thinking Americans to make efforts to educate themselves, their neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family as to the dangers of four more years of Obama as President.

Major Garrett Sounds Like an Obama Flack.  On Morning Joe, Major Garrett, formerly of Fox News, now with the National Journal, claimed to be "militantly non-partisan" ... then proceeded to offer a passionate defense of President Obama's Libya policy.  As an hors d'oeuvre during the discussion of the need for the media to acknowledge their leanings, Katrina vanden Heuvel risibly refused to admit that her Nation magazine is left-wing.

No Lock-Out Coverage for Obama in NY Times.  President Obama arrived home to the White House on Wednesday [3/23/2011] from his five-day trip to Latin America and found himself locked out of the French doors to the Oval Office, as captured by several news organizations.  My Media Research Center colleague Tim Graham reminded me that back on Nov. 21, 2005, the New York Times published on its front page a photo of President George W. Bush making a face after trying to leave a press conference in Beijing through a locked door, accompanied by an article that mentioned the gaffe.

Obama Re-Election and the Cult of Personality:  The American people can expect to see President Obama on as many sympathetic television talk shows as possible and he will grant innumerable interviews to sycophantic news anchors and talk radio personalities as he can get into his schedule when not interfering with golf or White House parties.  The Obama family will be prominently featured in all the celebrity worshiping magazines and news shows, which will also highlight the various White House functions with whoever is the entertainment or sports superstar of the day.

Let Them Buy New Cars.  This week President Obama replied to a man who told the president that he is hard-pressed to buy gasoline for his van that he ought to trade it in for a new car with better mileage.  Obama assured him he'd probably get a great deal these days — from GM, Ford, or Chrysler, he added.  The Associated Press first reported this incident and then scrubbed it from its story; most of the media did not care about it at all, because Obama is awesome.

Why are Obama and the Press so Silent on Afghanistan?  The mainstream media basically downplayed or ignored a March 15 Washington Post/ABC News poll which showed American support for the Afghanistan war seriously eroding.  For the first time since the war there began almost a decade ago, nearly two of three surveyed said the battle is not worth fighting.  Normally, such a dramatic turn in public sentiment against a war would rate screaming headlines and endless speculation on how that might affect President Obama's political standing and re-election chances in 2012.

Obama Gets Predictable AP Kid-Glove Treatment.  This evening, [AP's Jim] Kuhnhenn and his wire service are expecting the AP's readers — and ultimately its subscribing media outlets' readers, listeners, and viewers — to believe that President Obama, who, with plenty of help from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, will have run up over $4 trillion of steadily rising federal government deficits by the time we get to September 30, the end of the current fiscal year (after making appropriate adjustments to reverse obfuscatory accounting entries designed to mask the truth), has now seen the light, and is on board with the idea of serious long-term deficit reduction.

A War Gone Missing.  I'm hoping someone can help me.  I left on vacation last week, and when I got back, an entire war was missing.  I've looked for it on all the major networks and cable outlets (excepting Fox News), as well as all the major newspapers.  Although I've found hints that it still exists somewhere, President Obama's Libyan War is officially missing in action.

Common Sense and the usurper Obama:  There continues to be a conspiracy of silence about Obama's ineligibility among the political elite and the main stream media (MSM).  They know the Constitution has been violated.  Either they lack the courage or the integrity to speak the truth.

More questions about Obama's eligibility .

The Donald: Doing the Job the Media Won't Do.  [Scroll down]  Trump, while he's at it, might want to turn his investigators onto Obama's academic records — high school through Harvard Law — which remain top-secret. ... Trump might want to question members of Obama's former church to find out how, during his 20 years as a member, Obama managed to miss every single sermon in which his "spiritual adviser," the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, shouted the anti-Semitic, anti-American, racist statements widely seen on YouTube.  We know Bush's grades.  We know his brand of whiskey before he kicked it.  We know he eats pork rinds.  Dan Rather nuked his own career trying to prove Bush got high-hat treatment in the Texas Air National Guard — a contention Rather still holds.  But Obama?  Nothing to see here.  No, the real story about Trump isn't Trump.  It's the pass given Obama by the media.

Obama's ineligibility: The American press has dishonored itself.  We now have the media of an one-party state.  I was watching ABC's George Stephanopoulos interviewing Donald Trump about the birth certificate issue.  It struck me how much more Stephanopoulos sounded like an Obama staff member than an independent and objective journalist.

Obama's Apologists.  Barack Obama often suffers paralysis when it comes to making a decision.  But such freezing in the face of pressure is not what is being portrayed by Obama's cheering section in the media.  Instead, we are fed a different vision that idolizes Barack Obama as a wise leader. ... He is praised as an exceptionally deep and nuanced thinker whose skills are beyond our ken.

The President's Maturity Problem.  Far from being a post-partisan healer, President Obama has proven himself to be petty, juvenile, and someone totally lacking the temperament and class we should expect from an Oval Office executive.  Apparently coming to grips with this uncomfortable reality as they watch him forgo press conferences for Daily Show and Tonight Show appearances, some on the left have taken a different approach in defending him.  Writing a piece entitled (no joke), "The Trouble with Presidential Dignity," the New Republic author Jonathan Chait concluded, "our problem is not too little presidential dignity but too much."

Tea Party David Vs. Two-Headed Goliath.  On the O'Reilly Factor TV show, Dennis Miller was asked his thoughts regarding the media's response to Obama's numerous flip flops.  Miller said the media will report whatever Obama does in a positive light.  We patriots are well aware of the liberal media's love affair with Obama.  And yet, for some reason, the reality of Miller's comment hit me hard right between the eyes.

It's ReVolting.  In our fast paced, ever-changing lives, we can take occasional comfort in the fact that some things never change.  We can rely on death, taxes, McDonald's, the fecklessness and narcissism of Barack Obama, and above all the obsequious New York Times.  Yes, the NYT has, once again, lived down to expectations.  Thus comes Lawrence Ulrich, on the Times website, with a review of the much-ballyhooed Chevy Volt, a review that could not be more fawning if it was named "Bambi."  In fact, "Volt" could easily be replaced with "Obama" in much of the review and it would yield yet another Obama puff piece for which the NYT has become justly infamous.

Obama's Church Choice For Easter Based On Race?  It may sound a little callous and abrasive to even be suspicious of Obama's choice of churches for Easter Sunday 2011, but given the climate of the media bias so overwhelmingly in favor of casting Obama in the best light possible, the regular media professionals can't be trusted to actually do some basic reporting. ... While this pastor is a little less flamboyant than Jeremiah Wright in both tone and wardrobe, the evidence is in:  Obama prefers and actively seeks out these churches, race is our President's primary motivation on a variety of decisions, and the media will actively provide cover for minority racists as long as it fits their narrative.

Did someone mention Jeremiah Wright?

Frustrated in Defeat, 'View' Crew Trashes Trump as 'Racist'.  I'm no Birther, I simply believe that the White House and MSM teamed up to keep the birth certificate issue alive as a weapon to use against the Right.  As an example, nothing made NBC's David Gregory happier than to ask a conservative about the issue and subsequently nothing made the rest of the corrupt media happier than to amplify that moment and use it to drown out the conservative political message.  So instead of the MSM doing their job and educating the public — as they did when McCain's place of birth was questioned — they chose to palace-guard Obama and join in on the racial smearing.  This was all about fundraising, distracting, and dividing.  Or, what we call standard operating procedure when it comes to our friends on the Left.

Obama's birth certificate proves Americans are powerless.  Mr. Obama did not release the birth certificate because the media pressured him or because the courts actually listened to one of the many cases that were filed.  He released it because an obsessed billionaire threatened his electability in 2012, which forces us to ask the question:  What good are our democratic institutions if they don't stand up for the people?  Journalists did not address the fact that the president was refusing to resolve an issue about his constitutional eligibility.  Instead, they covered the "birther" movement in an effort to discredit any American who had a legitimate question.

Obama has declared war on the Constitution.  First, there is no more important issue for the country than the integrity of the Constitution.  Without it, the federal government is null and void and the rule of law is undermined.  Second, the political elites want to move on because they have been complicit in a flagrant contravention of the Constitution, the Founders intent and judicial precedence by substituting political fiat for the legal processes involved in amending the Constitution.  The political elites and the MSM have always known that they were promoting an infringement of the Constitution by protecting Obama.

The Obama Lie That Drove the Birther Movement.  [Scroll down]  The media proved especially ignorant in their discussion of Obama's birth certificate.  Last week, ABC's George Stephanopoulos set a new media low in his ambush of Rep. Michele Bachmann.  In full partisan fury, he waved a copy of Obama's certification of live birth in her face as excitedly as if he had just discovered Al Capone's vault.  "Well I have the president's [birth] certificate right here," crowed the clueless Stephanopoulos, utterly unaware he had no such thing.  Worse, what he did have had been floating around the Internet since 2008.  "It's certified, it's got a certification number."  Neither he nor his media colleagues seemed to know how foolish this spectacle appeared to the millions of Americans who knew better.

Did someone mention Obama's birth certificate?

America needs Fox News.  You can bet that if George Bush were president, the media would be out for blood.  You would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not notice that gas is four smackers a gallon, real unemployment is still above 10 percent, America is trillions in debt with no end to annual trillion-dollar deficits in sight, we are still in two wars and itching for another one in Libya, China is poised to eclipse our economy in just a couple of years, and 25 percent of our kids do not graduate from high school.

Atlanta TV Reporter Writes of Thrills at Interviewing 'Gifted and Complex' Obama.  Justin Farmer is a reporter for Atlanta's WSB-TV, and he's exactly the kind of local-news reporter Barack Obama's been looking for — the kind that's too star-struck to be objective.

Trump Booed By Media At White House Correspondents' Dinner.  If we had a truly impartial media, would they boo a political figure regardless of his or her opinions?

David Gregory's Long Tall Smooch To Obama.  President George W. Bush's nickname for David Gregory was "Stretch."  True to his moniker, the elongated Meet The Press host gave a long, tall, three-part smooch to President Obama during his appearance on this morning's [5/1/2011] Today Show.

Mainstream Media's Paradise Lost.  Over the past ten years it has become painfully obvious that the mainstream media's level of vituperation directed at conservatives has gone up exponentially while their willingness to accommodate and turn a blind eye towards the devastating policies of the Left (in particular President Obama) has never been higher.

Professors Gone Wild.  [Scroll down]  The Washington Post put its reasoning ability on display last week with the pronouncement that Barack Obama is too smart for the office he holds.  Government-run institutions are collapsing because the nation is "too stupid" to fall "adoringly at Obama's feet" and simply do what he says.  The writer — the Yale-trained Beltway insider Dana Milbank — cites two professors who blame our national woes on an electorate unable to function at the same level of a president who is "the very model of a complex thinker."

Chris Matthews throws his panties and room key at President Obama.  Chris Matthews gave up all pretense of objectivity Friday [4/29/2011] and moved directly into oohing and ahhing over President Obama.  "If you think about him as a guy out in the sun, with the sun in his face, looking like a cowboy with his sleeves rolled up ... here he is out in the sun, short sleeves, he's always been fit, looking like a million bucks, looking like a guy."

Fineman: Obama Killing Bin Laden Proves He's Effective Commander-in-Chief.  As we watched President Obama tell us Sunday evening [5/1/2011] of Osama bin Laden's death, we knew the media would be starting the Mother of all victory laps.  Not surprisingly out ahead of the cheering throngs was Huffington Post's senior politics editor Howard Fineman with his Monday love letter...

Obama Girl Behar: "Skip the Next Election".  As a discussion of the death of Osama Bin Laden with ABC News' Brian Ross on The View turned political, Joy Behar suggested that we "skip the next election" since this event apparently guarantees that Obama will win re-election next year.  If I were Behar I wouldn't count my chickens just yet.

Obama, We Hardly Knew Ye.  Most of agree that President Obama did the right thing in ordering the attack which resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden; but his sycophants and cult worshippers, led by the New York Times, are making an all-out effort to make this single deed into a redemption of all his many policy failures and his persistent lack of decisiveness and leadership.

Time For Conservatives to Focus on Obama's Performance in Office.  Emotion should have no place in the upcoming campaign.  In order to make these tactics moot it is time to put the issue of Obama's birth certificate, college grades, and all manner of personal questions on the sidelines and concentrate on making certain he is defeated based on his record.  That is not to say that there may indeed be some validity to these issues; but they cannot be proven with absolute certitude between now and the fall of 2012.  Placing any attention on these matters will not succeed in helping defeat Obama as long as the mainstream media is a wholly owned subsidiary of liberal deep-pocket benefactors and the Democratic Party with their access to taxpayer money.

You Must Be A Racist If You Don't Love Obama, Right?  CBS anchorman Bob Schieffer says that Donald Trump is a racist.  Whoopie Goldberg and her colleague on the View, Joy Behar, concur.  MSNBC host Ed Schultz interpreted Mr. Trump's questioning as to how Obama was able to get into Harvard with his alleged poor grades, as a racist remark doubting Obama's intelligence.  The host on Fox's Red Eye, Greg Gutfeld, usually ends his Gregalogue rant with, "and if you don't agree with me you must be a racist."  Gutfeld, however is a satirist but these mainstream media pundits are serious.

Obama: Just Trust Me.  Inquiring minds apparently don't want to know.  Most in the activist old media seem very willing to accept and even perpetuate the president's argument for not releasing the death photos of Osama bin Laden.  The same media that has fought disclosure issues all the way to the Highest Court in the land, released Abu Ghraib photos, and battled George W. Bush on numerous disclosure issues now seems more than willing to just trust Dear Leader.

Obama: Deniability Man.  Fictional "news stories" take a lot of coordination, which is why normal American administrations give just one answer for Special Ops:  "No comment."  But normal administrations don't run PR stunts with national security.  This is not a normal administration.  This is the first ACORN administration, and the end justifies the means, just like it says in Alinsky.  Obama desperately wants to look tough.  We can tell, because all the mediots came out with John Wayne headlines.  Suddenly the left is giving Obama the Nobel Prize again for doing nothing — and looking as phony as Pelosi's facelift.

NPR Brushes Aside Transparency Concerns at DOJ Civil Rights Unit.  On Tuesday's Morning Edition, NPR's Carrie Johnson highlighted critiques of the Obama White House from the left on their promise to be "the most transparent administration in history," but downplayed questions over the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Unit's use of non-disclosure agreements with companies under investigation.

More Questions.  Why does the media suddenly have no interest in asking hard questions?  Why are they "factophobic"?  What is difficult about "trust but verify"?  And, why malign those who want truthful answers?  Would it be that they are Democrat operatives cloaked as journalists; or proverbial wolves in sheep's clothing?  These and many other questions animate those who no longer trust the media and who seek answers to legitimate questions in their quest of the truth.  Obama repeatedly promised "the most transparent administration in history," his continuing resistance to American citizens who seek the facts about him is a non sequitur and establishes him as Deceiver-in-Chief.

Obama the Warrior showed "as much courage as our Navy SEALs".  The media has moved into full Obama hype and hyperbole.  America's most effeminate Commander In Chief is now being touted as a cross between General Patton and Chuck Norris.

Sex, Lies & the TSA.  Most Americans still "don't get it."  Our rights as American citizens are under attack by the most socialist administration ever to assume power, installed by an elite oligarchy of globalists through a continuity of agenda that began decades ago.  Americans continue to be sold some of the biggest lies in history by the establishment media, which has been progressively infiltrated by some of the most powerful socialists, communist sympathizers and sellouts in the history of the Fourth Estate.

Associated Press poll claims 60% Obama Approval.  Obama sycophants in the media, which means most of the media, have been trumpeting an Associated Press poll that purports a 60% approval rating for Barack Obama.  And if you believe that number, I have a compound in Abbottabad I'd like to sell you.  The AP reached the 60% figure by lumping the majority of 'Undecideds' into the Obama approval column.  Typically approval polls categorize respondents into three categories:  Approve; Disapprove; and Undecided.  Not the AP poll.

Obama's Scandalous War Against Domestic Oil.  Do you remember the terrible things the left was saying about President George W. Bush when gas prices soared under his watch?  Yet President Obama, whose policies and actions are actually contributing to rocketing gas prices today, gets the usual mainstream media pass.  Is it that the liberal media exempt Obama from accountability because they're on his team in general?  Is it because they think he's blameless in the equation even though they sprang to the unfounded conclusion that Bush was culpable?  Or could it be that they aren't critical because they share his bias against conventional energy and believe the pain caused by his policies is necessary to move us toward alternative energy sources?

Bounce, My Backside.  It's amazing how often the truly obvious eludes a mainstream media so tainted by left-wing ideology they are incapable of seeing that which is right under their collective noses.  Last week Osama bin Laden was killed, and as far as the leftist presstitutes are concerned, it's virtually pointless for anyone in the GOP to run for president.  Obama's re-election is a "done deal."  Really?

Veteran Journalists: Today's White House Reporters Are Too Timid.  "If you watch an Obama news conference, and watched a Bush news conference previous to that, where correspondents sit in their seats with their hands folded on their laps, [it's] as if they are in the room with a monarch and they have to wait to be recognized by the president," says Sid Davis, the former NBC Washington bureau chief who covered nine presidents.  "It looks like they are watching a funeral service ... and it shouldn't be that way."

Liberal Cartoonist Can't Get Anyone To Publish His Anti-Obama Pieces.  Ted Rall's cartoons and opinion pieces were all the rage when he was attacking George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and American soldiers. ... In the past, editorial rejections had numerous causes:  low budgets, lack of space, an editor who simply preferred another creator's work over yours.  Now there' s a new cause for refusal:  Too tough on the president.

Corsi Book An Important One.  As I have come to learn firsthand, the anti-journalist does not seek to report the news.  The anti-journalist attacks the people who do report the news or, just as likely, ignores them completely.  When in attack mode, the anti-journalist disregards the facts and dismisses the fact finder as partisan, whacko, reckless, and inevitably, in regard to Obama, racist.  No reporter in America knows this form of abuse better than Harvard Ph.D. Jerome Corsi.

Liberal Media Skip Study That Found Stimulus 'Forestalled or Destroyed' Jobs.  On the front page of Wednesday's Investor's Business Daily, reporter David Hogberg reported that a new study found President Obama's "stimulus" plan "may have destroyed or forestalled employment, including more than 1 million private-sector jobs."  Destroyed or forestalled?  Our media only cites studies which estimate the number of jobs Team Obama "saved or created."

A Libyan Quagmire?  The botched and confused handling of the conflict in Libya has been a stunning example of President Obama's leadership style, and of the media's continued determination to ignore or gloss over anything that makes him look weak, incompetent or indecisive.

Journalists


Obama's ineligibility: We know.  [Scroll down]  We know that the MSM is hopelessly biased.  They will always give liberals flattering coverage and attack conservatives even with misinformation or outright lies.  They will actively conspire to support Democrats and attempt to influence Republicans to choose the weakest candidates.  We know that the Republican leadership will work with the MSM to discredit any Republican candidate, who might offer real change.  The Republican elite would rather lose an election than risk losing the benefits of political cronyism.

LA Times Columnist: Obama Pauses While Speaking Due To 'Intellectual Stammer'.  The Los Angeles Times, in an opinion column, has decided to defend Barack Obama's tendency to pause or sometimes tumble over his words by chalking it all up to a phenomenon the paper has decided to call "The Intellectual Stammer."

British Newspaper Blasted Bush's Etiquette Flub, but Glosses Over Obama's.  Imagine the newspaper headlines if President George W. Bush had written the wrong date in the Westminster Abbey guest book; or if he had continued toasting the Queen of England after the British national anthem started playing.  Obama did both of those things on Tuesday, and while media outlets reported the incidents, there was no suggestion that he is a blundering fool.

MSN Money Finds 10 Reasons 'You Should Love $5 Gas'.  Many have noted that homelessness seems to always become a concern for the legacy media when a Republican is president.  Similarly, during Democratic administrations, media outlets always seem to find good things about bad economic news (remember "funemployment"?).  The latest such attempt comes from MSN Money, which on Wednesday tallied ten reasons that "you should love $5 gas."

British press seduced by Obama.  US President Barack Obama's speech to Britain's parliament was "Churchillian" in its delivery and a fitting end to a visit which has boosted his re-election chances, Britain's press said on Thursday [5/26/2011].

Michelle Obama's high staff turnover.  Here's a shocker:  Michelle Obama has trouble keeping staff.  Despite the effort by Julie Mason and Amie Parnes to soft-peddle their Politico report regarding the high turnover rate on the FLOTUS's staff, the message comes through loud and clear. ... The lickspittle media is consistently exposed as being the Obamas' handmaidens, but the length to which this article goes is remarkable.

Covering for Obama's high unemployment results.  Can President Obama be re-elected in 2012 with unemployment figures at record highs?  If the media and Democrat operatives have their way, it just may be possible.  Witness [a recent] article by Jeremy Greenfield headlined "Unemployment: The New Norm".

Stop It Already — He's Not So Smart.  [Scroll down]  Think back to his press conference when, recklessly venturing beyond range of a teleprompter, he described his campaign efforts through the 57 states.  If Dan Quayle had said that, people would have thrown potatoes at him.  With Obama, though, we are told it was a slip of the tongue.  When he could not properly pronounce the military term "corpsman," pronouncing it instead as one would describe a cadaver, the late-night comics did not perceive humor.

Barack Obama and the Betrayal of Black America.  One of the talking points formulated by Obama's apologists in the media is the notion that Obama is not the president of black America.  They argue he is the president of the United States of America.  This pathetically feeble argument exists for the sole purpose of deflecting legitimate criticism of Obama's failure to meet the needs of the black community.

Obama, Lincoln 'Peas in the Same Pod' Declares Salon.com Technology Writer.  Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln "are peas in the same pod," at least in the eyes of Salon.com technology reporter Andrew Leonard.  And just how exactly?  Because "both [were] irredeemably stained by the hard fiscal decisions they had to make to save their nation," Leonard argued in a June 2 "How the World Works" blog post.

Useful Idiots.  The spending has not stopped, it has not even slowed down, and the Republican-controlled House appears to have no intention to make real cuts in spending or to pass a budget.  Neither are they addressing the Democrat-controlled Congress failure to pass a budget last year.  The compliant media is ignoring the issue entirely as if it does not exist while portraying the economy as booming.

Obama Brags 'I Have Better Plane' And 'Bigger Entourage' Than Three Years Ago.  Imagine a Republican president giving a speech on tough economic times in which he claimed that the plight of Americans who are hurting is what is on his mind every day as he walks to the Oval Office.  Imagine that same Republican president, in that same speech, bragging that he has "a better plane" and "a bigger entourage" than when he was a candidate.  Now imagine the howls from the MSM about such president's vainglory and insensitivity.

Obama Backs EPA War on Coal, While Networks Ignore Harm to Industry.  It is no longer a secret that President Obama's administration is willing to allow electricity prices to "necessarily skyrocket," in order to accomplish his green energy agenda.  Although he has so far been unsuccessful at instituting cap-and-trade, Obama's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hard at work running coal companies and consumers into the ground.  Not that you'd know it from ABC, NBC and CBS news coverage.

Maybe this has something to do with it...
 Many in Congress invested in news media.  Many members of Congress have financial interests in the media that cover them, financial disclosure documents show.  The Center for Responsive Politics reported Wednesday [6/15/2011] some 60 senators and representatives, or their spouses, have investments in at least 19 media corporations.

Obama will Resign and for Good Reason.  It is now widely acknowledged that the mainstream media ran interference for him, ignoring or disparaging those who questioned his eligibility.  After two and a half years in office, however, his arrogance and incompetence is so manifest that even they can no longer cover for him.  Obama has single handedly generated a mass political movement called the Tea Party and election results for governors and members of Congress have put opposition candidates into office.

Congressman blasts reporters at Obamacare waivers presser.  Freshman Illinois Republican Rep. Joe Walsh ripped mainstream media reporters at a press conference Wednesday morning [6/22/2011] for their failure to adequately cover the Obamacare waivers imbroglio.  "This is an outrage," Walsh said of the Obamacare waivers program.  "I don't know why your profession isn't outraged.  If this were any other president or any other administration, you would be investigating this tooth and nail every single day."

NBC Picks on Supposed Republican Stumbles Before Showing Obama Soothing a Baby.  On Tuesday night [6/21/2011], NBC decided to highlight a series of stumbles by Republican presidential candidates, none of them all that significant (Romney having $100 bills in his wallet and Perry referring to Twitter as "tweeter"), before later in the newscast showing White House-produced video of a baby which stopped crying when handed to President Obama.

ABC, CBS Heap Praise on 'Baby Whisperer' Barack Obama and His 'Magic' Touch.  The ABC and CBS morning shows on Wednesday [6/22/2011] gushed over "baby whisperer" Barack Obama.  Both Good Morning America and the Early Show played White House-produced video of the President comforting a baby while working a rope line.  GMA's Lara Spencer lauded, "You know, the President is plenty busy trying to turn the economy around.  But he still has time to stop some babies from crying, of course."

Most Ludicrous Analysis of Obama's Afghanistan Speech?  The elusive distinction of most ludicrous analysis of Obama's Afghanistan speech should be awarded to NPR for its story, "Obama's Afghan Speech Echoed Lincoln's Talk."  The segment was less than a minute-and-a-half, but it was a doozy.

Michelle Obama: "Fortunately, We Have Help From The Media".  In an interview with CNN, First Lady Michelle Obama thanks the media for their "support" and "kindness."
CNN reporter:  "How's the family ready for this [the election]?  It's going to be quite vicious, isn't it?  How do you prepare for that?"
First Lady Michelle Obama:  "You know, it's ... we're ready, you know.  Our children, you know, could care less about what we're doing.  We work hard to do that.  Fortunately, we have help from the media."

Big Three Networks Ignore Obama's Medal of Honor Screw-Up.  On Thursday [6/23/2011], at Fort Drum, New York, as reported by the Military Times, Obama told the 10th Mountain Division he had the privilege of meeting "a comrade of yours, Jared Monti" adding it was "the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn't receiving it posthumously."  Turns out Monti did receive it posthumously, as Obama presented the award to his parents at a White House ceremony in 2009. ... This insensitive blunder by the President was not covered the Big Three Network evening news shows on Wednesday and received zero stories on Thursday's morning shows.

AP Goes All Orwell in Covering Obama Apology for MOH Gaffe.  A search on the last name of deceased soldier and Medal of Honor winner Jared Monti at the AP's main site only returns one relevant story:  its Friday night/Saturday morning coverage of Obama's apology.  Wait until you see how dishonestly the wire service tried to cover its tracks...

Mainstream media covers up horrifying Obama mistake.  No one in mainstream media seems inclined to mention Barack Obama's horrifying mistake last Thursday when, speaking at Fort Drum, he said that SFC Jared Monti was "the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn't receiving it posthumously."  Alas, he was mistaken.  He awarded the Medal of Honor to Jared Monti posthumously in 2009 and awarded the Medal of Honor in person to SSG Sal Giunta in person in 2011.

Calling all Journalists -- Obama's multiple social security numbers.  Last year, two investigators searched numerous data bases and found that the social security number Obama is currently using is a Connecticut issued number and it was issued between 1977-79.  Further, the social security number assigned to Barack Obama may have been previously assigned to someone born in 1890.  It's important to note that Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was a volunteer at the Oahu Circuit Court probate department and had access to Social Security numbers of dead people.  With this issue alone, you'd think this would be enough to warrant some type of investigation from the so-called free press.

More about Barack Obama's highly questionable Social Security number.

President Quixote's Legacy: Confused, Ill-Educated and Not Too Bright.  The claim that Obama is the smartest man to ever hold presidential office is absurd and a reflection on the state of our media who insist on propping up this man-child.  Obama's obsession with keeping his college records and personal past secret is prima facie evidence that the claim is untrue.  His knowledge base and dismal performance on the world stage is even more damning.  Instead of having a superior intellect, we likely have the most ignorant, ideological, brainwashed dupe this country has ever elected to high office.

Obama's Suspicious Connections to Clean Tech Companies Receiving Federal Money.  Having friends in Washington is one of the quickest and dirtiest paths to success, but when President Barack Obama is the one helping you out by discriminately favoring your company's products over others, very few in the media seem to care.

Our Prickly President.  [Scroll down]  Regardless of which Republican he faces next year, the liberal media will resume its role as Obama's cheerleader, including Mark Halperin who will undoubtedly be eager to seek the forgiveness of The Anointed One.  I fully expect that he and his cohorts will revert to a Nina Burleigh-like state in which they fall to their knees before Obama with their mouths agape.  Yet it might not be enough.  Even the liberal media cannot stop Obama from self-destruction.

Media Attempt To Determine Who's Electable.  As a conservative with some experience in presidential politics, it's more than amusing for me to watch left-of-center mainstream reporters and pundits — and even a few establishment-type Republicans — work overtime to lock the 2012 GOP contenders and potential contenders into the box of conventional wisdom. ... For many in the mainstream media who unethically worked to create the false narrative used to help elect Sen. Obama in 2008, there is a genuine fear of a general election match-up between their beloved Obama and either Gov. Perry or Rep. Bachmann.

It's like TMZ for politicians!
 Dems send out crazed stalkers to shadow GOP candidates.  They record every word, every gesture, every aside, every remark made by GOP candidates.  They stalk their quarry, going from town to town, speaking engagement to speaking engagement, hoping against hope that a Republican candidate will make a mistake like saying there are 57 states in the US, or averring that there is an Austrian language.  There goal is to make a video that goes viral on YouTube and sinks the Republican's chances to get elected.

MSNBC's Religious Expert Excoriates 'Radical,' 'Theocratic' Christians.  In a segment on the religiosity of Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, MSNBC's Richard Lui on Wednesday [7/6/2011] looked to an author who has smeared conservative Christians as "radical," weird individuals who "hate" America.  The guest host for Martin Bashir interviewed Frank Schaeffer, a blogger on the liberal Huffington Post website and also a constant critic of the religious right. ... Lui never pointed out Schaeffer's liberal leanings or his endorsement of Barack Obama in 2008.

NPR Listeners Hear EPA Touted as 'Environmental Investment Agency'.  In the Obama era, the Environmental Protection Agency and its chief Lisa Jackson have been absolutely non-controversial in the national media.  Few reporters have considered its aggressive "green" tactics a job-crusher.

Romney's Right: It Is Worse Now.  The Obama administration recently created a new White House post charged with rapidly responding to unfavorable stories.  They could have spared the taxpayers $72,500, since the mainstream press is already doing that job free of charge.

Media Tosses Softballs to Obama.  Six out of seven reporters, called on by Barack Obama at today's press conference, asked a question of the President that came from the left and/or blamed Speaker John Boehner and the Republicans for standing in the way of a deal on the debt ceiling.

Michelle Obama on 'Better Homes' cover.  Better Homes and Gardens will feature First Lady Michelle Obama on the cover of its August issue — the first public figure to grace the magazine's cover in 48 years.

He rescued us?  On Sunday [7/10/2011], on Meet the Press, Treasury Secretary Geithner said "The Amercian economy was falling off the cliff in the Fall of 08 and the first months of [President Obama's] Administration and he put in place the most creative, the most forceful set of economic measures we have ever done as country, and because of that we prevented a second Great Depression ...." If you haven't seen this performance, you should — the forcefulness and conviction with which the Secretary delivered these lines is impressive.  There's something I don't understand.  Why didn't David Gregory, the host of MTP, laugh in Geithner's face?

Top 10 Obama Gaffes.  The Left had a grand old time with President George W. Bush's mangling of the English language, and let Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann make a slip of the tongue and the mainstream media will turn it into a major news story.  Not so with President Obama's verbal missteps.

The Media Are In The Bag For Obama.  Of course, the idea that Obama is a moderate is ludicrous to anyone who's even casually followed this presidency.  The biggest expansion in federal spending since World War II, ObamaCare, regulators run amok and now the push for massive tax hikes.  No wonder more than half the public — including one in five Democrats — think Obama's more liberal than they are.  But to the mainstream press, Obama merely has to call himself a centrist for reporters to believe it...

Where's Dan Rather Now?  Remember his nightly fake sadness for soldiers that "Bush was killing?"  He had his nightly Bush Death Count.  So, where have all the America-hating journalists gone now that the DeadStream Media's candidate is Commander in Chief?

Krauthammer Accuses Press of 'Accepting Every Leak Out of the White House'.  Charles Krauthammer on Friday [7/15/2011] marvelously demonstrated just how in the pockets of Barack Obama America's news media are.  After claiming on PBS's "Inside Washington" that we now have a "completely compliant, pliant, supine press accepting every leak out of the White House," he silenced the entire panel by asking them to name one specific cut to entitlements the President has proposed.

Is The First Dude Still Toking?  Obama famously admitted using marijuana and cocaine and the media gave him a pass unlike their skewering of his predecessor for similar youthful indiscretions.  The question in my mind today is this, "Is this guy still toking?"

NBC's Investigative Unit Ignores Obama's ATF Debacle.  The NBC News Investigative Unit has devoted considerable resources to uncovering "scandals" ranging from Marcus Bachmann's health clinic to Newt Gingrich's credit line at Tiffany to the Sarah Palin document dump, but continues to ignore a botched Justice Department operation that contributed to the death of a U.S. border agent.

Did someone mention Fast and Furious?

Conventional Wisdom Frames a Faulty Storyline to Suit Obama.  [CBS's Bob] Schieffer represents the Conventional Wisdom about as well as anyone — and in this case, the CW seems to be that the GOP plan is a "total waste of time," unreasonable, unserious, and inflexible, while anything President Obama demands is fair, balanced, thoughtful, and Solomon-like.

Obama Lies About Mom, Networks Yawn.  Barack Obama in 2008, [claimed] his mother, Ann Dunham, died of cancer while battling with insurance companies all the way through.  Dramatic?  Yes.  But an utter lie.

Under the Hammer.  No doubt some reporters were shocked, shocked to find that President Barack Hussein Obama had misled the public about his own mother's death to gain a political advantage.  There was never any doubt that Obama's mother had full medical coverage to treat her terminal cancer.  It was disability coverage, not health care coverage, that she was fighting with the insurance company over.  Obama should have known this because he is the attorney she hired to represent her against the insurance company. ... But the mainstream media will continue to let Obama say whatever he wants whether there is any truth to it or not.

Sharpton's pledge to not criticize Obama worth noting.  Was MSNBC's decision not to make former 6 p.m. host Cenk Uygur's role at the network permanent a product of the cable outlet's desire to protect President Barack Obama at all costs? ... Uygur admitted he didn't, but pointed to a May 2011 interview in which the Reverend Al Sharpton, Uygur's likely replacement at MSNBC, encouraged people not to criticize Obama.

The Unbelievable Brilliance Of Barack Obama.  There are hundreds more examples of Obama gaffes but one has to Google them on the Internet because the mainstream media never reported them.  Yet every slip of the tongue by Bush was deemed evidence of his stupidity.  In fact, Obama has made many more slips when speaking without his teleprompter but these are excused as merely a result of exhaustion or some other lame explanation.

Al Sharpton, MSNBC and journalistic standards.  How can a media outlet such as MSNBC that purports to be presenting political journalism possibly employ someone as a journalist — even an opinion journalist — who publicly and categorically pledges never to criticize the President of the United States under any circumstances?  That would be like hiring a physician who vows never to treat any diseases, or employing an auto mechanic who pledges never to fix any cars, or retaining a pollster who swears never to make any findings about public opinion.

Associated Press Uses Polling Firm That Favors Obama.  In the weeks following the news of Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Navy Seals, the mainstream media was running all manner of stories praising President Obama's leadership.  That frenzy was partially about America triumphing over an evil mass murderer, but also overwhelmingly about how it would help Obama get reelected.

Editor's Note:
 The tax-and-spend socialist baby-killing Democrats apparently have a fax network or some means of disseminating their bumper-sticker sound bites to all the right people.  One recent example is the catch phrase, "tea party downgrade" -- an attempt to blame the reduction in America's credit rating on the tea party people rather than Barack H. Obama's uncontrolled spending.  Some examples of the resulting press coverage (that is, their voluntary promulgation of this canard) are shown below:

Axelrod: This was a 'tea party downgrade'.
Tea Party Downgrade? Who Thought That One Up?
"Tea Party Downgrade"? They Can't Possibly Sell It.
Democrats seek to pin credit downgrade on tea party.
MoveOn.org drives new liberal catch phrase: 'Tea party downgrade'.
Dean: What's the tea party smoking?.
Kerry blames tea party for downgrade.

Matthews: Obama Needs To Offer Alternative To Capitalism.  Chris Matthews claims that for purposes of the 2012 campaign, Barack Obama needs to offer an alternative to capitalism.  Along the way, Matthews, on his MSNBC show this evening, offered a completely crazed notion of what capitalism is about.

Mark Levin: Michelle and Barack Obama "power hungry," "arrogant".  During the 2008 election cycle, political talking heads kept a sharp eye on the alleged extravagance of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  And decades ago they had a lot to say about First Lady Nancy Reagan and her lifestyle in the White House.  Why are there no stories about First Lady Michelle Obama?  London's Daily Mail newspaper claims Michelle Obama has spent $10 million in taxpayer money on vacations.

Comcast is the nation's largest cable operator and the new owner of NBC.*
 Comcast Employees Top Donors to Obama and 'Victory Fund'.  While Comcast employees gave $5,000 each to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, "Comcast employees contributed nearly $80,000 directly to Obama for America and roughly $200,000 to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint account benefitting both the Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee, through the first half of 2011 records show."  The Center for Responsive Politics analysis found 40 percent of Obama Victory Fund contributions are coming from two very blue states:  California (25 percent) and New York (15 percent), also two states where most of our news and entertainment media are located.

The Comcast-Obama Alliance.  The media is still showing the love for Obama.  Not only does the fawning coverage continue but media executives are putting their money where their collective mouths are, by showering the Obama campaign with money.

Obama's Enablers.  As a rule, the press is the scourge of presidents.  They're expected to endure unending scrutiny, mistrust, and badgering — plus hostility if they're Republicans — by a hectoring herd of reporters and commentators in the mainstream media.  But there's an exception to the rule:  President Obama.

The big stall.  Members of the political-media complex have no intention of addressing Barack Hussein Obama's ineligibility for the Presidency or his criminal activity both before and after occupying the White House because it would expose their own culpability in the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the American people.  Their plan is to stall, wait for the Obama "problem" to be overtaken by events, like the 2012 election, and then sweep his crimes and theirs under the rug.

The Motley Fool.  [Vice President Biden] is a walking pratfall, a clown of the tongue-tied, stumbling kind, and only the media's determined effort to shield the Obama administration from laughter has kept Joe Biden's miscues, misunderstandings, and mispronouncements from becoming our long-running national joke.

Press Forgets Obama's Anti-Intellectual 2008 Campaign.  Some of the reaction to Politico's tireless quest to find out if Democrats think Rick Perry is "dumb" centered on the fact reporters conveniently have yet to produce President Obama's school records.  That's true — and a point worth making. ... The president ran the most vacuous, messianic campaign imaginable — and yet Perry is tagged as a dense would-be theocrat.

Dreams From His Uncle, cont'd.  Apart from a brief online update, the New York Times has yet to report on the saga of Obama's Uncle Onyango.

Did someone mention Uncle Omar?

Why Johnny Can't Figure Out Which End of the Hammer to Hold.  I see that the president, in a spirit of bipartisan compromise, is proposing this time round to toss a mere third of a trillion dollars into the Potomac and watch it float out to sea, all in the interests of what the Associated Press calls "jump-starting" jobs.  David Espo and Jim Kuhnhenn are using "jump-start" metaphorically.  In fact, I would be interested to know whether Barack Obama has ever in his life jump-started anything in a non-metaphorical sense.  Or whether Messrs Espo and Kuhnhenn have.

Harold Ford, Jr.: Obama 'Greatest Orator The Office Has Ever Known'.  On today's [9/8/2011] Morning Joe, the unctuous Harold Ford, Jr. went into sycophantic overdrive, telling White House press secretary Jay Carney that President Obama is "the greatest orator that the office has ever known."

How the media are dividing Republicans.  The liberal media are President Obama's last hope.  His popularity is plummeting.  The economy is in crisis.  Global recovery has stalled.  The Middle East is drifting toward chaos.  Even many Democrats concede that Mr. Obama's re-election is in serious jeopardy.  Hence, he has only one chance left:  Provoke the GOP presidential candidates to tear each other apart.

What Did the MSM Know and When Did They Know It?  When it comes to protecting democracy, an over-zealous media is always preferable to a lapdog media so enamored with those in power that they lose their curiosity, skepticism and willingness to dig or ask questions for fear of what they might find.

PBS alters transcript to hide Obama gaffe.  At one point Mr. Obama made a major gaffe; he identified Abraham Lincoln as the founder of the Republican Party.  Lincoln did not join the Republicans until 1856, over two years after the party was founded.  The first Republican convention was held in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854.  Such a gaffe would have brought huge amounts of ridicule and derision on George W. Bush, but in the case of Obama the media yawned.  Actually, they did more than yawn; government-funded PBS has altered the transcript of the President's speech, removing the offending comment.

'Glee' Readies for Season of Tea Party Trashing?.  Hollywood knows Obama can't win on his failed record and therefore you can expect Hollywood (and the MSM) to pull out all the vicious stops to make our side unelectable.  The worse Obama's poll numbers get, the uglier all of this will get.  Count on it.

Techniques for Untruth.  As the 2012 election season lurches into full activity and the presidential darling of 2008 looks increasingly beatable, members of the Obama campaign team, also known as the mainstream press, realize there's much work to do keeping their man in the White House.  Two recent NPR stories display some techniques available to journalist-activists, allowing them to misrepresent truth while at the same time maintaining an appearance of objectivity.

Media Blasted for Obama Coverage.  Obama still gets far better coverage than a Republican politician would.  But the rise of right-leaning media outlets and the competition for web traffic has made it much harder for mainstream outlets to ignore legitimate stories that reflect poorly on Democrats.

Media Myth Debunked:
 Millionaires Don't Pay Less Tax as Percent of Income Than Lower Earners.  As President Obama trots out his new "Buffett Rule" to raise taxes on millionaires, the media are predictably assisting his efforts by spreading misinformation about the wealthy paying less taxes than lower wage earners as a percent of income.  2009 tax figures recently released by the Internal Revenue Service thoroughly refute this assertion.

New York Magazine Calls Obama 'The First Jewish President'.  In New York magazine this week, John Heilemann contends that President Obama is the "best thing Israel has going for it right now" and despite some setbacks he remains a president "every bit as pro-Israel as the country's own prime minister...

Is Obama Pro-Israel?  [Scroll down]  On the other side of the debate, New York magazine has a pathetic cover story by John Heilemann, titled "'The First Jewish President:'  The truth?  Barack Obama is the best friend Israel has right now."  How credulous an Obama apologist do you have to be to believe that?

If Obama Is the 'First Jewish President,' I Am the Last Barbie Doll.  I am finding it hard to laugh about John Heilemann's cover story in New York magazine.  Heilemann is a regular contributor to New York's pages and has also penned a book about Barack Obama's "hope" campaign on which he worked.  In a scandalous town and in a scandalous time, the cover of the 9/26 issue of New York magazine may be in a class all its own.  It depicts President Obama, seen from behind, wearing a kippah.

Liberal mainstream media should try actual reporting for a change.  I know it may sound crazy, but I have a suggestion for The New York Times.  Instead of taking the word of the Obama White House, its energy department, or even the word of Republicans for that matter, why don't you simply gather a team of your investigative journalists, remind them of their professional responsibility to be ethical, honest, and non-biased, and then unleash them to do some actual reporting for a change instead of insultingly regurgitating White House spin?

Obama figures he can just lie.  A polite word for what President Obama is being with his claims about millionaires and taxes is "disingenuous."  A more straightforward term would be lying.  Neither the Associated Press nor the Wall Street Journal called him that yesterday, but both reported the facts that the President is grossly and willfully distorting.

Obama's Predictable Scandals.  The media finally conceded the Obama administration to be inexperienced and inept, reminiscent of the Carter administration — but, they maintained, not possibly involved in any corruption.  Then suddenly scandals erupted on nearly every conceivable front.

Biased Media Set Pretty Table For Democrats.  To listen to the networks talk, it's the Republican field that is a mess in desperate need of new talent, and its debate audiences are a bloodthirsty horror movie.  One place that Democratic contenders go for positive publicity is the network morning shows.  Their audiences are diminished, but they remain a powerful national platform, especially for female voters.

An Ugly Sunrise for Republicans.  No one thinks Barack Obama is sitting pretty in this race for the White House.  The Real Clear Politics average of the mid-September approval-rating polls measures him at 43 percent approval, 51 percent disapproval.  With these numbers, they should be measuring his political coffin.  But to listen to the networks talk, it's the Republican field that is a mess in desperate need of new talent, and its debate audiences are a bloodthirsty horror movie.

NBC's 'Today' Swoons Over Michelle Obama Shopping at Target.  Friday's [9/30/2011] NBC "Today" devoted an entire segment to photos of First Lady Michelle Obama stopping by a Target store in Alexandria, Virginia, as Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell — on location at the shopping center — gushed:  "Check this out.  Behind those dark glasses, tucked under that Nike cap, one of the world's most famous women.  Yes, that is the First Lady of the United States at Target."

AP's First Lady Campaign Photos under Scrutiny.  The Associated Press is facing some scrutiny for taking pictures of First Lady Michelle Obama at a Target Store nearby the White House.  Some critics are expressing concerns that AP is trying to deflect the public's attention away from Mrs. Obama's extravagant spending habits to help get Barack Obama re-elected to the White House.

Spiking Solyndra: Big Three Networks Barely Mention Burgeoning Scandal.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu's admission, on Thursday, that he approved more taxpayer money to the financially strapped solar panel company Solyndra, after it defaulted on a $535 million loan from that agency.  Big Three network coverage?  Zero.  This is just a continuing pattern of ABC, CBS and NBC barely touching the bourgeoning scandal for the Obama administration.

More about Solyndra.

Pay No Attention to Obama Marching With the New Black Panthers.  President Obama has been exposed, again, for his radical roots, but by all means, let's continue to accuse the tea party of racism with no evidence.

More about the Black Panthers scandal.

'Must Pass' Bill Must Be Nuked.  For a full month now, President Obama has insisted that Congress "pass this bill."  And for a full month, his own party has steadfastly refused to bring it up for a vote. ... All the while, Obama has been running around the country blaming Republicans for blocking his bill, with pliant media regurgitating the charge.

Hypocrisy and hope, credit and blame in the Gunwalker Scandal.  [Scroll down]  As evidence, ladies and gentlemen of the jury of history, I present the undisputed fact that on the evening news shows of NBC, ABC and CBS this week not one — NOT ONE — mentioned the unprecedented subpoena by a Congressional committee of information regarding the entire top echelon of the Justice Department in the Gunwalker Scandal.  Had this scandal involved John Ashcroft and the Bush Administration, does anyone doubt that the story would have led the nightly half-hour "puppet theater"?

Issa's Gunwalker Subpoena a Virtual Non-Story.  On October 9, an unbylined Associated Press story reported that Congressmen Darrell Issa "could send subpoenas to the Obama administration as soon as this week over weapons lost amid the Mexican drug war."  On Wednesday, October 12, Issa did just that. ... It appears that only Fox News did cover the subpoena's issuance the day it occurred.

Can Obama hold on to African American voters in 2012?  For several months, radio host Tom Joyner has pleaded with his 8 million listeners to get in line behind the first black president.  "Stick together, black people," says Joyner, whose R&B morning show reaches one in four African American adults. ... Even as Obama and his campaign play down the suggestion that support among African Americans is flagging, a cadre of powerful allies is snapping back at critics in the black community and making explicit appeals for racial loyalty.

The Editor says...
 Racial loyalty?  "Stick together, black people"?  Is that is not blatant racism, what is it?

2012 Is Coming, the MSM Is Corrupt, and Big Journalism Needs Your Help.  As individuals I have no doubt the MSM is populated with genuinely decent people who love their kids and make great neighbors.  But as a whole, they are partisans, charlatans, and liars.  Thanks to the wonder of the Web, you need not accept the daily injustice of a partisan media using objectivity as a weapon to destroy what we know is right.

Study: Michelle dominates Laura in press attention.  A media research firm says Michelle Obama has gotten nearly 30,000 mentions in the press since her husband was elected president, more than tripling the attention paid her predecessor, Laura Bush, during the equivalent time.

Holder's toast, is the media far behind?  I'm still amazed at the war of containment being fought by the mainstream media in a rearguard action for the current Administration.  Only Sharyl Attkission of CBS News, William LaJeunesse of Fox News, and Richard Serrano of the Los Angeles Times have been covering this story diligently, while the Washington Post's plagiarist Sari Horwitz and NY Times' disgraceful Eric Lichtblau carry out unsourced and inaccurate character assassinations on behalf of the Administration that even the left wing bloggers wouldn't run.  The various plots that make up Gunwalker (Fast and Furious, Wide Receiver, other unnamed operations mentioned in newly released documents) are evidence of the most explosive and deadly scandal in U.S. political history.

Did someone mention Fast and Furious again?

Jay Leno Embarrasses Himself Sucking up to Obama.  When President FailureTeleprompter arrived on the 'Tonight Show' set, you would think the herd of elephants that follow Obama everywhere had never existed at all. ... [Leno asked] Nothing about the failed stimulus.  Nothing about Solyndra, Fast and Furious, unemployment or record deficits.

Obama's dirty laundry.  Obama can continue to give hollow speeches trying to ease the concerns of his Jewish constituency, but alas the dirty laundry is out in the open for everyone to see and finally understand.  Amazingly, or perhaps not, the mainstream media barely reported the story, and yet if it were a Republican president causing such a gaffe it would have been front-page headlines for quite some time.  What does it mean when our president joined in the denigration of one of our most trusted traditional allies?  What does it tell us when the mainstream media glosses over the story?

Media Diverts Attention from Obama Economic Cataclysm.  The media has taken a great field of GOP candidates and made them look like a sequel to the Hollywood blockbuster Dumb and Dumber.  Each success frontrunner has been mowed down to size by outlandish and journalistically unethical reporting, combined with a nonstop series of debates that produce highlight reels of gotcha questions these so-called reporters never ask Obama.  Obama in contrast simply travels the world at government expense, teleprompter in hand giving well-crafted speeches written by others.  The softball questions lofted his way are intended more to boost him than share with Americans the true story of how tough it really is living in the Obama socialist economy.

Bloomberg Ignores Multiple Scandals of the Obama Administration.  Bloomberg recently published a horribly inaccurate post by Jonathan Alter titled, "The Obama Miracle, a White House Free of Scandal."  It's time for Mr. Alter to wake up, remove the rose colored glasses, and come back to reality.  President Obama's administration has a huge scandal on their watch and it's called Operation Fast & Furious.

Obama's Energy Plan: Chevy Volt.  Three years ago, the national average for a gallon of regular grade gasoline was around $1.70.  The price climbed to $2.60 in 2009 and $2.80 a year later.  As of November 11, 2011, gas rose to an average of $3.45 per gallon, roughly twice as much as what we were paying in 2008.  When gasoline prices hit their peak at around $4.00, Democrats were demanding Bush's head on a platter, but under Obama the higher prices are simply the new normal.

So-Called Electability and MSM Bias.  It is open season for the liberal media on any GOP presidential candidate who displays the audacity to surge in the polls, the latest targets being Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich.  A reasonable case can be made for some of these criticisms, and conservatives often concede the weaknesses, but there is no justification for this same media's ongoing cover-up for the current White House occupant.

NYTimes Avoids Word 'Obama,' Buries Story on Plea to Delay Solyndra Layoff News.  Revelations that the administration asked Solyndra to delay a layoff announcement until after the 2010 midterm elections made the front page of the Washington Post on Wednesday [11/16/2011]. ... Meanwhile, the New York Times buried the revelation in a page 24 story Wednesday by Matthew Wald, "Solyndra Was Asked to Delay Layoff News Till After Midterms, Memo Says."  And while the Post forthrightly identified 'The Obama administration" as the culprit, Wald's opening paragraph only blamed "The Energy Department."  Bizarrely, the word "Obama" doesn't appear in the story at all.

Hey Obama: Gas Up and Go.  You can tell people are filling up their cars with gasoline by the scowls on their faces.  Nearly three years into Obama-Nation and the term "gas pain" is something that Tums just can't erase.  It's the culmination of the most anti-oil, anti-energy administration this country has seen since the failed presidency of Jimmy Carter.  But the American media are doing their best to hide that fact.

ABC Parrots White House Spin for Booing of Michelle Obama.  Good Morning America's Josh Elliott on Monday [11/21/2011] repeated White House talking points in regard to the booing of Michelle Obama at a NASCAR event on Sunday. ... The Today show didn't cover the event at all.

Econo-Misery and Three Econo-Myths.  [Scroll down]  Any number of possible earthquakes from, say, Europe, bankrupt U.S. cities, or elsewhere could bring the whole [US economy] crashing down at any time.  Sadly, none of this matters to President Obama, his apparatchiks, or his establishment press propagandists nearly as much as their virtually all-consuming goal of achieving his reelection.  That is why you can expect any number of expectations-diminishing characterizations of the economy — de facto ditch painting and ditch decorating — to emanate from the White House and to be dutifully repeated in the media between now and November 6, 2012.

Holder calls for media silence, watchdogs scratch fleas.  Established media freedom groups are ignoring Attorney General Eric Holder's demand that The Daily Caller stop writing about congressional calls for his resignation.  The groups' silence contrasts with their vigorous defense against Republican critics of the news media, and contrasts with the praise given to the media's aggressive coverage of decisions by officials in George W. Bush's presidency.

NBC's Brian Williams Gushes Over 1950s 'Wholesomeness' of Obama Family.  In an interview with President Obama's outgoing assistant Reggie Love on NBC's Rock Center Monday night, host Brian Williams fawned over the First Family:  "...like a retro almost 1950s American family, that there's a — kind of a wholesomeness about them.  They play board games, they play on the floor of the living room with the dog, they're not — the girls aren't allowed a lot of TV and social media."

The Chicago Tribune Stands by Barack Obama.  According to Bruce Dold, editorial page editor of the Chicago Tribune, the newspaper stands by its October 17, 2008 endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for the presidency.  In response to an e-mail asking, "Mr. Dold, if you had it to do again, would you endorse Barack Obama for President?," Dold answered on November 28, "I stand by that endorsement."

Operation Fast and Furious is infuriating.  [Scroll down]  One year later the Obama administration has the case records sealed and now neither the public nor the press has any access to the information.  This action from the most "transparent administration ever" headed by the most transparent president ever.  Where is the main stream media and all their hot shot reporters bringing this story of government "corruption" and wrongdoing to the public?  The one reporter for a TV network that dared to bring the story forward was muzzled within a few days.  If this were a Republican administration, this story would be front page every day and looped "ad nausea" 24 hours a day on TV. But not so for the most transparent administration ever!

Peter Schweizer's Book and Why Media Have Mostly Ignored It:  Last month, NewsBusters reported 60 Minutes cherry-picking Peter Schweizer's book about Congressional insider trading to make it appear the problem was largely a Republican one.  Schweizer did a phone interview with NewsBusters last week to discuss this matter in greater detail including how with the exception of Fox News, despite this being a bipartisan issue, the media have largely ignored it to protect liberal politicians they revere.

We Pay for 'Free' Health Care, Obama Gets the Thanks.  As the 2012 election approaches, the mainstream media is crawling back into the tank for their guy.  How do I know this?  Because of a new round of articles touting the "unappreciated benefits" of President Obama's health-care law.  It is an obvious attempt to build support for the unpopular legislation and rehabilitate Obama with the independent voters who have abandoned him.

LA Times: 'Obama Has Been a Regular Church-goer For Decades'.  Over at PJ Media's Tatler section, Roger Simon caught Alana Semuels at the Los Angeles Times in what has to be a lead candidate for the Non-Eric Holder howler of the day. ... Simon goes on to cite a Time Magazine item from December 2009, i.e., eleven months into Obama's presidency, called "No Church-Going Christmas for the First Family," in which Amy Sullivan wrote that "The Obamas have attended Sunday services in Washington three times this year."  To understate, most pastors wouldn't call a congregation member who has shown up three times in eleven months a "regular."

Obama Tells 60 Minutes 'Damaging Behavior on Wall Street' Was Legal.  There was an astonishingly revealing moment on Sunday's 60 Minutes when President Obama said, "Some of the most damaging behavior on Wall Street, in some cases, some of the least ethical behavior on Wall Street, wasn't illegal."  For what should be obvious reasons, CBS's Steve Kroft didn't bother asking his guest who created, voted for or signed the pieces of legislation that allowed this "damaging behavior on Wall Street" to be legal.

Obama's imperiled America.  The administration will get a free pass in making political hay out of the bin Laden takedown.  The same critics who grumbled that the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks should be off limits for President George W. Bush in the 2004 election will be more than willing to put bin Laden's death at the center of Mr. Obama's case for reelection.

How 60 Minutes Wasted Its Interview with Obama.  The hour-long conversation was a typical example of a broadcast journalist failing to hold a powerful politician accountable. ... Were I an adviser to President Obama, I'd urge him to give his next exclusive to Kroft too, for there is a superficial toughness to his interviews.

The many gaffes of Barack Hussein Obama.  For much of his eight years in office, George W. Bush was portrayed as a dope by the very media that ignored Obama's mention of "57 states."  Of course, if your name is Barack Hussein Obama (and you have a 'D' behind your name) the rules are much different.  You have been annointed "god of all things," and you have adoring fans in the media who would gladly shine your shoes with their tongues (on camera) with a snap of the finger.  Gaffes?  Who cares?

Watch Left-Wing Pseudo-Journalists Roll Over and Purr:
 Work for Obama, Get a Federal Contract.  Solyndra, Lightsquared, and now Solayzme are all companies that are closely connected to the Obama campaign and all got government money.  While the Obama Administration has been attacking Republicans as "crony capitalists" and using an army of left-wing pseudo-journalists to make the attacks, the Obama Administration has been rewarding campaign friends with government contracts.  In Barack Obama's America, he, not the marketplace, picks the winners and losers.  But just how far into the government and into the Obama campaign does this crony capitalism go?

60 Minutes Broadcast Edits Out Laughable Obama Claim as 4th Best President.  George Washington was the father of our country.  Eh!  No big deal.  Barack Obama is better... at least in his own mind.  Such was the laughably absurd claim of President Obama on 60 Minutes last Sunday.  What?  You didn't see it?  That was because 60 Minutes conveniently left it out of its broadcast.

Chicago Sun Times Does Hit-and-Run on Obama-Rezko Payoff Lead.  Last July, two Chicago Sun-Times reporters noted an allegation of "payments made by Rezko to Obama" that surfaced in a deposition involving former Rezko business partner Daniel T. Frawley.  Since then, the only follow-up coverage from the Sun-Times has been the sound of crickets.  An article dated July 11, 2011, entitled "Ex-Rezko partner's sentencing delayed," announced that Daniel Frawley's sentencing for bank fraud had been postponed, yet again.  He came up for sentencing again this week, and — surprise! — there's been another postponement.

Barbara Walters' Slobbering Interview With Obama:  Barbara Walters, who famously asked Katherine Hepburn what type of tree she was, may have outdone herself in a slobbering interview with Michelle and Barack Obama.  In previews of Friday's "20/20" segment, Walters asked the President, "If you were a superhero and you could have one super power, what would it be?"

2012: A Year of Media Savagery.  For those Republican presidential candidates who eventually conclude there is no path to the nomination, there is consolation in the notion that they won't be the ones to face the brutal onslaught being prepared for the GOP king-of-the-mountain by team Obama and its army of "objective" media allies.  This time around, the Obama machine cannot run on the fairy dust of hope and change. ... So it can be guaranteed that whoever wins the Republican contest will face one of the most scorching personal assaults the country has ever witnessed.

Media Abet Obama's Aloofness on Tough Issues.  Over the past five months, the Republican presidential candidates participated in 13 debates where they fielded dozens of penetrating questions on every major issue facing the nation, and some not so major. ... Yet, during all that time, the man they hope to defeat next November has rarely been asked by news reporters about many of these issues.  Since August, President Obama has held only one formal White House news conference.

Media Matters Attacked Palin For Clothing Costs, Defend Michelle Obama.  The Soros and SEIU-funded Media Matters is smarting over three losses these past two weeks.  First there was the Simon Wiesenthal Center slamming Media Matters for America for its anti-Israel screeds, the second was Politico calling the propaganda site a "core institution" of the Democrat party, and the third was the Girls Scouts backing away from linking to the site in its brochures.  Because of this stellar track record Media Matters decides to throw another noodle at the wall and reverse its position on "class warfare" by defending the $2k dresses (to say nothing of the shoes and handbags) worn by the First Lady.

Same Politico Obsessed with Palin's Wardrobe Ignores First Lady's Pricey Duds.  Personally, I don't care what Michelle Antoinette wears on her taxpayer-funded lavish Hawaiian vacations with her husband President FailureTeleprompterDuffer.  Thanks to an autobiography that was probably ghost-written by domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, Obama's a millionaire and more power to him.  If the First Lady wants to lord over the peasantry her fashionable dresses and skirts and purses that cost enough to feed about 500 hungry families, that's Our Champions Of The Poor's business.

Media Ignore Obama Hawaii Golfing Buddy Who Was Arrested in Prostitution Sting.  Mediaite's Nando Di Fino reports President Obama has played at least two rounds of golf in Hawaii with a high school buddy, Robert "Bobby" Titcomb, was arrested as part of a prostitution sting, after he allegedly approached an undercover police officer for sex in downtown Hawaii.

The No News Stories of 2011:  Barack Obama simply does not expect to follow normal political customs and traditions because he knows the media do not expect him to:  he will not release the transcripts because he does not have to and it is his pleasure not to, in the way he did not worry about explaining his near worship of his racist pastor of twenty years, or being the first to renounce public financing of presidential campaigns in the general election, or the first nominee in recent memory not to have released his medical records, or the first to have raised $1 billion dollars in private cash, or the first to have played 90 rounds of golf in his first three years in office.  All of these may or may not be real issues, but they have always been real issues to the press and suddenly are no longer such — and Obama not only knows it, but enjoys knowing how the media exempts rather than audits him.

Obama Campaign Rips Romney For Failure to Release Records.  Seven years after Barack Obama burst onto the national political scene, we still await the disclosure of his background records.
1. Occidental College records and transcripts — Not released
2. Columbia University records and transcripts — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — 'not available'
4. Harvard University records and transcripts — Not released
5. Medical records — Not released
6. Illinois State Senate schedule — 'not available'
7. Illinois State Senate records — 'not available'
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Certified Copy of Original Birth certificate — Not released
10. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
11. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
12. Record of Baptism — Not released or 'not available'
Of course, there are different standards for legacy media's preferred candidates.  Remember how the media unearthed Rick Perry's college transcripts within 48 hours of the announcement of his candidacy?

Will Obama Go to War?  [Scroll down]  Three separate news reports from media outlets that are the first to cheer Obama and genuflect before his ideas.  Three media outlets that are supported by a viewership made up largely of Liberal-Progressive-Democrats.  Three media outlets with staffs and on-air talent that also overwhelmingly support the president and the L-P-D agenda.  All three statements from official Obama administration spokespersons reported by the so-called mainstream media without comment.  One needs only a minimal amount of imagination to visualize the reactions of these same media outlets if a spokesperson representing the Bush administration had spoken exactly the same words in exactly the same context.

Brian Williams Gushes Over Shirtless Obama Vacation Photos.  The sycophantic fluff was reminiscent of media adulation over similar Hawaii vacation photos of then-President-elect Obama in December of 2008.

The Media Blasts Republicans While Obama Destroys Nation.  What has happened with the recent recess appointments to reward Obama's union thugs is worthy of a lead story for nights on end, but it barely gets a peep from the Activist Old Media.  Jonah Goldberg rightly calls it "An Imperial Sham."

Gayle King Sucks Up to Friend Michelle Obama.  New anchor Gayle King tossed softballs at admitted friend Michelle Obama on Wednesday's CBS This Morning.  King sympathized with the First Lady over how many supposedly see her. ... During the twelve-plus minute interview, which aired in two segments, the close associate of Oprah Winfrey also especially sympathized with Mrs. Obama over charges against her in a recent book.

School Kids Boo Michelle Obama During Healthy Lunches Speech.  School kids in Virginia booed Michelle Obama on Friday [1/13/2012].  The local ABC 7 Channel skipped the booing part in their report.

How Progressives Work:  This week, the day after asking for another trillion dollars in spending, President Obama gave a speech about how he wants to shrink government.  His plan to combine several departments within the Commerce Department, shrink the federal work force by about 1,000 and save an estimated $3 billion over 10 years, was hailed as "bold" by progressives and an example of how seriously he takes our current fiscal mess.  They were counting on, and got, compliance by the media in not reporting that this "bold initiative" save approximately 3/4 of one day's worth of the deficit Obama has racked up ($4 billion).

We Must Be Really, Really Stupid!  As you may have heard by now, Newsweek's forthcoming issue headlines, "Why are Obama's critics so dumb?"  Well, sure.  We who who are unhappy that unemployment has increased on Obama's watch, that over-regulation has stymied economic growth, that our children now owe a $15 trillion debt that we can't pay — hey, we're just dumb!  We obviously aren't smart enough to understand how devastating our economy, unemploying millions of Americans and burdening our children with trillions of dollars in debt is really a great idea.  If that's what you think, you are a liberal and you may take Newsweek seriously.

Newsweek cover
Newsweek Cover Story: 'Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?'
Is there anything the mainstream media won't do to get Obama reelected?

Why are Barack Obama's critics so smart?  Prominent Obama-backer Andrew Sullivan has a rather pompous piece in this week's edition of Newsweek, which the magazine has subtly headlined on its cover page:  "Why are Obama's critics so dumb?"  You can read the whole article ... at The Daily Beast, but his conclusion pretty well sums up the entire piece, which reads a lot like a desperate White House press release.

Why Is Andrew Sullivan So Dumb?  "Why Are Obama' Critics So Dumb?"  That's the question posed by Andrew Sullivan in the cover story of this week's Newsweek.  But you'd have to be stupid, fanatical, and dishonest to argue — as Trig Truther Sullivan does — that Barack Obama's failures are part of an ingenious "long game" that is destined to succeed.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being the MSM.  [Scroll down]  As dumb as we are, however, most of us grasp something that has obviously eluded the brainiacs at Newsweek — insulting the customer is not a good strategy for selling one's product.  But the editors of that increasingly ridiculous publication, like most of their colleagues in the establishment media, are intellectual lightweights.

Matthews Preposterously Claims Obama Added 'Only 13 People' to Federal Workforce.  On Thursday's [1/12/2012] Hardball, Chris Matthews preposterously insisted that Barack Obama added "only 13 people" to the federal workforce in 2009 and that the total number of individuals working for the U.S. government (as of 2010) was 4,443.  Two hours later, in the otherwise identical 7 PM EST re-play, MSNBC inserted a new graphic and a new audio overlay in which Matthews corrected his incompetence without noting any change from his first broadcast.

Why Are President Obama's Defenders So Dumb?  A presidential infomercial posing as a news magazine distorts the record to shamelessly shill for a failed administration.

Obama's dumb critics.  Struggling left-leaning magazine Newsweek grabbed some rare attention this week with its cover story asking why President Obama's critics are "so dumb."  In a lengthy essay, avowed Obama junkie Andrew Sullivan posits that Mr. Obama is not the pathetic loser many of his critics say he is. ... Liberal propaganda aside, three years into the Obama term, the "blame Bush" mantra no longer works.

Obama's Button Men (And Women).  Journalists like to claim they speak truth to power.  But when Barack Obama wields that power, they're all too willing to do his bidding, even if it means attacking one of their own.

Obama's Favorite SuperPAC, The Activist Old Media.  Let's call it what it is now, folks.  The biggest SuperPAC out there right now is the one working overtime to destroy any Republican who might be so bold as want to take on the media's Dear Leader in the White House. ... The Activist Old Media has two very specific goals in mind here, 1) keep the "horse-race" going as long as possible because it will help ratings and revenue, 2) work to damage whomever becomes the GOP winner.

The Self-Destruction of the Mainstream Media.  For the past forty years the mainstream media has become increasingly liberal and more overt in promoting the policies of the Democratic Party.  This evolutionary process reached its zenith in 2008 when the media were instrumental in Barack Obama being elected President.  Many journalists dropped any pretense of objectivity and became not only cheerleaders but active de facto members of the campaign. ... Thus they appear willing to sacrifice their own future and standard of living by actively campaigning for Obama's re-election rather than honestly report on the lies and machinations of this regime and their devastating impact on future generations.

'Obama is the best US prez in my lifetime'.  Barack Obama is the best President in my lifetime of 53 years — George Bush was the worst," remarked the editor of the New Yorker, David Remnick.

15 Questions The Mainstream Media Would Ask Barack Obama If He Were A Republican:  [#1]  Numerous Mexican citizens and an American citizen have been killed with weapons knowingly provided to criminals by our own government during Operation Fast and Furious.  If Eric Holder was aware that was going on, do you think he should step down as Attorney General?  Were you aware that was going on and if so, shouldn't you resign?

No Matter the State of the Union, Reporters Love Obama's Speeches.  There's no need to spend a lot of time wondering about what the media will say after The Great One speaks, since — like a gaggle of corporate yes-men — journalists have gushed over every one of these major addresses. ... If the media were to focus on the dismal state of America under Barack Obama, their reviews might not be so adoring.

Time, Newsweek Bury Keystone.  When it comes to both the cited issues of Time and Newsweek the reader will struggle to read any news or analysis of consequence at a time when the GOP presidential race is producing hot news on a daily basis.  We have yet to see whether the rest of the mainstream media takes its lead from Time and Newsweek in the coming weeks.  But the editorial focus of these two journals look to have been triggered by the growing liberal left opinion that a second-term Obama presidency has recently become a real prospect...

Are Big Media Covering Up Fast and Furious?  Not since Lenin gathered his fellow Bolsheviks together in 1912 at the Prague conference to plan the publication of Pravda has there been such an all-out effort to quash facts that out in the open might bring down Attorney General Eric Holder and the whole Obama administration.  An amoral herd of left-wing journalists acting like "bootlicking propagandists," as Orwell once called members of his own British press in 1944, might find it difficult in the long run to get away with suppressing a scandal involving mass murder.

Obama Got Served.  The mainstream media, in lockstep with Obama, reported nothing of the events, in a stunning blackout on a truly historic hearing — one that discussed the eligibility of a sitting president to run for a second term.  And more troubling was the fact that the media failed to acknowledge the even more sensational news — that the president and his defense attorney snubbed an official subpoena.  Today [2/2/2012], Attorney Van Irion, on behalf of his client, Georgia resident David Welden, filed a "Motion for Finding of Contempt" with Judge Malihi.

More about the day Obama ignored a subpoena.


The Unexpected

In the Obama years, bad news has always surprised the media.
 Expect the 'Unexpectedly'.  Certainly, a media that wanted to paint a more dire portrait of the economy would have no shortage of material to work with.  There's considerable evidence that America's problems in job creation are much worse than the most widely cited numbers would indicate.

None dare call it a recession.  Under President Obama, there are three phases of economic news: First, the estimate by the experts ahead of the official announcement, second the official announcement (unexpectedly below what experts predicted), and finally, the revision a month later that shows the news was worse.  Further revisions come later that show things are even worse.

Great Expectations, Disappointing Results.  The media breathlessly report an "unexpectedly" large increase in unemployment applications with inflation rising "faster than expected."  Given the wasteful spending spree we've been on, what do they expect?

What Do You Expect with Obama?  It's funny how the media almost always use the word "unexpectedly" whenever they report this country's state of affairs under the Obama administration.

Obama Double Standard Disease  [is] an affliction that causes the media to ignore, rationalize or trivialize in order to defend, support and advance the tax-the-rich, spread-the-wealth, expand-the-government agenda of President Obama and his party. ... [For example,] When the economy recovered under President George W. Bush, the major news media pronounced it a "jobless recovery."  Now, despite unemployment stalled at 9.7 percent for several months, the same media call it a "surprising" or "unexpected" recovery.

These days, it's best to expect the 'unexpected'.  The national economy is in the tank — unexpectedly.  At least it's "unexpected" by the mainstream media, and professional economists.  After all these months, these pampered pukes remain flummoxed by how clueless their hero Barack Obama has shown himself to be on economic (and other) issues.

The cost of progressivist worship.  Why is it that one government report after another "unexpectedly" bears more bad news about jobs?  Last week, according to Bloomberg, "The number of unemployment claims unexpectedly shot up."  Before that, Reuters reported, "Employers unexpectedly cut jobs."  This "unexpectedly" bit has been going on for quite a while, suggesting that journalists continue to be surprised that President Obama's progressive agenda has failed to revive private-sector job creation.  One might as well say, "Monday unexpectedly will come next week."

For example...
 U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index Unexpectedly Declines.  Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly dropped to a one-year low in September, indicating the biggest part of the economy is being handcuffed by a struggling labor market.

Daffy Ducks.  "In a surprising setback, the nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in November, a seven-month high, as hiring slowed across the economy," the Associated Press reports.  Another surprising setback!

Jobs Don't Matter To the EPA.  The EPA doesn't look at the impact on jobs at all when they issue regulations.  They don't consider jobs to be part of a "detailed economic analysis."  That goes a long way toward explaining why President Obama keeps talking about his "economic recovery" when every week seems to bring fresh "unexpected" news about the shrinking U.S. workforce.

Pro-Obama media always shocked by bad economic news.  Unexpectedly!  As megablogger Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit, has noted with amusement, the word "unexpectedly" or variants thereon keep cropping up in mainstream media stories about the economy.

Here's an example:
 Jobs Data is 'Last Nail in the Coffin' of Economic Recovery.  April's gain was revised downward to 232,000.  The unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 9.1 percent in May from 9 percent a month earlier.  Clearly the labor market is in a precarious state.

Obama tunes out, and business goes on hiring strike.  Last week I noted that various forms of the word "unexpected" almost inevitably appeared in news stories about unfavorable economic developments.  You can find them again in stories about Friday's shocking news, that only 54,000 net new jobs were created in the month of May and that unemployment rose to 9.1 percent.  But with news that bad, maybe bad economic numbers will no longer be "unexpected."

Reuters headline: 'New Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise'.  When will bad economic news be "expected?"  The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly edged higher last week, stoking fears of a stalled economic recovery even as a separate report showed record U.S. exports in April.

"Unexpectedly bad" ends up being "much worse".  There's little doubt that journalists are getting a bit touchy about using "the U-word," especially since, far more often than not during the past several years, it has meant "unexpectedly bad."  On Tuesday, in the wake of yet another downward slide in consumer confidence after "experts" had predicted improvement, both Bloomberg and the Associated Press let the U-word slip into their initial reports but purged it in later revisions.

U.S. Payrolls Grow at Slowest Pace in 9 Months.  American employers added jobs at the slowest pace in nine months in June and the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 9.2 percent, sending global stocks sliding on concern the world's biggest economy is faltering.

Liberalism: Out of a Job.  Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post provides details of the jobs report.  First of all, few expected the numbers to be this bad.  The job numbers "unexpectedly" fell.  The analysts expected a net gain of 140,000 jobs.  The actual was 18,000 — far below the number needed to keep pace with new entrants.  That was shocking in an of itself.

Completely Expectable 'Unexpectedness'.  Last Friday [7/8/2011], Americans revisited two of the most depressingly recurring themes they have been forced to endure for almost three years.  First, $3 trillion of debt-bloating, economy-killing, spread-the-poverty around Keynesian economics once again proved itself to be a colossal failure.  Second, economists who use the word "unexpected" to describe that which is painfully obvious to everyone else have once again proven they are unrelentingly clueless.  The unemployment rate?  "Unexpectedly" up to 9.2 percent.  Job creation?  18,000, "uber-unexpectedly" below the prediction of 90,000.

Jobless claims rise above expectations.  Factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region rebounded in July, but stubbornly high new filings for jobless benefits suggested an expected pick-up in economic growth in the second half of 2011 would be modest.

More unexpectedly bad news:
 U.S. Employers Added No New Jobs In August.  Economists had been expecting 93,000 new jobs last month, down from 117,000 in July.  The unemployment rate stayed, as expected, at 9.1 percent.  The fact that no net new jobs were added in August was yet another dose of bad news for the economy. ... Another disappointing sign was a drop in the average workweek to 34.2 hours from 34.3 hours.  Average hourly earnings fell 0.1 percent when economists were expecting an increase of 0.2 percent. ... A more accurate portrait of jobless America may be 16 percent to 20 percent, according to some experts.

The Editor says...
 This is ABC doubletalk at its finest.  "Economists had been expecting 93,000 new jobs", but there were zero new jobs, just as they expected.  If that makes sense to you, keep watching ABC News.

Economy flatlines.  I get tired of labeling economic reports "unexpectedly."  No one but a fool believes the forecasts of what the business press calls experts. ... The economy is in hibernation until it is clear the Obama presidency is over.

Retail Sales Stall on Lack of Job Growth.  Retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly stagnated in August as a lack of employment and limited income growth restrained demand, highlighting the risk the economy will stall.

U.S. Consumer Prices, Jobless Claims Exceed Forecasts.  The cost of living in the U.S. climbed more than forecast and unemployment claims rose, battering the confidence of Americans squeezed by stagnant wages and higher prices of food, housing and energy.

Unemployment Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Rise to Highest Level Since June.  Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level since the end of June, underscoring the risk of further weakness in the labor market.  Jobless claims climbed by 11,000 to 428,000 in the week ended Sept. 10 that included the Labor Day holiday, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington.

We're Sinking Under Obama's Policies.  Hardly a day goes by without some bit of bad news the media calls "unexpected."  But investors have noticed.

Chevy Volt sales don't have expected spark.  General Motors insists it will sell 10,000 Chevrolet Volts in the U.S. by the end of this year, but as of now, the numbers don't look good.

What Does 99 Weeks of Unemployment Buy?  Every Thursday, the financial markets wait with bated breath for the weekly jobless claims report.  The pundits claim any number below 400,000 is reason for optimism. ... In addition to the magical Thursday number are the always expected words "revised from an initial estimate."  Somehow, the BLS always understates the initial number and then always revises it upward.  Is it even statistically possible to have that happen week after week after week?

U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise in Holiday-Shortened Week.  More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits during the holiday-shortened week, signaling limited recovery in the labor market.  Jobless claims climbed by 6,000 to 402,000 in the week ended Nov. 26 that included the Thanksgiving holiday, Labor Department figures showed today [12/1/2011] in Washington.

Nearly 1 Million Workers Vanished Under Obama.  Initial jobless claims unexpectedly jumped by 24,000 last week to 399,000 as more workers lost their jobs, the Labor Department said Thursday [1/12/2012].  At the same time, the economy continues to lose workers.  In the 30 months since the recession officially ended, nearly 1 million people have dropped out of the labor force — they aren't working, and they aren't looking — according to data from Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.  In the past two months, the labor force shrank by 170,000.
[Emphasis added.]


ABC is the most obvious about it

Obama to reporter: I will unite America!  The alternative headline could easily be, "Proof that the president believes you unwashed masses don't remember the last three years" or "Mainstream media drone lets Obama get away with one of the most absurd statements of his presidency to date (besides the one about healing the planet, of course)."  The interview being referenced here is Obama's exclusive with ABC's Diane Sawyer, which ran late last week.  Sawyer was attempting to goad Obama into saying that Newt Gingrich labeling him a Food Stamp President was somehow racist (it's not).

ABC Breaks, Then Ignores News on Obama White House Ties to Solyndra.  On Tuesday and Wednesday's World News, reporter Brian Ross exposed e-mails indicating that the Obama administration gave a $535 million loan to the green company Solyndra, despite deep misgivings inside the government about its viability.  Yet, Good Morning America has declined to follow-up on the ABC scoop.

ABC quickly puts a positive spin on a major scandal:
 Solyndra Bankruptcy Unlikely to Hamper Gov't Investment In Green Jobs .  While the evidence continues to prove that gambling millions in taxpayer money on a company that made just $3 for a product that took $7 to produce was rather unwise, it doesn't look like the one bad apple has ruined the whole orchard of green energy investments.

Stephanopoulos Insists Obama's 'Done Remarkably Well'.  When asked how Obama is doing overall, [ABC's George] Stephanopoulos pulled out the old line about how nobody "in our lifetime" has been dealt a tougher hand coming into the White House, as if Ronald Reagan had it easy faced with Carter-era inflation and unemployment.

ABC: How dare you criticize Mrs. Obama!  I passed on this story and really, I do not care what Mrs. Obama eats.  Sure, she is lecturing the rest of us on obesity while wolfing down a bunch of garbage food.  If I criticized every liberal for every hypocrisy, I'd have to write 100 posts a day.

Obama's Mouthpiece?  ABC News talking head Cokie Roberts was shilling for the Obama administration once again on Good Morning America during an interview with former Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos.  She wasn't just shilling for Obama but tying to mold the news and public opinion to her left-wing druthers instead of giving an honest review of today's political climate.

ABC's Moran, Stephanopoulos Shill for Obama's Gulf Address.  Despite widespread criticism of President Barack Obama's Oval Office address on the Gulf oil spill — including flak from MSNBC's left-wing posse of Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and Howard Fineman — ABC's Terry Moran and George Stephanopoulos on the June 15 "Nightline" fawned over the president's speech and ignored its obvious shortcomings.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos Defends Obama's Smoking, Coos Over Physical Fitness.  Ex-Clinton aide turned journalist George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday gushed over the results of Barack Obama's first White House physical, even going so far as to defend the President's continued smoking.  Talking to Dr. Richard Besser, the Good Morning America host defended, "My reaction is, what is the big deal?  He's got the most stressful job on the planet."

ABC Sticks to Obama Staffers and Friends on Church Avoidance in Year One.  The Obama family's continued lack of church-going in Washington was spun by ABCNews.com into something cute and positive... No one in the ABC piece is allowed to question if Obama now has a phobia about church attendance due to his 20-year membership in the church of radical-left Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  Dwyer can't even bring himself to mention Wright's name, only that Obama quit "Chicago's embattled Trinity United Church of Christ."  He couldn't get any more specific than that.

ABC You Later.  Once upon a time the press wasn't simply an advocate for a particular brand of politics, it was their responsibility to be a watchdog of our government and report the facts and subsequently the general public could weigh those facts and form some sort of opinion.  In the Age of Obama, that idea is as foreign as the Votian language.  Today, our established media not only decide what should be constituted as news but also determine what news is factual.

ABC infomercial for ObamaCare
ABC Self-Nationalizes For Obama.  As much of the U.S. private sector, including health care providers, resists government takeovers, what a sorry sight to see ABC News leap forward to make itself a propaganda arm of the government.

ABC becomes the 'All Barack Channel'.  The mainstream media is so in love with Barack Obama that they continually try to one-up each other in their sycophantic coverage of their new president.  But ABC has raised the stakes by taking up residence in the White House for a day in order to spew the Official Party Line on health care.

ABC:  A Love Story.  A full day's worth of single-payer friendly health care coverage on ABC was just what President Barack Obama's doctor ordered.  The president hopes to radically change the country's current health care system, so he enlisted his one of his more powerful constituents — ABC News — for help.

Welcome To The Ministry of Propaganda.  We now hear that on June 24, ABC Television will provide Barack Obama with free time, pre-empting prime time entertainment for what amounts to an infomercial promoting nationalized health care.  Of course, they have no intention of doing the same for the opposition.  They have ceded their independence and become lapdogs to the government.

ABC Should Drop All Pretense and Go With An All Barack Lineup.  Let them all know that you're sick of it.  Stop watching their "news".  It's no longer news.  Send them the only message they understand; crash their ratings, and thus their revenue.  Rent a DVD, or tune into Fox on June 24.  Then boycott Charlie, Katie and Brian everyday before it's too late.  Stop feeding the beast.

Did ABC Fabricate Projections of an Underwater Southern Florida?  Yesterday [6/16/2009], the White House released an over-the-top climate report, meant to bolster waning public support (through fear-mongering) for the administration's disastrous carbon taxation scheme.  But as overly-alarming as was the document itself, its portrayal by ABC's crack meteorologist Sam Champion on today's Good Morning America may have redefined hysterical reporting.

ABC ObamaCare Special Turns Into Presidential Filibuster.  Call this a teachable moment, but even with ABC's best-laid plans to kickstart the debate about health care reform and not allow the "Prescription for America" special to become an "infomercial," as many have complained — the president spent more than twice as much time as his questioners vaguely answering or not answering the questions asked of him.  But the network consistently presented the event as part of the need to fix a "broken system."  When asked, every one of the 164 hand-picked audience members said they felt that health care needed to be changed.

The media's love affair with President Obama.  There are several troubling aspects to ABC's relationship with the administration.  Linda Douglass, a former ABC News journalist, is now communications director in the White House's Office of Health Reform.  The Washington Times recently reported that employees of ABC gave 80 times as much in contributions to Obama's campaign ($124,421) as they did to his Republican opponent, McCain ($1,550).  And a study released this month by the Business and Media Institute found that ABC News had aired stories with positive reviews of Obama's health-care policy 55 times, while it featured just 18 negative stories on the subject.

How ABC Stacked the Deck for Obama:  With the very first question of its prime time special, Questions for the President: Prescription for America, ABC set the tone that essentially confirmed for viewers that the president was right in his desire to radically remake America's healthcare system.  As the infomercial began, "moderator" Charles Gibson asked a seminal question of the doctors and other participants that were about to hear the president speak:  "How many of you agree with the president that we need to change our healthcare system?"  Naturally they all raised their hands.

'How... Can Anyone Take ABC Seriously?'  In an open letter sent today [7/30/2009] to ABC News President David Westin, NewsBusters.org Publisher Brent Bozell questioned the ethics of ABC as a "news" network and wondered "how in the world can anyone take ABC seriously" after it was announced that ABC News has hired Democratic donor Dr. Richard Besser to be their new Senior Medical Editor.

Obama's Classroom Campaign: No Junior Lobbyist Left Behind.  "ABC" stands for All Barack's Children.  On Sept. 8, young students across the country will be watching television.  Yes, they'll be parked in front of boob tubes and computer screens watching President Obama's address on education.  Instead of practicing cursive, reviewing multiplication tables, diagramming sentences or learning something concrete, America's kids will be lectured about the importance of learning.

ABC's Jake Tapper bans "Obamacare" from his blog.  For a guy from Salon, Jake Tapper has struck me as someone who has been very conscientious as the White House correspondent for ABC News.  He usually is trying to be a watchdog, even when his colleagues are content to be lapdogs.  That does not make the story coming from his Twitter feed tonight any less odd.

Claire Shipman's Husband Named New Obama Press Secretary.  The White House on Thursday named Jay Carney, the husband of ABC News reporter Claire Shipman, to be the new White House Press secretary.  Carney is also an ex-journalist, formally of Time magazine.  Will this appointment prove to be a conflict of interest for Shipman?  Will she continue to report on the Obama administration?

Obama's Been Skipping the White House Press Corps for Network and Social Media Softballs.  In noting the latest White House "hangout" with questions from YouTube users, Amie Parnes of The Hill noted that President Obama has failed to hold a press conference since early October — three months without engaging with White House reporters who might feel professional pressure to ask unexpected hardball questions.  Instead, Obama submits himself to softball sessions with ABC's Diane Sawyer or Barbara Walters.


The Obama team manipulates the media

Obama WH Secret Phone Conferences Bear Fruit With TV Media's Limbaugh Attack.  As soon as the sun rose on the day after Limbaugh's CPAC appearance, three of the four of the phone call participants attacked Limbaugh with the same talking points.  It seems obvious that they coordinated their attack together in the Obama secret strategy session.  It is amazing that a president's staff can have such power over major media figures without a peep being heard from those that only months ago bashed former presidents over a perceived undue, even "dangerous," control of the media.

Ultra Secret Website for Behind Scenes Media Planning Sessions Revealed.  First came word of the daily secret planning session phone calls between Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and several highly placed Old Media types and now Politico has revealed the existence of a hush, hush web message board where denizens of the lefty media get together on a daily basis and plan how they will all cover the news for the great unwashed out there.

The MSM isn't liberal enough for Obama...
 Obama seeks filter-free news.  The highest-profile moments in the new approach have been well-noted, such as the president giving an interview to progressive radio host Ed Schultz and Obama calling on a reporter from the liberal-leaning Huffington Post at his first news conference.  But those moves are only part of a much larger strategy aimed at communicating directly with audiences the White House believes are more sympathetic to the president's agenda — and one in which much of the work is being done by Obama's top advisers.

Obama has new flag frenzy.  Oh, say — can you see?  Look.  It's President Obama, and he's surrounded by American flags.  They're on the dais in star-spangled glory.  They're at the town-hall meeting and the news conference, in bold folds of red, white and blue.  The White House has rediscovered — or possibly reinvented — the patriotic cachet of Old Glory as a perfect frame for the new president.  That's the same president who once would not wear an American flag pin.  Things have changed.

The Editor says...
 When you see American flags carefully placed behind Mr. Obama at his staged photo opportunities, it should be obvious that the presence of these flags has nothing to do with patriotic pride, especially given his earlier reluctance to show respect to the American flag.  Flags as big as basketball courts are commonly used to draw attention to used car dealerships.  In these cases, the American flag is just a prop whose only purpose is to make you (subconsciously) feel a little better about the ugly business at hand.

What Releasing the CIA Memos is Really About:  It's about controlling the news cycle, putting opponents on the defensive, and diverting attention away from other, more-timely battles underway.  We recently witnessed a similar tactic.  The release of the Department of Homeland Security's "rightwing extremism" report, dated April 7, offered the MSM a counterpoint to frame their minimum coverage of the April 15 Tea Parties. ... It's all about misdirection of public attention, and all sides of the media are conscious, or unconscious, facilitators of the ploy choreographed from inside the Obama administration.

Was Obama trying to run out the clock?  It's not uncharacteristic of this administration to run late.  But seeing that 28 minutes elapsed before Obama took the stage, you could make a case that the Obama team is trying to make it difficult on networks to carry former Vice President Cheney's speech.

How Obama's team ensures his messages get delivered properly.  Here's the new Obama communications wrinkle, which has former journalist David Axelrod's Chicago fingerprints all over it:  Unbeknownst to the invited writers, they've been classified politically, say, centrist in one group or more conservative or more liberal in another group.  That way the aides' presentations can be tailored to go down best with each group's ideological leanings.  Last week, as Ed [Morrissey] reports, the Obama communications team had two writer briefings going on in the White House simultaneously.  And you'll be surprised to learn the president managed to make surprise entries at both of them.

Obama Lifts Ban on Lobbyists! Back to Business as Usual.  Roll Call is reporting that during the typical Friday afternoon document dump — a practice used to hide actions that might prove somewhat embarrassing to the White House — the administration quietly announced that some of the former restrictions on lobbying ballyhooed about during the late campaign have been lifted.  And now, we have to wonder:  will the media notice this sudden change?  I mean, a whole day has gone by and so far only Roll Call has mentioned it.

If this is transparency, what's accountability?  The White House press corps is challenging the Obama administration's reliance on background briefings by unnamed officials — noting that the same officials tend to turn up soon after, delivering the same message on television.  And more to the point, didn't President Obama run on a promise of transparent government?

Obama Quietly Issues Statement on Terrorist Attack in Arkansas.  After two days of silence, President Obama issued a statement Wednesday on the shooting of two U.S. soldiers by a Muslim militant in Arkansas — but the White House didn't even email the statement to its list of national reporters.  Rather, the White House appears to have quietly released this statement to a local AP bureau in Arkansas...

Barack Obama and the White House woo The New York Times.  [Scroll down]  One part of Obama's Times fixation is strategy.  For all the proliferation of news outlets, Obama aides believe the paper still has an outsize ability to shape perceptions among political elites and other journalists.  But part of the relationship is more complicated, according to some close observers, flowing from a cultural affinity that makes Obamaites crave the validation that comes from being written about by the Times.

The morning conference call and Democrat media manipulation.  Every morning, a group of old friends have a nice chat.  ABC's George Stephanopoulos, CNN's James Carville, CNN commentator Paul Begala, and Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel have a wide ranging conference call, usually starting just before dawn.  Democrat Pollster Stan Greenberg is a frequent participant.  They examine current events and how they fit into the new administrations policies.  They determine how to best get their message to the public.

Obama manipulates the media.
 Do You Want Your OTV?  [Scroll down]  After the event, President Obama went to the White House basketball court to shoot hoop with the Lady Huskies.  The White House press corps was not allowed to attend. ... Now we know why:  Obama White House officials decided to do their own media report on the visit, complete with cuts, interviews, and chyrons identifying who's speaking. ... Do Obama White House officials think their media coverage isn't flattering enough?

The Editor says...
 Attention White House reporters — here is a quick and easy solution to your problem:  When the White House provides their own sanitized media coverage, don't put it on the air!

NYT/CBS Stock Pro-Obamacare Poll With Obama Voters.  Realizing that Barack Obama's healthcare initiative has hit some roadblocks in Congress, the good folks at CBS News and the New York Times figured they'd help it along by creating a new poll on the subject that WAY oversampled people who voted for Obama.  Although the then junior senator from Illinois received 53 percent of the votes last November, NYT/CBS surveyed almost twice as many Obama voters as McCain voters.

The President Packs the Press Corps.  During the eight years of the Bush administration, liberal outlets such as the Huffington Post often accused the White House of planting questioners in news conferences to ask pre-planned questions.  At this afternoon's news conference, President Obama fielded a pre-planned question asked by a planted questioner — from the Huffington Post. ... [Nico] Pitney asked his question, as arranged.  Reporters in the room looked at each other in amazement at the stagecraft they had just witnessed.  White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel looked at the first row of TV correspondents and grinned.

Stay Tuned for More of 'The Obama Show'.  [Scroll down]  And, as it turned out, he [Pitney] was not the only prearranged questioner at yesterday's show.  Later, Obama passed over the usual suspects to call on Macarena Vidal of the Spanish-language EFE news agency.  The White House called Vidal in advance to see whether she was coming and arranged for her to sit in a seat usually assigned to a financial trade publication.  She asked about Chile and Colombia.  A couple of more questions and Obama called it a day.

Isn't Obama Planting a Huffington Post Question Worse Than Bush's 'Gannongate'?  [Scroll down]  Will these networks find it even more scandalous that the Obama White House much more explicitly pre-arranged a question from the left-wing website The Huffington Post, and allowed their reporter Nico Pitney to have the second question of the entire event, like they were the second most important "news" outlet in America?

White House Denies HuffPo Set-Up.  The White House defended its treatment of HuffPo blogger Nico Pitney at a presidential press conference on Tuesday. ... The White House has made a point of selecting journalists that are not part of the mainstream media for questions at his press conference and that has made even an Obama loving media suspicious of his motives and methods.

Obama presses the press into service.  [Scroll down]  Pitney, play-acting right along, did his part, beginning, "I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian."  He could have said, "I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian, because that's what you asked me to do and because I really, really want you to like me."  But he had more sense than that.

Decision-based evidence making.  The Obama administration yesterday [6/16/2009] released its blockbuster global-warming propaganda document, Global Climate Change Impacts on the United States.  It's a doozy, filled with colour graphics, maps and dramatic pictures.

Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama.  Following a testy exchange during today's briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press. ... Thomas said she was especially concerned about the arrangement between the Obama Administration and a writer from the liberal Huffington Post Web site.

White House Press Corps Happy to Attend Barack Obama's Off-the-Record BBQ.  Reporters from roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House last weekend.  Why didn't you know that?  Because they were sworn to secrecy.

The Cost of Controlling The Press.  Barack Obama's White House is spending more than $80,000 a week to staff its old and new media offices.  Add the price of speechwriters and the White House communications tab reaches nearly $100,000 a week, or nearly $5 million a year-and that is for salaries alone.  Based on the coverage the President has garnered so far, it is money well spent.

A Sponsorship Scandal at The Post.  The Washington Post's ill-fated plan to sell sponsorships of off-the-record "salons" was an ethical lapse of monumental proportions.  Publisher Katharine Weymouth and Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli have now taken full responsibility for what was envisioned as a series of 11 intimate dinners to discuss public policy issues.  For a fee of up to $25,000, underwriters were guaranteed a seat at the table with lawmakers, administration officials, think tank experts, business leaders and the heads of associations.

What's really behind Obama's sudden plea for troubled health reforms today.  Friday afternoons and evenings — as we've mentioned here previously — are usually a dumping ground for political news its originators do not want noticed much.  Especially entering warm summer weekends.  The flip side of that adage is that there's rarely much competition for the news at those times.  Tah-dah!  Not by accident today President Barack Obama (despite the shattering death of his beloved teleprompter earlier this week) staged an unscheduled media availability to insert himself into the news.  Not much competition, so he got lotsa coverage.

Obama Complains About the News Cycle but Manipulates It.  It has become his common lament.  Challenged about difficulties with his economic or legislative programs, President Obama complains about the tyranny of "the news cycle," pronouncing the words with an air of above-it-all disdain for the impatience and fecklessness of today's media culture.  Yet after six months in office, perhaps no other president has been more attuned to, or done more to dominate, the news cycle he disparages.

Rahmbo browbeat network heads to carry Obama's health care presser.  It is the simple exercise of power.  Obama's got more of it than the TV networks.  And if you have someone in the White House perfectly willing to exercise that power by making implied threats, there isn't much even giant corporations can do to deny Obama what he wants.

Baskin Becomes 13th MSM Journalist to Spin Through Revolving Door for Obama.  Roberta Baskin, a veteran of CBS News, ABC News, PBS and Washington, DC's ABC affiliate, with a stint at the Center for Public Integrity mixed in, "will join the Department of Health and Human Service's office of inspector general as a senior communications adviser in mid-August," Washington Post "Federal Eye" blogger Ed O'Keefe reported late Monday [8/2/2009].

Media Blackout on Obama eligibility dates back to November.  The Northeast Intelligence Network and Canada Free Press are in possession of extremely sensitive investigative documents, including a stunning written admission by a nationally known talk show host stating that he was threatened with his career — or worse — should he talk about the issue of Barack Hussein Obama's birth records to a national audience.  This document was obtained on December 10, 2008, and provides explicit detail of a "gag order" imposed on this host before and immediately following the national election last November.

Liberals' birther obsession:
 It's the left-wing, not the GOP, that's pumping up the story.  You could be forgiven for thinking that a serious campaign is afoot — aided and abetted by the national Republican Party — to question Barack Obama's citizenship. ... It is not Obama's right-wing opponents, however, who are devoting the most attention to this obscure, Internet-driven "movement" ... Rather, it's liberals, bent on portraying their conservative opponents as extremists — and changing the subject to help a President under increasing scrutiny for the substance of his policies — who are driving this story.

Did someone mention President Obama's birth certificate again?

Firing up the leftist base.  I've been watching the media onslaught aimed at these townhall protesters, and now think I understand why we saw a huge pickup in coverage on the birth certificate controversy over the last 2 weeks.  Media Matters and other 527s, like Moveon, send daily communiqués to left-leaning media with their issues highlighted, and talking points suggested.  Clearly, they decided to hype attention to the birthers over the past couple of weeks, so that they could now use them to try to discredit other legitimate protest, especially that occurring over the health care takeover.

Did someone mention tea parties again?

Rahm's Media Muscle:  Is it just us or is there something wrong with the White House dictating news coverage to advance the president's medical insurance agenda? We thought this sort of thing happened only in Venezuela.

"Miss Information".  [Linda Douglass] makes no attempt whatsoever to prove her assertion that Obama's comments were out of context or irrelevant.  And that's what's sort of interesting to me.  Her rebuttal technique is truly Obamaesque, in that she does what Obama himself does:  Quotes Obama as proof that Obama is always right.

Glenn Beck Loses Advertisers Over 'Racist' Remark.  White House Involved? Glenn Beck has lost advertisers on his TV show after calling President Obama "a racist" in the context of the Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy.  The pressure on advertisers has become a politically charged debate about the right to free speech, censorship and what constitutes hate speech.  Conservatives are questioning if the campaign against Beck is connected to the White House staff.

Just Make Stuff Up:  President Obama's war on the truth.  Why has President Obama developed a general disregard for the truth, in a manner far beyond typical politicians who run one way and govern another, or hide failures and broadcast successes?  First, he has confidence that the media will not be censorious and will simply accept his fiction as fact.  A satirist, after all, could not make up anything to match the obsequious journalists who bow to their president, proclaim him a god, and receive sexual-like tingles up their appendages.

Barack Obama doesn't care what you think.  What I am concerned about, and warning everyone about, is the media machine that uses these organized events to broadcast the agenda. Framed differently, these activities aren't meant to convince attendees that healthcare is good; these activities are meant to manufacture the news, spread propaganda tropes, and over-inflate the image of the pro-socialized healthcare forces.  PR stunts.  The Obama modus operandi is to make his goons look bigger than they are.  These are the people who will make a group of twenty conservatives appear diminutive with a far-away camera angle, and then give individual interviews to all three liberal attendees.

Obama the Omnipresent.  Even by the norms of his ubiquity, Mr. Obama has been on an especially prodigious media binge lately, pitching his health care plan seemingly everywhere but the Food Channel and Fox News.  He will sit for interviews on Sunday with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Univision, and hit the "Late Show With David Letterman" on Monday (he is scheduled to be the show's only guest), to go with his recent run in the print media (Men's Health), on the Web (Bloomberg) and on cable news (CNBC).

On-the-air prez seems like endless 'infomercial'.  During his first eight months in office, President Obama has sat down for three times as many television interviews as his most recent two predecessors combined. ... "He's turning the presidency into an infomercial," warned former White House speechwriter Matt Latimer.

Obama:  We Need To Bail Out Newspapers Or Blogs Will Run The World.  Obama yesterday [9/20/2009] expressed concern at the sorry state of the news industry and said that he will look at a news paper bailout, because otherwise, blogs will take over the world, and that would be a threat to democracy, The Hill reports.

Manipulation of another communications medium:
 Capital Hill Switchboard Illegally Being Used to Push Obamacare?  If you call one of the numbers that leads you to the switchboard for Congress, the number you'd call to be put through to your Congressman or Senator's office, you get a short message selling Obama's healthcare policies before being transferred to the switchboard operator.  This should be the sort of story the Old Media would investigate fully.  But will it?

Obama's Olympic bid stagecraft.  Sixteen days ago, Richard Baehr noted speculation that President Obama would make a last-minute dramatic trip to Copenhagen this week, to pitch the case for Chicago hosting the 2016 Olympics.  The publicly-announced plan had been for Michelle to represent Chicago's bid.  Because other contenders were sending their top leaders, it seemed as if Obama were letting Chicago down.  Unless you took the cynical view and saw this all as dramatic framing of an upcoming event, so as to maximize propaganda benefits.

President Obama — We've Got Questions.  Alessandra Stanley, reporting for the New York Times on President Obama's Sunday talk show grand slam with same-day interviews on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and Univision, commented on his "remarkably overt display of media management."  On talk shows that are known for their challenging questions, Stanley observed, "No one shifted an armchair, moved a flower arrangement or asked an unexpected question."  Media management is not what America needs.

The Most Transparent Administration Ever?  Not at DOJ.  Is the Department of Justice engaging in fraud, or is it simply trying to hide its propaganda?  Those of you wondering how DOJ uses your tax dollars to enforce our nation's laws might be interested to learn that Eric Holder has apparently hired former Democratic campaign bloggers to work at the department in what appears to be a secret propaganda unit.

Obama Controls Your Televison Set.  Next week the networks will coordinate their shows' story-lines to promote volunteerism. ... You know how folks always say:  "If you don't like what you see, just change the channel."  Well, clearly next week that won't be an option.  It's going to be a full-court press... nowhere to hide.

The Editor says...
 You have another option that's really quite refreshing:  TURN IT OFF!

Rush Rammed.  The partisanship and dishonesty of the American media is a familiar story and a slightly pathetic one.  What makes the ongoing assault on Rush disturbing is that the White House is a participant in it.  As Time magazine and others have reported, a small group of Democratic operatives and media figures — Stanley Greenberg, Paul Begala, and James Carville — have colluded with members of the Obama administration — Rahm Emanuel and Robert Gibbs — in a campaign to demonize [Rush] Limbaugh, using him as a proxy target for congressional Republicans.

Personal Fouls.  The Left has opened up a new front in its ongoing efforts to censor conservative voices and to ban conservative political thought from polite society.  Their latest target:  Rush Limbaugh, who is now being viciously smeared as a black-hating racist.  Of course, the Left has viciously smeared Rush and other conservatives for some time now.  That's their modus operandi; it's how they operate.

White House aide says Barack Obama team 'controlled' the media.  Anita Dunn, a senior White House aide, has boasted of how Barack Obama's presidential campaign managed to "absolutely control" the press during the 2008 election.  The top campaign strategist who has shot to attention recently as President Obama's main attack dog against Fox News, the conservative-leaning cable network, was speaking at a conference in the Dominican Republic in January.  "Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control," she said.

Sotomayor Says White House Even Picked Out Her Clothes.  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's nomination process was so controlled that the White House even approved her clothes, she told Yalies when she appeared at her 30th Yale Law School reunion on Saturday [10/17/2009].

Anita Dunn:  Working 'around that filter'.  White Houses lately, and successful campaigns as well, have prided themselves on "media management" — with carefully planned campaign and official events aimed at steering "around that filter" of the national media and delivering a controlled public message.

Community service as a TV theme.  More than 100 programs on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and cable networks will spotlight the idea of giving back, through story lines or public service announcements.

The Editor says...
 Giving back.  Phooey!  Don't let anyone twist your arm and badger you to "give back to the community."  The "community" already comes and takes what it wants — right out of your paycheck.  Take a good look at your paycheck stub and add up all the money you've "contributed" to FICA, Social Security, and the welfare state.

Obama and his 'Enemy' Fetish.  There's nothing in the world like freedom of speech, so long as the speaker booms out your praises, sprinkles his remarks with words and expressions such as "hope," "change" and "the fierce urgency of now."  In such a case, welcome to the White House.  Can we pour you a glass of lemonade, give you an autographed photo of the president?  You others out there — shut up!

The Censorious Sound on the Left.  Team Obama's idea of "straight news" is that which goes straight from Rahm Emanuel's cellphone into Stephanopoulos's mouth.  Team Obama's idea of news without "perspective" is Brian Williams broadcasting publicity stunts like Obama buying hamburgers for his staff and the "news" of the day is how many apples can be spotted at the White House.  The only thing in their way is the emerging alternative media, which is why they're out to destroy Rush Limbaugh.

What would Mao do?  "What would Mao do?" seems to be the guiding question in White House communications strategy.  [Anita] Dunn bragged that during the 2008 presidential campaign, "very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control."  The Obama White House continues this drive for control using the tools of government, seeking to harness all means of communication and organize a Cultural Revolution Lite.  A push for control is revealed in attempts to organize Hollywood to help convey party messages and to use the National Endowment for the Arts to promote Obama policy initiatives.  The Federal Communications Commission is considering content regulations on radio stations under the guise of promoting "diversity."

The White House Takes a Chokehold on the Media.  [Scroll down]  After all nothing can be allowed to interfere with the White House's media echo chamber in which reporters repeat White House talking points to the public and back to the White House again.  That is not journalism.  It is very literally propaganda. ... The Obama Administration has tried to create its own economic reality, its own military reality, its own diplomatic reality and above all else, its own spin reality.  And to do that, to make sure that the public hears nothing but the White House talking points day in and day out, you need control of the press.

Top White House Official Says Obama Team 'Controlled' Media Coverage During Campaign.  White House Communications Director Anita Dunn is seen in a video from January talking about how the Obama campaign exercised absolute "control" over media coverage.

Anita Dunn:  How We Created Obama's Cult of Personality.  With a compliant media willing to focus on his "rock star" personality, Obama got away without having to address many of his questionable friends that never even made it into the public discussion.  Seeing how well this method worked on Obama's church, the campaign decided to use his charm as an answer for most everything else. ... Most Obama supporters had no idea there was a purposeful strategy of fabricating an intimate relationship.  Yet once again, the media chose to ignore all warning signs and encourage people to get swept off their feet.

The Volunteerism Scandals Hollywood Won't Be Broadcasting.  Hollywood hearts Obama.  Obama hearts government-directed national service.  That is why you won't be able to change the TV channel all week without getting lectured about the need to get off the couch and Do Something.  (After your favorite shows are over, of course.)  Creeped out?  You should be.

Lies That Are Disputed.  I remember, as a very young person, the august comparative tranquillity of the Eisenhower era, when the president requested national air time only for matters of indisputable national interest.  He never abused this privilege, and there was no call for equal time.

Does Obama want to control the message or the media?  Controlling the message, for any White House, is hard work. ... It's a laborious process that's full of traps and pitfalls.  And the Obama administration has no use for any of it.  It would rather control the media instead.

Using Dead Soldiers as Props.  The photo-oped dead/wounded soldier routine is one of Obama's favorites.  Back in July 2008, Obama cancelled a planned trip to visit wounded troops at Rammstein and Landstuhl U.S. military bases in Germany because, as MSNBC reported, Obama "could not bring any media.  Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama's visit."  Dead soldiers are not props for Army diversity, props for health care reform or props for Obama's perennial campaigning.  They are men and women who make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation.  Their memories should not be tarnished by cheap politicking by cheap and tawdry politicians.

Obama's Door-to-Door Sales Team.  President Obama's 13 million-strong campaign e-mail list has been transformed into a mass political operation dedicated to enacting his agenda — along with its apparent readiness to help elect Democratic candidates and eventually re-elect the president.

Obama's Doubletalk on Political Dissent.  While the kowtower-in-chief's press shop feeds paeans to free speech into Obama's globetrotting teleprompter, the White House is still waging war on vocal foes at home.  Obama has lectured his critics in Washington to stop talking and "get out of the way."  He has stacked his carefully staged town halls with partisan stooges and campaign plants throughout the year.

'Overexposed' Obama begins to duck the WH press corps.  After months of what some critics called overexposure, President Obama has of late avoided questions from the White House press corps at large, closing the Oval Office to traditionally informal question-and-answer sessions with reporters and pulling back from the fast pace of news conferences he established when taking office.  The president, whose job-approval ratings have been on a steady slide, hasn't held a formal news conference in 19 weeks, since July 22.

Duck-and-Run Obama.  President Obama's athletic prowess is becoming a real advantage in office as he recently has taken the duck-and-run approach to the media.  Instead of defending himself in front of the open microphone, he is dispatching his cronies to defend his policy positions.  Our commander-in-chief isn't living up to his campaign promise of presidential access and transparency.

President Obama Names Transgender Appointee to Commerce Department.  President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department. ... While Simpson is clearly one of the first transgender presidential appointees, Democratic officials say they're unsure if she is the very first one.  The White House had no comment on her appointment.

Meet Obama's transgender appointee.  The Obama administration's appointment of Amanda Simpson to a relatively low-profile spot as advisor to the Commerce Department felt intentionally buried over the New Year's news cycle.  Why?  Simpson, who will be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security, used to be a man.

Phony Fruits in the Obama White House Garden.  Hold on to your hoe.  It turns out that the fruits and veggies used in a special edition of the popular Food Network TV show "Iron Chef America" featuring first lady Michelle Obama did not, in fact, come from the White House garden.  Could there be a more deliciously fitting symbol of Obama White House fakery than Garden-Gate?

President Obama's Official Twitterer Connected To MoveOn.org.  The woman that poses as Barack Obama on all his social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter is connected to the far-left organization MoveOn.org.  For those scratching their heads, the President in theory is a member of these websites.  However, he obviously isn't responsible for typing in the little messages that are going out to his followers almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Obama Seeks New Social Media Mouthpiece.  The Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America — the successor organization to Obama for America — are seeking a "social networks manager" to oversee Obama's accounts on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.  The ideal new hire, according to the official job description, will possess "strong, sharp and personable" writing skills, as well as the ability to craft messages that "move people to act" and managing multiple "complex" projects.

Organizing the Coffee Party.  When I heard about Annabel Park's grassroots coffee party movement and her background in the Obama campaign it piqued my curiosity.  The two most recent Obamaganda projects, pro-Obama letters to the editor (see Ellie Light) and the even less successful pro-Obamacare push on the conservative talk radio airwaves, were reliant on individual action supported and inspired by the future former president's propaganda machine.  The coffee party movement represents a shift back towards the sort of large scale community organizing that helped Team Obama win in 2008.

The Coffee Party Con:  The new and much-publicized Coffee Party movement sports a fairy-tale narrative about a spontaneous uprising of concerned Americans appalled at the Tea Parties and determined to restore civility. ... No thanks to the liberal media, we know that its founder, Annabel Park, is an Obama-supporter, filmmaker (she made one for the Obama campaign), and former New York Times strategy analyst.  In other words, she's a progressive activist.

Coffee Party 'founder' in Astroturf hole, keeps digging.  Annabel Park, the purported creator of the Coffee Party movement does damage control with the help of CNN, claiming that her movement, aided by Soros-funded organizations and planned at RootsCamp, a left wing organizing workshop held at the teachers union NEA Headquarters, is actually a spontaneous, self-organizing movement.

Transparency?  Are you kidding?  The Obama White House did not allow the press to cover the president's signing of the executive order created to win Rep. Bart Stupak's vote for Obamacare.  At the daily briefing, reporters wanted to know why no press photographer or reporter was allowed in.  Press secretary Robert Gibbs told them they should be happy with a picture from the White House photographer, Pete Souza — a photo produced and selected by the White House.  It will be a "nice picture," Gibbs assured reporters.

Silence that speaks volumes:  blackout as Israel's leader leaves White House.  Two separate meetings between President Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, failed to produce so much as an official photograph as a chill settled over US-Israeli relations and secrecy shrouded any efforts to repair them.

Obviously President Obama is no friend of Israel.

The next move of the Alinsky left.  [Scroll down]  Why did these congresspeople, including Emmanuel Cleaver (the alleged "spitee", who actually walked too close to a protester shouting "kill the bill" and got sprayed), Barney Frank, and Nancy Pelosi deliberately march into the demonstration and confront the Tea Partiers?  After all, wasn't it Nancy herself who said she was "frightened" by these supposedly violent people?  Is it possible that they wanted to provoke a reaction from the crowd to be used by the media to demonize the Tea Party movement (i.e., "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it")?  Is it also possible that when there was nothing sufficiently provoked by the lawmakers' confrontation, they decided to fabricate it?  I believe their previous record of untruthfulness supports this hypothesis.

Left Playing the Hate Game.  In reality, this kind of commentary is nothing new.  We see it every time conservatives have any political momentum whatsoever.  The idea is that by shouting "racist," these liberal columnists can make their opponents shut up.  But this is a very angry and polarized political climate.

Is the White House press corps necessary?  Has the YouTube presidency pre-empted the journalists who cover the White House every day?  If you can get the news directly from the president and his Twittering West Wing staff, why do you need the press corps?

Is Obama Making the MSM Obsolete?  The White House Press Corps and the MSM are becoming very nervous.  The White House has discovered that they can get their message out to the public without the "filter" of the media to slow them down.  Continuing to operate under the template that it is their job to make Obama a success, the MSM has been completely unwilling to call him out on this.  Alternatively, President Bush was excoriated by the MSM for avoiding the press for any extended period of time throughout his two terms of office.

Obama leaves WH without press, breaking protocol.  President Barack Obama quietly breached years of protocol on Saturday morning [4/10/2010] by leaving the White House without the press with him.

Presidential Motorcade Leaves Press Corps In the Dust... Again.  President Obama caused quite a stir on Saturday after he left the White House without the traveling press corps, but it's not the first time he's slipped away without them.

The Judas Kiss, the Brutus Stab, the Obama bow.  [Scroll down]  Obama's bow-wow in portraiture far outshines the hardly ever seen Portuguese Water Dog, Bo, last seen all over the Internet in April of 2009.  The lens have captured Obama's subservient bows to Saudi King Abdullah; Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and even to Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.  Photo ops one and all.

Obama Attends Non-Existent Soccer Game?  Reading the story about President Obama breaking tradition and ditching the presidential press pool over the weekend to watch one of his daughter's soccer games, it appears harmless, right?  Not so.  It is rather disturbing when you dissect it.

Why Is the 'Master Communicator' Ducking the Media?  [Scroll down]  During the same 265-day time period when he studiously avoided press conferences, Obama delivered dozens of prepared speeches to friendly audiences, most to pitch his pet project, "Health Care Reform."  Obama also granted dozens of interviews, the overwhelming majority of them, not surprisingly, to MSM interviewers sympathetic to his policies.

'Most Transparent White House Ever' Prevents Reporters From Covering Protest.  While mainstream media reporters are generally pretty supportive of the Obama administration, they bristle, and rightly so, at incidents where the administration is less than transparent or actively seeks to impede journalists from working.

Most transparent White House ever...  Police chased reporters away from the White House and closed Lafayette Park today in response to a gay rights protest in which several service members in full uniform handcuffed themselves to the White House gate to protest "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  People who have covered the White House for years tell me that's an extremely unusual thing to do in an area that regularly features protests.

Red Dawn alert?  Cranky policeman boots reporters from White House protest.  A protest outside the White House?  Yawn.  They happen all the time.  Usually they're ignored.  What's the best way to get some attention for it?  Don't let the press cover it.  Even better, have some loudmouth policeman boot the reporters away.  But whatever you do, make sure videocameras are rolling.  If this was the plan, it was executed flawlessly Tuesday afternoon [4/20/2010].

From 'The Front Page' To a Flock Of Sheep:  Reporters, Then and Now.  Petty tyrants love to shove other people around, but when those hired to "protect and serve" start acting like they're armed bureaucrats who don't have to answer questions from the rabble, then we're in trouble.  Especially when it was not an emergency, and lives were not in danger.  There had better be a pretty darn good reason from barring citizens, and their representatives in the media, from a public park, and this sure doesn't seem like it.

Media Kept Well Away as Obama Clashes With Gays and Lesbians in Washington, L.A..  President Obama has had two run-ins already this week with gay and lesbian activists  — and judging by his and his staff's reaction  — he doesn't like the challenge coming from his left flank.  So, naturally, he responded by excluding the media.

An Incurious Media or a Four-Leaf-Clover President.  Maybe the timing of the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud case against Goldman Sachs was legitimate.  Maybe the arrest of nine Hutaree members for seditious conspiracy and a host of other crimes was also properly timed.  If that's the case, then we need to start calling Obama the four-leaf-clover president because every time he needs a villain, the government picks one.

Obama shoos press during coffee stop.  The president of the United States likes his pie tart, his coffee stale and his reporters out in the parking lot.

Why reporters are down on President Obama:  Obama and the media actually have a surprisingly hostile relationship — as contentious on a day-to-day basis as any between press and president in the past decade, reporters who cover the White House say.  Reporters say the White House is thin-skinned, controlling, eager to go over their heads and stingy with even basic information.  All White Houses try to control the message.  But this White House has pledged to be more open than its predecessors, and reporters feel it doesn't live up to that pledge in several key areas.

Up in the Air, Obama Meets the Press.  President Obama made a rare appearance in the back of Air Force One to chat with reporters on Wednesday.  The president, who does not often chat with his "press pool," came back ostensibly to share the news that he was congratulating Republicans and Democrats for moving a financial regulation bill to the senate floor.  But then he stayed and took five questions.  For nine minutes.

President Obama Makes Rare Visit to Press Cabin.  President Obama strayed from his normal routine Wednesday [4/28/2010] and made a surprise visit to the press cabin aboard Air Force One upon his return from Quincy, Illinois where he wrapped up a two-day swing through the Midwest. ... It was rare for reporters traveling with the president to have this kind of access to Mr. Obama, who has become notoriously inaccessible to the press.

The Editor says...
 Notice that Mr. Obama controls access by the press in a most selfish manner.  He appears unexpectedly while the reporters are eating and only stays a few minutes.

Obama's war on the press gets some ink.  Richard Wolffe, a former Newsweek reporter who wrote a very favorable book about President Obama's 2008 campaign, is getting special treatment from the White House according to a Politico story.  And according to Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason, Wolffe was even allowed into Obama's health care summit, which could barely accommodate the pool.  In a catalogue of the various grievances, members of the press express exasperation with the administration's insistence on providing access to sympathetic voices, like Wolffe and the New York Times, while limiting contact with others.

Obama's Dysfunctional Marriage to the Press.  It has all the trappings of a dysfunctional marriage.  The press wants to communicate with Obama via direct questions, but he's aloof.  The press wants behind-the-scenes access, but Obama is too busy feeding exclusives and scoops to his mistress, The Gray Lady, and he doesn't even try to hide the affair.  He gives the quiet treatment to The Wall Street Journal and scolds Fox News — and in so doing telegraphs a message to other journalists:  criticize me, and we'll freeze you out.  Or worse.

Never let a crisis go to waste.
 Obama Heading to Gulf Coast for Update on Oil Spill.  President Obama will go to the Gulf Coast in the next 48 hours for a firsthand assessment on efforts to contain the massive oil spill from an offshore drilling rig, a White House official said Saturday [5/1/2010].

Elena Kagan White House "Interview" Riles Reporters.  The White House today [5/11/2010] posted on its website a video allowing Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan to speak "in her own words" about her personal history and perspective. ... While the White House seems to believe the American people deserve to hear from Kagan, it has not made her available to reporters.

Nothing to see here:  Kagan "interview" just another infomercial.  It's standard practice around the White House (going back administrations) for any big nominee pending confirmation to stay away from interviews and unscripted public utterances until the voting is over.  It keeps things tidy and minimizes variables.  No biggie.  The Obama administration, however, made SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan available for an interview — by White House staffers. ... It's just another campaign commercial, masquerading as openness.

Increasingly Opaque White House Insulates Kagan From Press Corps.  In the latest example of a pattern of opacity, the White House has cut off the press's access to Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.  Kagan has extensive ties to journalists, which only serves as a testament to this administration's determination to control the message on its major initiatives, including Kagan's nomination.

Want to Talk to Kagan's Family?  Permission Denied.  White Houses traditionally put a muzzle on their Supreme Court nominees, to keep them from saying anything that might jeopardize Senate confirmation.  But the Obama White House has taken it one step further.  It is limiting, if not blocking, access to the nominee's family.

Obama doesn't take questions at Freedom of Press Act signing.  After the signing of the Freedom of Press Act on Monday, President Obama declined to take any questions from the press.  During a pooled press event in the Oval Office, President Obama was asked if he would take a couple questions.  "You're certainly free to ask the question," Obama told the reporters in the room.  "I won't be answering..."

Obama signs bill to encourage press freedoms, then refuses press questions.  An amazing scene Monday in the Oval Office of the administration that's raising opacity to new densities.

Obama Turns His Back On the Press.  At a ceremony to sign a bill promoting press freedom around the world on Monday [5/17/2010], President Obama refused to take questions from reporters.  "I'm not doing a press conference today," he told Chip Reid of CBS News, "but we'll be seeing you guys during the course of the week."  So when the president hosted a "news conference" in the Rose Garden with the president of Mexico on Wednesday, Mr. Reid thought maybe this time Mr. Obama would take questions.

Obama News Conference:  One Question, Two Reporters.  Obama has not held a full-scale, White House press conference since July [2009].

Obama Avoids Tough Questions from Press, Again.  [Scroll down]  So-called "press conferences" with foreign leaders usually allow for only two questions from the White House press corps and two from foreign reporters.  But today [5/19/2010] he said there was time for only one from each side.  And in what I suspect was a White House effort to assure that the questioning was limited to immigration and other issues of U.S.-Mexico concern, he called on the Univision reporter from the U.S. side.  So if his goal was to avoid answering any tough questions about yesterday's elections, or the oil spill in the Gulf, or financial regulation, or Iran, or

Afghanistan — he succeeded.

Obama's (Axelrod's) Choreographed Media Blackout.  The "most open and transparent" president in American history is still playing hide-and-seek with the press, and even the liberal New York Times has begun to notice it, as indicated by this headline:  "Obama Turns His Back On the Press."  If the mainstream media were not so ideologically wedded to Obama's big-government agenda, they would be doing more than pointing out his secrecy and hypocrisy with the occasional headline.

Media Are In Love With Obama Despite His Contempt For Them.  National Review's Rich Lowry on Saturday's [5/22/2010] "Fox News Watch" noted a bizarre relationship between Barack Obama and the media:  "they're in love with the guy and he has contempt for them."  Host Jon Scott started the discussion by mentioning the peculiar irony of the President on Monday signing the Press Freedom Act while refusing to take any questions from media members at the event.

Fawning press now gets cold shoulder from Obama.  Will Barack Obama go an entire year without holding a formal news conference?  He's getting close:  The president's last full-scale session with the press was on July 22, 2009, which was 307 days ago.  When Obama last held a big news conference, there had not yet been terrorist attacks at Fort Hood, Detroit, and Times Square.  Scott Brown was an unknown Massachusetts state senator.  There was no national health care bill, much less national health care law.

Obama Can Treat Media with Contempt Since He Knows They'll Always Be 'On His Side'.  The Washington press corps "have only themselves to blame" for President Obama refusing to answer their questions at White House events, exemplified by how he hasn't held a press conference in ten months, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York contended in his Tuesday column, "Fawning press now gets cold shoulder from Obama."  After all, "Obama treats them with contempt because he knows that when big tests come, they've always been on his side.  There's no reason for him to think they won't be there in the future."

BP paid workers $12-per-hour to be props for the photo ops.  Has it really come to this?  Yahoo News' Brett Michael Dykes reports that BP paid busloads of temporary cleanup workers to show up as stage props for President Obama's visit to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup operations on Grand Isle.

Limited Media Access to Oil Spill?  Media organizations say they are being allowed only limited access to areas impacted by the Gulf oil spill through restrictions on plane and boat traffic that are making it difficult to document the worst spill in U.S. history.

Obama and Media Minions Inspire Violence.  Most assuredly, the tea parties are not about racism or hate.  The truth is quite the opposite.  The tea parties are about love; love for the greatest nation on the planet and a fervent desire not to see it transformed into something unrecognizable.  The Tea Party Movement is no more complicated than that.  So where did the New Black Panther Party get the erroneous idea that the tea party patriots are, as Janeane Garofalo says, "a bunch of redneck racist against a black president"?  The unfortunate answer is the Obama media machine.

FTC draft study proposes massive bailout of newspapers.  The Obama FTC is attempting to commit the liberal press to permanent, government-run life support, with the federal monolith and the state-funded press each supporting the other in perpetuity.  Let's see, raise taxes, reduce competition, expand government, drain the profit, control the news... Music to Obama's ears.

DNC, Obama Now Astroturfing Talk Radio.  The shameless media manipulators at the DNC have a new campaign designed to promote Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court.  As with previous campaigns, the "Kagan for Justice Action Center" is run via a special website set up by Organizing for America.  It encourages people to write letters to the editors of newspapers nationwide (And we can presume that, as before, local newspapers will publish DNC talking points without realizing it).

Another Round of Obamacare Obamaganda.  As soon as Obama can spare the time to take a break from entertaining himself with publicly funded rock 'n' roll parties, he'll begin an Obamaganda campaign to convince the stubbornly unsophisticated majority that Obamacare is the panacea for not only their health needs but also the nation's financial difficulties.  I wish I were being facetious.  The first stop on his tour will be Wheaton, Md., where he'll conduct a nationally televised stunt with senior citizens timed to coordinate with the mailing of the first batch of his magnanimous $250 rebate checks to Medicare beneficiaries to help pay for their medicines.

There's a pipe spewing oil into the gulf, so let's build more windmills.  Obama, the first modern president to pass his first full year in office without addressing the country from his historic desk, had the setting right.  Just back from a day-and-a-half on the gulf coast listening, reassuring, talking tourism, eating seafood.  He wore the proper suit, had the requisite flags and family photos in the background.

Obama's disastrous Gulf disaster team.  [Scroll down]  Politico's Mike Allen channels West Wing thought this way:  The Gulf gusher is a battle we can't win.  So we had to make this tragedy about something bigger than the liveshot of spewing oil.  So having surrendered on the challenge of stopping the oil, Obama tried to redirect the public's attention away from the spill and onto the political debate over a cap-and-trade bill.

Censors In, Liberty Out.  [Scroll down]  Thus, as Anthony G. Martin has opined, it is clear that the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court is intended to bolster the Obama's intention to censor anything he chooses.  Obama, the dictator would come full circle.  Why aren't the journalists up in arms about this?  Don't they see that this is yet another of Obama's serial double-crossing strategy?  He smooth talks a group, invites them into his lair, and then tears them apart when they are no longer useful to him.

White House Enacts Rules Inhibiting Media From Covering Oil Spill.  The White House Thursday [7/1/2010] enacted stronger rules to prevent the media from showing what's happening with the oil spill in the Gulf Coast.  CNN's Anderson Cooper reported that evening, "The Coast Guard today announced new rules keeping photographers and reporters and anyone else from coming within 65 feet of any response vessel or booms out on the water or on beaches — 65 feet."

Gibbs Evades Question of Whether Obama Agrees With His Medicare Director.  White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs has evaded answering the question of whether President Barack Obama agrees with Dr. Donald Berwick, his newly appointed director of Medicare and Medicaid, who has insisted that health-care systems must redistribute wealth.  "Excellent health care is by definition redistributional," Berwick said in a speech delivered on July 1, 2008.  When asked directly at the July 7 White House press briefing whether Obama agreed with this, Gibbs would not answer the question.

White House Successfully Puts Cap on Gusher of Unflattering Oil Spill Stories.  It's as if the entire country decided that the president had bombed in his speech, that the federal response was an immense disappointment, and that the coast was doomed ... and then moved on to more interesting topics.

Why Obama evades reporters.  Let's face it; the more Barack Obama exposes of himself the more America has no confidence in, or respect for, him.  His serial lies have become obvious, as has his lack of knowledge.  America was sold a story — and this story had a very bad ending.

The President's One-Man Death Panel.  The president recess-appoints a fan of rationing and Britain's National Health Service to direct one-third of American health care.  Why does the administration want his views hidden from scrutiny?

Most Transparent Administration Ever Makes Effective Reporting from Gulf a Felony.  Effectively reporting on the Gulf oil spill is now a Class D felony, punishable by a fine of up to $40,000.  That's right, the most transparent administration in history has made it a felony, effective July 1, to get within 65 feet of what the Coast Guard determines are essential recovery efforts.  According to Anderson Cooper, officials tried to up that number to 300 feet.

Berwick Doesn't Stick Around for Questions.  President Barack Obama's controversial pick to run Medicare and Medicaid made his first public appearance Tuesday [7/13/2010] since he landed the job in a recess appointment, but he did not remain at the press conference long enough to take any questions from the news media.

Memo to the Media — Obama's Just Not That Into You.  Love is a many splendored thing — except when the feeling isn't mutual.  Then, love stinks.  That's the position journalists find themselves in as their love for President Barack Obama has been a one-way street.  The rejection is much harsher than screening their calls.  Obama has done everything to keep them away except take out a restraining order.  The latest examples of mistreatment include actions by both the Defense Department and government agencies in the Gulf clean-up.  In both cases, journalists have been restricted in ways that have made scribes scream.

Benevolent Billboards.  What a coincidence.  Just as Obama is about to institute health care reform, up pops a billboard on Route 22 in Hillside, New Jersey advertising a group supporting the Right-to-Die.  What an ironically opportune time for the euthanasia discussion to begin again.

White House looks to leverage Michelle Obama's popularity.  Playing it safe can sometimes pay off, as first lady Michelle Obama is finding with some of the highest favorable ratings in official Washington.  And she could be taking those numbers out for a test drive, as the White House looks for ways to leverage her popularity without diminishing her value as an asset.

Michelle's life is a holiday.  Not cognizant that the masses have already blacked her out of mind, Mrs. Barack Obama has put a media blackout on her latest holiday including an about 30-room reservation for herself, daughter, friends and bodyguards at a five-star hotel in Benahavis, Spain.

Jobless Nation:  Heckuva Job, Barack.  Earlier this season, Team Obama launched a PR offensive designed to convince Americans that a real economic recovery was underway.  They called it "Recovery Summer!" Note the exclamation point.  They wanted you to really, really get that they believed we were in "recovery."  It wasn't just a "recovery."  It was "Recovery Summer!"

Obama's curious silence.  HR2765 would seem on the face of it to have been a signal victory for American authors and for their free speech rights.  It would seem logical that the White House should have trumpeted its promulgation to the high heaven.  Instead, the Adminstration's silence has been deafening.  The Act was subject of no ceremony.  No photograph was released to the public, and only Representative Steve Cohen was present at its signing.

White House reporters mum on Obama lunch.  White House reporters are keeping quiet about an off-the-record lunch today with President Obama — even those at news organizations who've advocated in the past for the White House to release the names of visitors. ... Obama has met several times with columnists and television pundits for off-the-record lunches to discuss a variety of issues since becoming president.  Today, he reached out to the White House beat reporters who file their papers' straight news stories.

Feed the Reporters!  Nuance and President Obama's Media Strategy.  Today President Obama tried to make nice with White House reporters by hosting an off-the-record lunch.  The reporters are mad and sad because the President doesn't speak to them very often, especially not in casual settings.  The New York Times didn't go to lunch — no time to waste with off-the-record chicken salad — but blogged about the invitation.  The dozen or so reporters who did eat with the President this afternoon weren't allowed to write about it.
[Emphasis added.]

Examiner takes principled stand!  Skips OTR lunch with Obama!  It takes more than a cheeseburger to buy our silence, Mr. President!

Stop Obama's tax-paid propaganda.  Recovery.gov, for example, is a tax-paid website that cost $18 million to create, yet does little more than peddle job-creation data that are discredited almost as soon as they are posted.

Paying for hope with your change.  In the modern era, all presidents have to some degree used their office to promote themselves and their policies.  The Obama administration, however, has taken the practice to new heights.  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last month unveiled a slick, $700,000 television commercial featuring crusty old actor Andy Griffith announcing that "more good things" are coming to seniors — thanks to Obamacare.  Just add the O Force campaign logo, and the advertisement will be ready for use in the 2012 presidential race.

Andy Griffith Ad Taxpayer Funding Probe.  Ads featuring Andy Griffith running in targeted markets during the election cycle at a reported cost to taxpayers of over $3 million in October alone are coming under scrutiny from Republican leaders on the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Andy Griffith Show.  Just before the November elections, the federal government decided to spend $3.2 million on "educational" TV ads praising ObamaCare.  The spots featured Andy Griffith, a favorite of seniors from his days on TV's "Mayberry R.F.D." and "Matlock."  But the expenditure may have been inappropriate, and a nonpartisan fact-checking group says the ads were misleading.  The ads with Mr. Griffith, a staunch Democrat, might as well have been a paid commercial for President Obama's health-care talking points.

Andy Griffith's Obamacare Ads Cost Taxpayers $3.66 Million.  Politico reports that the Obama administration's pro-Obamacare Andy Griffith TV ad cost taxpayers $3.66 million, according to records obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services.  Actually, there were at least three such ads, so it's not clear whether this was the cost for one, or for the whole batch.  In [one] ad, Griffith says, "That new health care law sure sounds good for all of us on Medicare!"

How Obama mis-spent his summer vacation.  Since 1985, the hands-down winner for worst marketing campaign has been New Coke — the disastrous flop when Coca-Cola tried to change its flavor.  After 25 years, we have a new contender — President Obama's "Summer of Recovery" slogan of 2010.

Obama's kids are so off-limits they're on the cover of his new book.  [Scroll down]  In July 2008, candidate Obama allowed his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, to appear on a segment of "Access Hollywood," but soon came to regret his decision.  "I don't think it's healthy," he told ABC, "and it's something that we'll be avoiding in the future."  Since that time, there has been a general rule that Obama's children are off-limits for most public discussion.  But it's been a rule the president has observed at times and ignored at others.  Now, it appears, is one of those times he's ignoring it.

John Podesta's propaganda strikes again on White House's Chamber of Commerce line.  [Scroll down]  No surprise, the White House and the DNC are taking talking points from the Center for American Progress, also known as the non-profit arm of the Obama administration.  CAP's ties to the Obama administration are very close.  CAP chief John Podesta was the transition director for the Obama administration, and his name shows up in White House visitor logs more than any other.  At least 10 former lobbyists for CAP now work in senior administration positions.  I remember the first time I saw CAP produce similar propaganda (yes, I think that's the right word for dishonest material intended to feed to politicians).

Shutting Up Business.  If at first you don't succeed, get some friends in high places to shut your opponents up.  That's the latest Washington power play, as Democrats and liberals attack the Chamber of Commerce and independent spending groups in an attempt to stop businesses from participating in politics.

Obama Campaigns On Hip Hop Radio This Morning.  With a hip hop beat playing in the background, President Obama called into a Dallas urban radio station this morning, bluntly appealing to Democrats to vote early which is allowed in Texas.  And at the prodding of host Rickey Smiley, an Obama supporter, the President speculated on how he might govern if Republicans score big gains in Congress next week.

When Bias Has Its Own Media.  The Obama Administration feels free to smack the press around, because by giving up their independence, the press also gave up any of the leverage they used to have.  Once the media sold out everything, they have nothing left to offer anymore.  As long as they are wedded to promoting socialism at any cost, the White House is the only game in town, and as long as they create the news out of White House talking points, the Obama Administration has the media right where it wants it.

Unemployment Up, Obama Flees the Country.  Just as we find ourselves a mere whisper away from double digit unemployment, our inept Commander in Chief runs off to Afghanistan where he will lecture General Petraeus on how to run a war without winning.

President Obama's Leather Jacket Has New-Car Smell.  One might be inclined to dismiss the stiff, gleaming newness of the leather jacket President Obama wore to greet the troops in Afghanistan today [12/3/2010] as a sign that his awkward "Tough Guy" stance was a hastily conceived distraction from this morning's lousy jobs report.

The Andy Griffith Show.  Just before the November elections, the federal government decided to spend $3.2 million on "educational" TV ads praising ObamaCare.  The spots featured Andy Griffith, a favorite of seniors from his days on TV's "Mayberry R.F.D." and "Matlock."  But the expenditure may have been inappropriate, and a nonpartisan fact-checking group says the ads were misleading.  The ads with Mr. Griffith, a staunch Democrat, might as well have been a paid commercial for President Obama's health-care talking points.

The Surprise Trip to the Briefing Room.  The unannounced visit by President Obama and former President Bill Clinton to the White House briefing room was a surprise to absolutely everyone — including Mr. Obama's top advisers.

White House attempts to quiet revived talk of 'death panels'.  The Obama administration is trying to quiet talk about so-called "death panels" after The New York Times reported Sunday that a new Medicare regulation includes incentives for end-of-life-care planning.  The Medicare policy will pay doctors for holding end-of-life-care discussions with patients, according to the Times.

Did someone mention death panels?

HHS is Paying Google with Taxpayer Money to Alter 'Obamacare' Search Results.  The brazenness of the Obama administration never ceases to amaze.  Try typing "Obamacare" into Google, and you'll find that the first entry is now the Obama administration's www.healthcare.gov.  If you don't particularly like that result, you'll probably hate the fact that you're paying for it. ... Using taxpayers' money to alter the results of search engines and to control the flow of information is disturbing on multiple levels.  It's particularly disturbing when it's done to promote a massive expansion of government power, like Obamacare.  And one wonders how — or if — it's even legal.

Holder Uses New York Times to Tamper with New Black Panther Investigation.  Attorney General Eric Holder recently made statements to the New York Times so detached from reality that they could have been written by scheming Republican operatives for fun.  In particular, Holder tells the Times that the lawless dismissal of voter intimidation charges against the New Black Panthers is "a made up controversy."

'Investing' our way to the poorhouse.  President Obama hopes to be saved by a euphemism.  He is wagering on the power of the word "investment."  It sounds so market oriented and cutting edge in contrast to its more pedestrian, politically fraught synonym, "spending," especially the toxic "deficit spending" that, to this point, has defined Obama's presidency.

Obama lunches with TV newsmen before State of the Union.  President Obama met with several top news personalities and pundits on Tuesday before his State of the Union Address.  Per a White House pool report, the president met with the group for lunch at the White House this afternoon [1/25/2011].  Among the figures reported to be meeting with the president were CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos from ABC, Brian Williams from NBC and Chris Matthews from MSNBC.  It wasn't clear whether there were more attendees at the meeting.

Obama wants to put himself on TV during an "emergency" -- just like Fidel Castro.
 FCC: Presidential emergency alerts to be tested.  Everybody has heard the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).  Those familiar "duck calls" that reassure listeners "THIS is a test..."  The FCC is planning an upgrade to the tests by including presidential announcements in the system. ... "The primary goal is to provide the President with a mechanism to communicate with the American public during times of national emergency," said [Lisa] Fowlkes.  The change, she said, is that prior to last week's order there was no rule in place to call for or allow a test from top to bottom.

Obama's leeriness of the press.  Obama, it seems, does not like the uncontrolled Q&A. ... Obama so far has endured just 75 short question-and-answer sessions with the press, according to Towson University political science professor Martha Kumar, who tabulates all things White House press ops.  During the same period in their own respective presidencies, George W. Bush did 258 short Q&As, Bill Clinton did a mind-numbing 408, and George H.W. Bush did 159.  More than Obama, in short.

Michelle Obama to Hold Another 'Listen Only' Press Briefing.  First Lady Michelle Obama will hold another "listen-only" conference call with reporters this afternoon, continuing a pattern of holding events for the media where access is sharply limited. ... The First Lady appears to be establishing a new routine, where she speaks and — from beginning to end — reporters mutely listen.

He speaks, you listen, then you leave.
 Obama shoos away reporters.  What's the point of inviting reporters into the Oval Office if they can't ask questions?  President Obama gave a statement to the press pool on Monday after talking with Australia's prime minister, Julia Gillard. ... Afterward, a handful of the journalists invited into the room shouted questions at Obama, as is customary in such situations.  But Obama wouldn't bite.  "Thank you very much, everybody," Obama said as the reporters clamored for an answer.  "Thank you guys."  They kept shouting.  "Thank you very much.  Thank you very much, everybody," he repeated.

Obama Wags the Dog.  What is this really about?  As the price of oil skyrockets, as our debt levels rise to new highs and our housing market drops to new lows, President Obama decides that it is a fantastic time to start dropping bombs on Libya.  Nobody, including Obama, seems to know what our objective is in Libya.  First, it was deposing terroristic thug Muammar Qaddafi; then it was standing up for the United Nations; then it was protecting civilians; now it is some combination of all of them.

Andrew Breitbart: Courts an Instrument of Leftist Thuggery.  Politicians and their supporters use interesting tactics to intimidate and silence their critics, from rumor-mongering to editorial cartoons, even dueling pistols.  But the target of a high-profile lawsuit who is also a relentless investigator of the Obama administration says the judicial system is being used to retaliate against him.  "The President of the United States has an unprecedented and uncanny desire to silence those who report the truth about him," says media mogul Andrew Breitbart.

Obama's War on "War".  What if they gave a war and nobody was allowed to say it?  The debate over military action in Libya has lately taken an absurd twist, driven by the Obama administration's bizarre unwillingness to call a war a war.

Biden's Journalist-in-the-Closet Caper.  By the time Obama and Biden were sworn in, the once-valiant, once-intelligent, once-fully-human American media had been completely reduced to the Puppy-Pack that now begs for access and cowers in closets.  The Puppy-Pack lines up for "press" reports every day, where they are treated to the master's latest lap-dog's hush-puppy avoidance tactics.  Still, the Puppy-Pack stays in line and doesn't even complain when they never get to actually ask the master any questions.  Press conferences are far too unwieldy for the new master to handle, so the Puppy-Pack just goes with the flow.  And as every sentient American knows by now, the only people who watch or listen to Barack and Joe's Puppy-Pack are the sheeple.

Reporter one of many to be 'caged' by VP.  Vice President Joe Biden's staff may have apologized for stowing a news reporter away in a closet during a fundraiser last weekend, but Saturday's incident wasn't the first time the VP kept a member of the media stuck in a tiny room during an event.  In March 2010, Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton was on duty to cover a Biden fundraiser in Maryland, and was forced to wait for an hour in what he jokingly called a "cage" that was guarded by the vice president's staff.

As Stockholm syndrome sets in, the reporter himself tries to backpedal.
 How my wait in a closet almost brought down the White House.  I was kidnapped.  That was news to me.  My paper and I conspired to cover this up, to protect Vice President Joe Biden and his staff from charges they had imprisoned me at a fundraiser last week.  That was news to me too.

Obama selects small-town reporters who are sufficiently bedazzled.
 Obama rewarding local stations in battleground states with biggest 'get' in TV news.  As Obama keeps the White House press corps at a distance, he has sat for more than a dozen interviews with their colleagues from local TV stations — with unpredictable and sometimes illuminating results. ... An anchor from the ABC affiliate in Cincinnati swiped paper towels embossed with the presidential seal from a White House bathroom, "just to prove that I really was there."  Of course, she had additional proof of her visit:  an interview with the president that aired on television.  Nonetheless, she held up the towels for the camera in a live shot from the White House lawn.

How President Obama plays media like a fiddle:  In early November, Barack Obama was one sad sack of a president — his agenda repudiated by midterm voters, his political judgment scorned by commentators, his future darkened by a growing belief he might be a one-time president.  In early February, Obama is master of the moment — his polls on the upswing, his political dexterity applauded by pundits, his status as Washington's dominant figure unchallenged even by Republicans.  This three-month metamorphosis says something about Obama's survival skills, but the turnabout says even more about the mainstream media:  Obama is playing the press like a fiddle.

Advantage Obama.  If releasing his birth certificate was made necessary because the media were distracted by the iss