grrrr

I am so annoyed. I searched high and low in the papers for a report on what Joe Biden said, guaranteeing that there would be an "international crisis" six months into Obama's presidency and implying that Obama might not be up to the task (he apparently spoke for an hour before joking that maybe he better not have said all this since the press was there). Not a word in the papers. In one of Gary Bauer's end of day reports he writes that "the media’s blackout is so obvious that even former media star Dan Rather had to admit it. Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning, Rather made this astonishingly honest comment, '…certainly if Sarah Palin had said this, it would be above the fold in most newspapers today.'"

That's a good word for it: media blackout. Anything remotely negative or critical of Obama is glossed over or ignored, while stories about McCain and Palin are more than fair game. If there's no story, the media will make a story. Here's a for instance. In yesterday's LA Times there was a long article about (guess who) Sarah Palin. It's called "She Graduated with Anonymity (Sarah Palin's College Years Left No Lasting Impression)". HERE"S THE SCOOP (are you ready?): No one can remember her. You find out later in the article that because her family couldn't afford college Sarah (Heath) had to work to support herself during college, so it's easy to infer that she kept herself busy with studies and waiting tables. But ace reporter Robin Abcarian doggedly kept asking asking asking, anyone, professors, fellow students....not much there. But she did have a deadline, so she wrote her story. But here's what really tells the story. At the end of paragraph two where Abcarian introduces her topic by compares how the other candidates (McCain, Obama, and Biden) are recalled at their alma maters she mentions this about Joe Biden: "Sen. Joe Biden, who had a brush with plagiarism at Syracuse University College of Law, is remembered fondly by professors who found him charming."

A brush with plagiarism? If Abcarian had dug up that little gem about Governor Palin, what would the headline have read (and how many more stories would we be reading about it?

Is anyone else sick and tired of what no longer appears to be a dirty little secret--the mainstream press is not interested in doing its job? I think this has gone beyond paranoia and has moved into something really quite disturbing. Major news outlets are either awed, intimidated, or unduly influenced by the Obama campaign. If this does not disturb Obama's supporters, I can't imagine what will. Do they really think things will be different once they get their man in office?

Here's another example. Read Jonah Goldberg's column (bookmarked at left) about the media's assault on Joe (the Plumber) Wurzelbacher whose only crime, it appears, was to ask Barack Obama a direct question and actually managed to get a direct answer from the man (something none of the moderators at the three debates were able to do.) Unfortunately for Obama, the direct answer happened to be a major gaffe (will the real BO please stand up?) when his response about it being a good idea to "spread the wealth" ripped away the facade of his economic policy and exposed it for what it really is (socialism). Golberg writes that the gaffe was so significant there was only one thing the Obama campaign could do to quiet the unruly masses (OK those are my word not Goldberg's): change the subject. They needed to shift the focus away from the question and onto the questioner. So the media smear begins and Joe Wurzelbacker gets shoved under their probing microscope. If this doesn't get your blood boiling, (D- and D- and B-) nothing will. This is what we have to look forward to if your candidate wins in November--if you dare criticize or question your man, you'll be silenced or humiliated. Bravo.

Oh yeah, remember how Joe Biden said (during the VP debate) that he and BO were against gay marriage? That was then, on the stage Sarah Palin (who, contrary to the clown image the media have portrayed, is really quite articulate) and Gwen Ifill (asking tough tough questions...not). It's only later, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, that we get the straight answer: neither Biden nor Obama would support Proposition 8, and indeed they strongly favor gay marriage.

Truth truth truth....it matters. Unfortunately, no one seems to care that Barack Obama appears to be one of the most deceitful politicians ever to stand before the American people and ask them to trust him.