The American Spectator

Ralph Alter| 12.26.08 @ 3:57PM

Precisely what crediblity and self-respect are you imagining is held by the press corps? Their utter failure to even begin to examine the Chicago Machine's relationship with Obama cashiered the last scintilla of respect they had left after forming pyramids and shaking pom-poms for two years for the Obama campaign. They will only preserve their dignity amongst their fellows by keeping their heads firmly in the sand and grabbing their ankles. When we the people have finally had enough we will throw the filthy media baby out with Obama's bathwater.

Kate L| 12.26.08 @ 5:15PM

I agree with Ralph. I don't foresee the media ever changing in its coverage of Obama. They have to0 much invested in his success to ever do anything that might threaten that.

Jeremiah| 12.26.08 @ 8:29PM

To the tune of "The House of the Rising son" By the Animals.

There is a state in the Mid West,
It's evil by the ton.
And it's been the ruin of many a poor pol,
Guv Blag he knows he's one

Well Rezko is convicted.
He brought Blag needed cash.
His best pal is the president,
And Barack now calls him trash.

The only think Guv Blag needs
Is a senate seat to sell.
And he'll accept cash or jobs.
Or condemn you straight to Hell.

Seems Obama told his Clintonites
To make a deal with Rod
But before they called to make the sale,
Fitz threw Guv Blag in jail

Blag got one foot on the campaign trail,
The other foot in lockup,
He pled his case in public,
After lawyering up.

There is a state in the Mid West,
It's evil by the ton.
And it's been the ruin of many a poor pol,
Guv Blag he knows he's one

Next week's episode; "The Return of the Depos," to the tune of Sweatin' to the Oldies.

Let the farce be with you!

John| 12.26.08 @ 10:22PM

As The One shows himself to be beholden to an ever increasing parade of sleazy characters looking for their cut for their investment, the press will merely clam up.

My guess is that the fawning coverage will evaporate into a sort of "What? Who? Where?" - Vinnie Barbarino routine about the time the Chicago sleaze begins to ooze through the cracks of the One's false front.

The waft is beginning to get some people to pay attention; but it still is not overpowering enough for more than those with the most sensitive senses to notice.

No one wants to admit that they were wrong and most of all folks are just not accepting of being qualified for a "Sign" -(ht - to Bill Engvall) so The One will be allowed to dig his hole deep, and nothing much will be said about it at all.

Some fad or other interesting trend will become the next "shiny" thing flickering by... and The One will drop off the MSM radar.

I give him a year, maybe even less...

Regards,

John

ET| 12.26.08 @ 11:44PM

I can't wait to read the news story revealing that Obama tortures kittens for fun; the headline will read, "Obama's torture of kittens unlikely to hurt his presidency", or words to that effect.

AndrewD| 12.27.08 @ 9:40AM

Actually this is a good thing. If they are so busy throwing their panties at their Backstreet Boy, they will not notice the repo man walking out the door with their imacs.

Eric Dondero| 12.27.08 @ 10:12AM

Media reports today that the NY Times is now offering its prized Boston Red Sox franchise for sale, asking price $300 million, in a last ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy.

And the Boston Globe, which they own, is about to get the ax. (Story at Libertarian Republican blog).

It's already happening Stacy. People are already sick of the liberal media adulation of Obama. The market is deciding.

Bob| 12.27.08 @ 11:14AM

Isn't this a bit like the adulation Sarah gets from AmSpec, Fox News, Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, et. al.? How many fluff interviews of her can they do without asking her any questions of substance? "Oh, you make moosemeat balls?"

As I've said on many occasions, there are no news outlets anymore -- just entertainment venues that look like news organizations that want to market themselves to a certain psychographic segment.

Your ranting about the MSM bias is getting old. Republicans should start talking about conservative solutions to our current problems and not just complaining about Obama. But then, there don't seem to be any conservative solutions other than "Just Say No!"

The bias in news organizations relate to the public's bias. If people like Obama -- and even most Republicans polled believe he is currently doing a very good job -- these outlets will carry good stories so people can "feel good" and buy more of what they're selling. After all, that's what AmSpec does. Republican voters now account for less than 30% of the voting public and their base is getting smaller, not larger. They are pushing away blacks, Hispanics, gays, and younger voters and their old, white audience is dying off.

There is a conservative story to be told. It deals with individual responsibility, limited government, forgetting about Reagan, finding solutions that appeal to minorities, and projecting hope for the future. Complaining does not win elections -- and that's about all one finds here.

WendyG| 12.27.08 @ 6:32PM

>>>Between workouts during his Hawaii vacation this week, he was photographed looking like the paradigm of a new kind of presidential fitness, one geared less toward preventing heart attacks than winning swimsuit competitions. The sun glinted off chiseled pectorals sculpted during four weightlifting sessions each week, and a body toned by regular treadmill runs and basketball games.

I saw pictures of Obama in his swim trunks. A skinny guy with flabby man-breasts. Honestly, that's how he looked to me.

>>>President Bush is ferociously fit, his mountain-bike sessions notoriously grueling. Bush doesn't make a habit of going around shirtless with the sun glinting off his pecs, but a couch potato, he ain't.

The press in fact made fun of Bush when he worked out.

And just imagine if Bush vacationed at a 9 million dollar Hawaii enclave during the current economic crisis. Insensitive! Apppalling! Richie Rich!!

But Obama, he's a dreamy hunk on a well-deserved vacation.

WHAT A JOKE.

Vince P| 12.27.08 @ 6:35PM

I love how Democrats/Obamadrones/Leftists can never address an issue head-on. Instead they always look for ways to bring up irrelevent counterexample or change the subject. Every time.

joan| 12.27.08 @ 11:25PM

Newsflash! Putin beat out Obama in the sexy category, but then the latest poll just showed 80% of all Russians view Stalin as a hero. Obama is going to have to work hard to get up to Stalin's level of reverence.

Eric Dondero| 12.28.08 @ 7:39AM

Bob, it's not so much the MSM is biased against Conservatives; they're biased against Libertarians. Anything and everything that stands for limited government is battered by the MSM, including LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICAN Sarah Palin.

Libertarian John Stossell just got creamed the other day for comparing Obama to Josef Stalin. The Leftist media went nuts over it. Though, the comparison is absolutely true.

Arianna Huffington posted a syndicated column calling for the "death" of libertarian/laissez faire economics, last week and was universally praised by the MSM.

Yes, Conservatives and Conservatives views get a beating by the MSM. But try being a Libertarian some time, or advocating Libertarian ideals, and see what happens.

You get crucified on a cross of nails.

Bob| 12.28.08 @ 8:17AM

Eric, I guess I see it differently. I endeavor to watch and read media on all sides of the ideology. Everyone is so sensitive to their points of view that all they can see is bias when they hear the other side. My point is that in reality, the bias discussed on both sides is overemphasized. Fox News, Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, et. al., are the MSM. I don't think Libertarians are targeted much because they are not a large part of the population. Furthermore, Palin was NOT targeted as a Libertarian, she was targeted as a social conservative Republican. Her speeches did not have any Libertarian talking points either. In fact, her social conservative base loved her for her non-Libertarian views on abortion and gay marriage. I just thought she was not knowledgeable about national and international affairs and should be if she was running for president.

Eric Dondero| 12.28.08 @ 10:29AM

What?????

Bob, Puhleeeze! You have just lost all credibility. You call Fox News, Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly the "mainstream media"?

My gosh man, what brand of cannibas have you been smoking? Is it that new super-charged sh*t from Jamaica or something?

The MSM is AP, NPR, Newsweek, Time, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and numerous other daily newspapers nationwide.

Look Bob, I'm a Libertarian, not a Conservative. I don't have a horse in this race. But even I recognize that Conservatives like Rush and Hannity are viewed on the fringe, and are regularly slandered and hammered by the MSM.

Eric Dondero| 12.28.08 @ 10:33AM

Bob, Sarah Palin was MOST CERTAINLY slammed for being a "libertarian." In fact, the Boston Globe did a full-page piece on Palin's "extremist libertarians views," on Oct. 16, right before the election talking about her ties to Wasilla libertarians, her opposition to all zoning laws, and her support for property rights over eminent domain.

Sarah Palin comes from the libertarian wing of the GOP. She's long been identified as one of the Nation's leading libertarian Republican Governors along with Idaho's Butch Otter, and SC's Mark Sanford.

While we libertarians are happy that social conservatives support her, she is clearly from our wing of the Party.

Hell, the social conservatives even opposed her for a time in her 2006 gubernatorial run, starting a whisper campaign that "Sarah is not really a Republican, but rather a Libertarian..." cause she had atteded a couple Libertarian Party meetings that year.

Check your facts Bob.

Interloper| 12.28.08 @ 2:32PM

Eric, you are confusing 'libertarian' with very radical Right. Palin and her husband were long-term participants in the Alaska Independence Party, or AIP. In addition to some ideas it has in common with libertarians, AIP supports secession from the U.S., by violence if necessary. Seems to me that you should be glad that Palin's radical connections did not get more attention in the media than the nominal amount they did.

(Chat up Robert Stacy McCain if you want to know more about secessionists. He has long been involved with white supremacist secessionists in the neo-Confederate movement.)

Seems to me that Robert is jealous of President-elect Obama.

Bob| 12.28.08 @ 2:40PM

Eric, times they are a changin'....

After umpteen years on the scene, I now think that Rush, Hannity, and O'Reilly are no longer fringes. If you look at this objectively, their viewership/listenership is greater than most of what used to be called the MSM. They certainly reach a bigger audience than any of the newspapers, and Time and Newsweek. If they reach a larger audience, then how can you not consider them as a part of the MSM? The ultra right wants you to consider them on the fringes, but the numbers say they are mainstream. I'd rather use objective data to come to that conclusion.

In regards to Sarah being libertarian. When she was first announced, I looked at her background and liked that libertarian streak. You might expect that from Alaska. But she did not RUN as a libertarian -- she ran as an ultra right wing social conservative. Look at her stance on abortion and gay rights. Those are NOT libertarian views. She did not talk about monetary policy and the dollar as most libertarians -- including me -- do. So, Eric, I've checked my facts and come to a different conclusion. Furthermore, most libertarians running for President are keenly aware of national and international affairs and court decisions. She was not.