The president's transition team has also managed to play favorites with the media in the White House Press Room. Major news sources were handpicked to be included in press conferences, while others were excluded. On this note you have to wonder if the media would have let President Bush divvy them up in such a fashion -- the quick and easy answer is no. If our ex-president and his staff had tried anything of the sort it would've been more likely to run across the headlines of America as "Bush Attempts to Censor Voice of Journalism." Under President Obama, it's accepted under the shroud of the greater good.
Don't let me fool you into thinking that the exact phrase "greater good" would ever be used, however, as it's a politician's phrase and usually not indicative of actual good, in itself it tends to make college students like us have an instantly negative reaction. Was it for the greater good that we established democracy in Iraq, nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, grasped hold of what's left of our free-markets, or pumped another trillion dollars into them? Well the people making these decisions believe it to be so; however, it is our decision alone whether to support or decry the actions of politicians.
During this last week, we've seen President Obama transition admirably from a cult of personality to the primary occupant of the White House. What we continue to see is the rose-colored lens of the job that the news outlets continue to feed the public. What we have failed to see, however, is our media, supposedly representing the people, giving no-nonsense, straight news coverage.
I will provide one last example. When the president and his staff picked Carol Browner to head the Environmental Protection Agency, one detail that was notably missing in the description of her was her membership in Socialist International as a commissioner for a sustainable world society.
You probably didn't hear about this. I know I only got wind of it because I happened to see the headline on The Drudge Report.
Most people don't read The Drudge Report, and that's OK, but MSNBC, CBS and ABC should've at least run a story on this. Of course the general public didn't see or hear anything.
In the event that the media fails to inform the people and hold a presidential administration accountable, it then becomes the job of the people to inform themselves.
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I don't understand the implication concerning Carol Browner. Are you suggesting she is going to impose socialist ideals on the country via environmental regulation? Is this even plausible?
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All it takes for socialist ideals to infect the country are more taxes. More money for the government to take away from the people and then re allocate for whatever program they wish. I direct your attention to Oregon where they are trying to enact a 'gas mileage tax'. And haven't you even heard of the Kyoto Treaty?
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When Bush came into office, many rejoiced; when he left office, his approval rating was 22%. Sadly, most of this is due to media spin/bias, but some of it is justified. The point is that, as the article says, its ok to be proud of making history, but NEVER let your gov't escape your critique. Even if you got 100 friends to vote for Obama, you should now step up, be American, and use your education and your First Amendment rights to carefully evaluate everything he does. Division in the country is actually good - lively debate is what keeps us thinking critically (just like we are right now in the article!).
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You wrote all that to conclude? "In the event that the media fails to inform the people and hold a presidential administration accountable, it then becomes the job of the people to inform themselves." If you just wanted to make that conclusion, you didn't have to convey your seeping dislike for Obama so much, most people would've just agreed with you if you just said that.
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A 'gas mileage tax' has absolutely nothing to do with the EPA or any environmental agency. In fact, that tax more or less 'punishes' the environmentally aware. EPA automobile regulations would actually lower the amount of gas tax a person pays through better gas mileage, which is exactly why Oregon is looking into the gas mileage tax. And if you are trying to imply that the Kyoto Protocol has an underlying socialist agenda, you've lost me again.
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The entire concept of an editorial is to allow for expression of opinion. Many newspaper do this for lots of topics. These articles have been clearly indicated that they are not attempts at objective news by virtue of being published as editorials. Bush made reporters submit questions in advance. Filtering like this has occurred by both parties long before Obama and Bush. What evidence do you have for implying Obama was involved in the Blagojevich scandal? Because no, Emanuel's meeting with him is not enough. And if the media made a report for every time two politicians met, it would be the only thing on the news. Now, if the media isn't publishing Obama's actions are for the greater good, then they are not telling us to think that Obama's actions are for the greater good. That's right, they are leaving it up to the reader to decide! Yes there may be slants, but true objectivity is impossible. With the Browner thing, are you trying to suggest that socialists should not be allowed in American politics? Socialism and capitalism are economic in nature, neither one of which is intrinsically inherent in democracy. That's right, you can be a socialist and still love American democracy. Or were you just trying to subtle references to campaign tactics used by some Republicans that juxtaposed symbols of Islam and the USSR to suggest Obama was an anti-American terrorist?
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While in an open society, it is important for the press to be investigative and citizens to think for themselves, it is also important to deal with one another in a trusting and trustworthy way. Obama has given us every reason to believe he agrees with that. As for the Greater Good, I would suggest that Greater Good Thinking is based on the idea that "it's not just about me"--a way of approaching life that embraces Big Picture ideas, a long range view, inclusion, community, compassion, creativity, and collaboration. Obama seems to be doing just that; we can insure his sucess and America's by using Greater Good Thinking ourselves in our families, communities, workplaces and governments.
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From what I can tell, not one MSM source (CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, NYTimes, LATimes, WashPost and the other liberal news sources) have reported on this. If this is indeed the case, then I would say that it's more proof of their bias.
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