Sickening media gloating
Posted by Richard on November 6, 2012
After a bit of flipping around the network election coverage, I’m just disgusted by what I see in the wake of the Obama victory. The expressions of the “objective reporters” on the broadcast networks range from jubilant to smug to gloating. Tonight they know that, despite the information revolution and the growth of new media, they’re still able to shape the debate, filter the news, and influence a significant portion of the population.
One example: In the last seven weeks, the MSM actively and successfully abetted the Obama administration in the Benghazi-gate coverup. One of the recent examples is CBS withholding until this past weekend of the fact that it had an unaired portion of Obama’s 60 Minutes interview that proves Obama lied in the foreign policy debate — and that moderator Candy Crowley was factually wrong in backing Obama’s claim (as well as being totally out of line).
Another example: The exit polls suggest that a lot of the last-minute deciders were persuaded to vote Obama because of how well he “handled” Superstorm Sandy. In reality, he did nothing — nothing! — to “handle” Sandy. The federal government’s response was no better than it was during Katrina — and such as it was, the President had no hand in it whatsoever. He was preoccupied by fundraisers and campaign appearances. But a few well-staged photo ops and tons of fawning and supportive media coverage created the opposite impression.
Many years ago, Ayn Rand argued that restoring the United States to its pro-freedom, individualist, capitalist roots would require not just a political change but a philosophical change — a change in cultural values, if you will. In the wake of the Reagan Revolution, and again after 9/11 starkly illustrated the difference between the advocates of reason and the Enlightenment and their enemies, Rand’s argument was ignored or forgotten. But neither political change proved to be lasting. Rand was right. And she was right in saying that, to change the values of the mass of the American people, you first have to change the values of the intelligentsia. A good place to start would be the nation’s journalism schools.
Rick Shultz said
Hi Richard. I am about as angry as I ever get over this whole thing, and you’re right as usual. The media GAVE this election to Obozo. He didn’t “build” it, they did. And I get angry all over again every time I look at a television screen today. I don’t know who the WORST of the lot is, but CNN gets my vote for that. I watched the unaired part of the 60 minutes interview and thank you for posting the link. I hope the Republicans hang it around his lying neck for what good it will do. The damage is already done, but I am hanging on to the hope that we can impeach his Not Personally Awareness over this, and manage to get him out of the White House before he does any more damage. A faint hope admittedly, but it’s better than nothing. I can’t get over this awful feeling that neither one of us will have to wait until we’ve decided to leave this country to have our wealth confiscated. I think that’s liable to happen a whole lot sooner. Australia is looking a lot better these days despite all the poisonous animal life.