What's this war with FOX News all about?
I agree that Pres BO is playing to the base and keeping them distracted from a few governing realities.
After all, Pres BO is going to have to tell the base that the public option won't fly. (60 votes in the US Senate and a 30-plus majority in the House are not translating into BO's agenda!)
Also, troops are indeed heading to Afghanistan. (Again, this is going to blow up the Dem party in ways that we have not seen since Vietnam!)
Pres BO's numbers are going down:
Rasmussen: Overall, 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance.
They are watching it over in the UK: Barack Obama sees worst poll rating drop in 50 years By Toby Harnden
I agree with Prof V.D. Hanson that something is happening out there and it's not Obama-mania:
"For 30 months the nation has been in the grip of a certain Obama obsession, immune to countervailing facts, unwilling to face reality, and loath to break the spell.
But like all trances, the fit is passing, and we the patient are beginning to appreciate how the stupor came upon us, why it lifted, and what its consequences have been."
So beating up FOX News is like throwing red meat to a very disillusioned base watching their president sink in the polls!
I get it!
However, there is a little more to this than "red-meating" the base.
I think that we are watching a very sensitive man, a guy who is not accustomed to being challenged or criticized!
Why is Pres BO so sensitive to criticism?
First, he is a very arrogant person.
Second, he has never had an executive or governing position.
Third, he got a "free media pass" on most issues, i.e. just ask Hillary Clinton during the primaries!
What do you get?
You get Pres Obama!
You get a man who never ran a city, an agency, a state, a business or anything!
You get a man who never had to answer questions or explain his decisions, such as a mayor explaining cuts in services, or a governor announcing layoffs or a private executive addressing shareholder concerns.
BO has never faced anything like that before!
Therefore, he is not accustomed to news organizations questioning his policies or decisions!
Also, he does not know how to deal with Dems who represent rural or suburban districts.
So where are we?
Pres BO has a choice:
1) He can declare war on his "enemies" and get consumed with whatever FOX News is running at 5pm or 9pm.
2) He can focus on governing and let the critics have their say! (This is what most of his predecessors did! Did you ever see Pres Bush saying publicly that NBC News was beating him up on MSNBC every night?)
Unfortunately, Pres BO has decided to fight his "enemies".
It's a bad choice and Pres BO will regret it!
P.S. Charles Krauthammer makes a good point:
"While government can and should debate and criticize opposition voices, the current White House goes beyond that.
It wants to delegitimize any significant dissent.
The objective is no secret.
White House aides openly told Politico that they're engaged in a deliberate campaign to marginalize and ostracize recalcitrants, from Fox to health insurers to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."
No comments:
Post a Comment