More Media Malpractice

Fresh evidence from President Obama's news conference yesterday that the whiz kids of the Beltway press corps wouldn't recognize the top political story of the last 20 years (spoiler alert: it's the movement of the Republican party to the extreme ultra right) if it bit them on their keister.

First comes Kaplan Daily's Dana Milbank's brain-dead meme that, gosh darn it, if Obama would just schmooze more with those Congressional Republicans, he might just get more votes. We can only say, that's some rock you've been living under for the past 4 years, Mildew! You must not have rock home delivery of the Kaplan Daily, otherwise you might have read this.

Exhibit two is from the presser in the form of a question from ex-Fox "News" and current CBS White House Correspondent Major "Asshole" Garrett, echoing fellow voice of reason and both-sides-are-equally-to-blame Chuck Todd (NBC):

"What Chuck [Todd] and I and I think many people are curious about is this new adamant desire on your part not to negotiate when that seems to conflict with the entire history in the modern era of American presidents in the debt ceiling and your own history on the debt ceiling."

So, the answer is to encourage Rethugs to engage in negotiating hostage taking every time a debt limit vote comes up? So they can move the goal posts further and further right every subsequent time?? It seems to us we just had an election, the American people voted, and... we won. Bottom line, as the President said, you don't hold the American economy hostage to score/ make a political point. The economy is people's lives, not a bargaining chip.

Exhibit three comes from Buzzfeed's John Stanton, whose article is titled "Obama Looks to Saddle Republicans With Blame for Debt Limit Fight." Well, sir, if the saddle fits the horse, put it on! Here's what Stanton went on to say:

"To hear Obama tell it, he’s simply trying to pay the country’s bills..."

and

"But even as he was calling for cooperation, Obama took a shot at Republicans..."

The "shot" Obama took was to basically remind everyone that the election was fought over certain principles and... we won. To hear John Stanton tell it, he's simply practicing unbiased journamalism.

UPDATE: Mr. Pierce, skewering MoDo for the same "Obama hasn't been nice" meme as above, puts the cap on it:

"This is the silliest goddamn meme in the history of silly goddamn memes. There is nothing this president can do to move the Republican opposition toward reason. (You can lead the whores to water...). They don't like Democratic presidents. They particularly don't like this one. They don't think Democratic presidents are elected legitimately. The particularly don't think this one was, twice. They are insulated in safe districts. They are the occupants of a self-sustaining universe of think-tanks, sugar daddies, talk-radio cowboys, and ideological chop shops. This simple fact is not going to change even if the president were magically to become a combination of Cary Grant and Sidney Poitier over the soup course. He could sprawl across a staircase, and it wouldn't matter."

End of discussion.

(Photo: Milbank, Garrett, Todd or Stanton - take your pick.)