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Reporters, talking heads, newspaper editors, owners of media companies, and newsroom editors are all trying to forget that they force fed us the Iraq invasion. They hyped the WMD bullshit, they demonized Muhammed al-baradei and the rest of the weapons inspectors. Bush and company all but accused them of colluding with Saddam Hussein and the media pushed that line. The media gleefully broadcast the "shock and awe" air campaign. They showed the public all the cool technology we had, never mind that there were people on the ground who were having 5000 pound bombs delivered to their homes courtesy of our tax dollars. What about how the media gleefully and breathlessly replayed that ridiculous "Mission Accomplished" stunt? I never saw such an undignified display as I did when television anchors were cooing over it.
We saw all color of grotesque behavior, and the media's behavior was up there with the worst. They fired and banished anyone who would not tow the line and stop asking questions. Dan Rather, one of the most respected journalists, was fired out of hand for refusing to kiss the Bush Administration's ass.
What about the media not saying boo about the blackout? They were denied access to the coffins on the military planes being flown back to the states. They were kept on a short leash and only allowed to report what the Bushies let them. What about the public's right to know?
Joan, the next time you are on Hardball, why don't you take Chris Matthews to task on the following statements.
1. "There are some things you can't fake. Either you can throw a strike from sixty feet or you can't. Either you can rise to the occasion on the mound at Yankee Stadium with 56,000 people watching or you can't. On Tuesday night, George W. Bush hit the strike zone in the House that Ruth Built.... This is about knowing what to do at the moment you have to do it--and then doing it. It's about that 'grace under pressure' that Hemingway gave as his very definition of courage."
2. "He looks great in a military uniform. He looks great in that cowboy costume he wears when he goes West We're proud of our President. Americans love having a guy as President, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like Clinton.... Women like a guy who's President. Check it out."
3. "Everybody sort of likes the President, except for the real whack-jobs."
Chris Matthews and other media talking heads have bad memories. They like to pile on now and get on the right side of history.
I know I am known here as an Obama basher. I admit to it. But, the lessons we should learn from the past eight years is that breathless admiration for a president does a disservice to us all. Chris Matthews, once again, is emblematic of the problem. He said that he was going to do all he could to help the Obama administration "succeed." It is not the job of the media to selectively present news so that it presents the president in the most positive light.
