The Atlantic - Latest Comments in Sorry for the lack of politics

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Skyhook — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:13:25 -0000

I kept thinking, "But wait, that's you! You're the media!!"

The heads at ESPN do something similar. They will opine critically about how the sports media is treating this person or covering that story, never acknowledging that, for all intents and purposed, they drive (often into the ground) all national sports stories.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Barry — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:16:14 -0000

IMHO, the media is eager for a repeat of the Clinton years, when any whackjob accusation put the onus on the administration to prove itself innocent (which is hard to do when the standard of credible accusation is negative infinity).

It's both to cover for their accessory status in the Bush administration's crimes, and to make sure that Obama doesn't pull an FDR, and do things which might help non-rich people, and give them ideas above their station.

If you want to see the next few years, google up the 1990's work of Molly Ivins, Joe Conason and Gene Lyons.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

sgwhiteinfla — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:06:13 -0000

AliHajiSheik

Chasing tail might be what ends up getting him. You see his Uncle that went to jail had a mistress a kid and a wife on the side right?

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

AliHajiSheik — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:58:02 -0000

Has Rendell been right about anything in the last year, and has he done anything but criticize and second-guess Obama? There must be some personal beef there that goes deeper than Hillary.

Ford's family is unbelievably dirty, but I assume that between doing pseudo political talk shows and chasing tail in hotel bars, he has little time to do any actual dirt himself.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

sgwhiteinfla — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:53:39 -0000

Thanks Rob

Go Vols Indeed!

OT and not trying to thread jack at all. But they just announced Adam Walsh's killer, you know the Adam Walsh whose day created America's Most Wanted.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Alexander Rose — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:40:50 -0000

People still watch news? Once they happily went along with that bullshit war we're still in, I knew it was time to tune out.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

AG — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:37:08 -0000

The Early 21st Century: The MSM completes its transformation into an Ouroboros, eating its own tail and wondering what happened to the taste.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Kathy — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:21:15 -0000

I don't know the source of this little vignette, but I think it is worth posting in response to the subject matter:

A stranger was seated next to a little black girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, “Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.”

The little girl, who had just opened her coloring book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, “What would you like to talk about?”

“Oh, I don't know,” said the stranger. “Since you are a Negro, do you think that So-called President Elect Barak Obama is qualified for the job?” and he smiles.

“OK”, she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass -. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?”

The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, “Hmmm, I have no idea.”

To which the little girl replies, “Do you really feel qualified to discuss President Barak Obama... when you don't know shit?”

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Rob — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:15:20 -0000

sgw- love your blog! Hopefully you can take the place of Thad Matthews. GO VOLS!!!

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

sgwhiteinfla — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:42:59 -0000

Rob

I think race played a factor but his name was the bigger issue. The scandal with his uncle broke right when the election was getting close. It doesn't help that his father referred to the white people living in Germantown and other suburbs "devils" because they didn't vote for him that last time.

The messed up part is that I used to be a big fan of Jr's. Hell he was getting Obama like buzz in 04. How quickly they fall.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Jennifer — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:18:43 -0000

I'm sick of the talking heads - that's why I read blogs like this one. At least on blogs the audience can provide some direct feedback. It's harder to get through to the pundits on TV and tell them - "Hey, I want to learn more about Obama's Educaction policy and less speculation about Blago." The Blago story wouldn't annoy me quite as much if they did some original reporting on say, what has been uncovered in the years long investigation or the reasons why the legislature has wanted to impeach him for so long. But NO, they have to imply wrong-doing where all the parties involved say no wrong-doing has occured.

We, as consumer's of news media, need to stage a revolt of some kind. There's got to be some way to let them know we want substance, not distractions. I thought we sent that message with the election, but I guess the press didn't get the memo.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

rob — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:12:35 -0000

@sgw- you really are from the Mempho, me too. Pretty much summed up Jr. I truly believe he did not lose that Senate race, which gave us Corker because he was black, he lost because he is a Ford, plain and simple.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

PeterGuillam — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:02:00 -0000

"I think this might be some sort of passive-agressive (and only semi-conscious) way of the media getting a dig in at the Obama camp. I think they feel as if they were frozen out and treated poorly at certain points in the campaign and that resnet is starting to manifest itself a bit.'

Heh. In that Harvard event for campaign staff, David Plouffe did say it was a point of pride in the campaign that they didn't leak. Gwen Ifill said we (meaning the press) hated that, and Plouffe answered that the campaign loved it that the press hated that. So, yeah, I guess this is payback time for the campaign.

http://www.iop.harvard.edu/Multimedia-Center/All-Videos/WAR-STORIES-Inside-Campaign-2008

I recommend people to watch the whole thing. It's quite interesting, especially the revelations from the McCain campaign (not so much from the Obama campaign, though. David Plouffe may have been the genius behind the greatest political organization ever!, but man, does he talk like a boring corporate executive. But I guess that's why he's so effective in his job).

The McCain people admitted that Reverend Wright wouldn't have worked, and it was as much a strategic decision not to use that issue, as it was about McCain's honorable instinct. Still wouldn't admit Palin was a horrible choice, but Rick Davis did say the party needed a "deeper bench" and that they "get what we paid for". Heh.

And umm, Ifill felt the need to ask Axelrod about Blago as the very first question in the forum.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Doctor Jay — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:59:03 -0000

You gotta love the "You didn't make me stop taking crack, so it's your fault!" line of reasoning. Really, I see this all over the place, not just in the media.

Just think, I could say, "TNC you didn't make me stop listening to accordian music, so all my white nerdiness is YOUR FAULT!!!"

Please, please, stop me from eating cucumber sandwitches.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

sgwhiteinfla — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:52:59 -0000

Jack T

I have been hoping somebody brought up Harold Ford Jr as we are both from Memphis. You want to talk about a hypocrite? This guy's family has done shit in memphis that would make Blago blush. His Aunt was involved in one of the only real voter fraud cases in the last 20 years in American politics. Dead folks voted for her in record numbers and no im not joking. His Uncle just got sentenced from the second federal investigation that caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. Mind you the both probes ran concurrently and both trials were about totally different grafts. He has another two uncles that are as shady as you can get that are still involved in politics in Memphis. But do you think he EVER answered questions about his family members? Not a fellow politician, not a governer from his state. HIS FRIKKIN FAMILY MEMBERS. But then he goes on Morning Joe and not only doesn't defend Obama, he actually engages in some second guessing after Scarborough slaps him around for awhile. That guy is totally ruining any shred of good reputation he ever had. It don't help that he leads the Blue Dog DLC right now. I started to blog about the cat but I got so pissed off that I just left it alone. But he has truly made himself into a joke now. And he helped to give us the union busting Bob Corker.

Sorry for no paragraph breaks

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Bruce — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:44:45 -0000

isn't rendell the fool who said white people in pennsylvania wouldn't vote for a black man? I'm beginning to wonder if it's even worth getting US-news from any other news source than comedy central....only light of msnbc is maddow...maybe olbermann for comic relief

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Dan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:36:09 -0000

sgwhite, nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American media market.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Jack T. — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:34:40 -0000

Scarborough bothers me. He does that "Am I wrong here?" thing, and when no one bothers to challenge him, he just proceeds like he's right, even when he's being ridiculous. Even Harold Ford comes out of that mess looking kinda bad. And when it's Scarborough and Noonan, that's some real soul cookin' right there.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Shawn — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:30:15 -0000

I think this might be some sort of passive-agressive (and only semi-conscious) way of the media getting a dig in at the Obama camp. I think they feel as if they were frozen out and treated poorly at certain points in the campaign and that resnet is starting to manifest itself a bit. Perversely enough, this will actually to be the Obama camp's benefit as it's a good dry run for what they'll be facing from the press corp on a regular basis.

Also, it's a hell of lot more interesting and less depressing than parsing the latest economic data. It's kind of their way of following Britney Spears attempted comeback rather than trying to balancing the checkbook.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

sgwhiteinfla — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:27:39 -0000

Don't tell Joe Scarborough or Hannity or O'Reilly they are part of the media. They will have a hissy fit! Just this morning Scarborough was claiming he was the only one talking about Obama and Blago gate. But the unfortunate thing for him is that every morning his show does a segment where they hold up the front pages from national news orgs. Of course there were several headlines about it but then he tried to pooh pooh it. Talk about a self important prick. It never ceases to amaze me how cats with huge audiences like Bill O and Limbaugh continue to rail against the media and people fall for it.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

PeterGuillam — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:16:13 -0000

The media, as usual, is playing the "appearance" game. Sure, there might not be any actual crime, or cover-up, or conflict of interest, but there's "an appearance of a conflict of interest", or "an appearance of a cover-up". Hey, maybe there's an APPEARANCE because you guys wouldn't shut up about it.

And Ed Rendell needs to shut up. Honestly. Of all people to give Obama any advice on media strategy, the guy who said single people have no life should be far, far, at the back of the line.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Tony Comstock — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:15:37 -0000

These "media" guys are following the GOP template: pandering to an ever smaller, ever louder audience, until they're just shouting at themselves while everyone else has moved on.

Perhaps helpful:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/12/the-noise.html

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Dan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:15:10 -0000

The news media has become more and more problematic over the past few years. Their unquestioning coverage of the Bush administration, certainly in the run-up to the Iraq debacle, showed a terrible abdication of responsibility. And, over the past two years (as Stacy has pointed out) they've gotten into the habit of covering the coverage with this faux "objectivity" that really just reinforces the prevailing meme.

However, waiting for any kind of mature self-awareness in the nation media is probably a fool's errand.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

patagonia — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:11:56 -0000

I used to think MSNBC during the day was decent, but now they're the Politco of daytime news.

One of these days a cable news network might figure out there is a niche for hard-hitting, investigative, and in-depth reporting. I think there could be a sizable audience for a BBC/NPR type of network. Unfortunately, it's a lot cheaper to get two hacks spewing talking points for 5 minutes. Why take a chance on doing something new and possibly expensive - you might ask - when MSNBC finds itself comfortably enshrined in 3rd (last) place.

I suppose that's way too much to ask, though, for a company that just installed Gregory as host of MTP.

Re: Sorry for the lack of politics

Stacy — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:11:38 -0000

They're still in election mode. I'm afraid they will be for the next four years. It is a game to these people.