Media Still Doing PR For Obama
Dionysus
HEAD: Six Months In, Media Still Do PR For Obama
By REP. LAMAR SMITH (R) represents Texas' 21st District and is chairman of
the Congressional Media Fairness Caucus.
Mark Twain once said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed;
if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." The latter might be true
for those who rely on the national media for the facts.
After six months in office, the national media are still telling us how
popular President Obama is. That's the national media's spin. The facts tell
a different story.
A USA Today-Gallup poll found that nine of the last 11 presidents were more
popular than President Obama after six months in office. A Rasmussen poll
found the president's approval rating below 50%, with more people strongly
disapproving than strongly approving of the president.
While the national media eagerly touted the president's approval rating when
it was higher, most news outlets have ignored the president's recent slide.
The reason the president's approval numbers are sagging is that more and
more Americans disagree with him on the issues.
According to the USA Today-Gallup poll, more people disapprove than approve
of the way the president is handling the economy, taxes, health care and the
federal budget deficit. And Americans have come to this conclusion despite
the fact that the national media mostly have given the president a free pass
on the issues. For example:
. The national media seldom mention that the president's budget would double
the national debt in five years and triple it in 10.
. The media neglect to tell the American people that the president's
cap-and-trade energy plan will cost families hundreds of dollars every year.
. The media rarely hold the Obama administration accountable for job losses,
even as unemployment hit 9.5% - the highest rate in 26 years.
. Most recently, the national media have failed to fairly present both sides
of the health care debate.
During a prime-time press conference last week, President Obama claimed his
health care plan was "deficit neutral." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office strongly disagrees, finding that the legislation would increase the
deficit by $239 billion over 10 years. But not one reporter questioned the
president about the CBO's findings.
Also, the national media frequently report that there are 46 million people
in America who don't have health insurance. The administration uses this
figure to justify the president's health care plan.
But the media rarely report that there are really only 10 million to 12
million uninsured, after you deduct those who are eligible for Medicare and
Medicaid, who can afford health insurance and who are without health
insurance for only a few months.
Some news outlets are blatantly one-sided in their coverage of health care.
ABC News recently devoted an entire day of news programming to President
Obama's health care agenda and refused to air ads critical of the
administration's health care plan.
ABC invited the president's longtime physician, David Scheiner, to
participate in their prime-time town hall meeting at the White House. As it
turns out, Dr. Scheiner disagrees with the president's health care plan. He
said, "I'm not sure (President Obama) really understands what we face in
primary care."
When ABC found that out, they suddenly disinvited Dr. Scheiner. It appears
ABC stacked the audience to shield the president from criticism.
This type of one-sided coverage is contrary to the journalistic code of
ethics, which states that a journalist's duty is to seek truth and provide a
fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.
Fortunately, many Americans have seen through the media's one-sided coverage
of the health care debate.
Even as President Obama and Democrats in Congress try to rush an expensive
government takeover of health care through Congress, Americans say they
don't agree with the president's plan.
According to an ABC News-Washington Post poll, only 44% of Americans approve
of the way President Obama is handling health care. At least four other
national polls have found that fewer than half of Americans approve of the
president on health care.
To their credit, some media outlets have covered the president's fading poll
numbers and held the administration accountable.
When the ABC News-Washington Post poll found that for the first time fewer
than half of all Americans supported Obama's health care plan, the
Washington Post put the poll results on its front page. After the
president's press conference on health care, the Associated Press ran a
fact-check article exposing some of his incorrect claims.
But these examples are far too scarce. In general, the national media have
failed to report all the facts on the major issues facing Americans.
Americans' approval of President Obama and his policies is waning, and the
national media should take notice and report the news accurately.
********************
"Barack Obama seems determined to repeat every disastrous mistake of the
1930s, at home and abroad." --Thomas Sowell
"Every dictator who ever lived has justified the enslavement of his people
on the theory of what was good for the majority." --=Ronald Reagan
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little
statesmen and philosophers and divines." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dionysus (American citizen, still here, BHO/RIP)
Lamont Cranston
> FROM IBD
IBD? The outfit that made false statements about the health
care bill? Try a credible source, Denis.
Dionysus
"Lamont Cranston" <Lamont....@IKnow.com> wrote in message
news:h5cg0m$p8i$1...@news.datemas.de...
"false statements," eh, cranial/anal enjoyer? Prove it.
Similarities between Obama and Hitler:
-Charismatic Leader with fantastic oratory skills
-Cult-like following of "oppressed" population
-�Community Organizers� (Nazi brown shirts, Obeyme�s ACORN)
-Nationalize industry
-Higher taxes
-Weak predecessor gov�t coming off an unpopular war
-Masterful propaganda and state controlled media (MSM)
-Attempt to control radio transmissions (censorship doctrine)
-Racial, ethnic and religious tensions (bitter clingers, rev wright, stupid
cops/racial profiling)
-Indoctrination of the young
-Demonizing of political opponents
-Control of the Judiciary
-Attempt to marginalize rival political parties (upcoming census)
kim
It's as good a source for him as Fox News.
zzpat
> "Lamont Cranston" <Lamont.Crans...@IKnow.com> wrote in message
> -Higher taxes
Let me take this one because it's the easiest. Reagan dumped about
$1.6 trillion of debt on us. That's $1.6 trillion of future taxes plus
interest. In all the years since Reagan, not one penny of the Reagan
debt has been paid back. We'll be paying back the Reagan debt for the
rest our lives, our children's lives and their children's lives
(probably for the rest of time).
Bush and the GOP then came to town and promised the same. Lots of
spending and lots of debt. They kept their promise. By the time Bush
left town his party dumped another $5 trillion of future taxes on
us.
Higher taxes are actually better because you don't have to pay
trillions of dollars in interest payments. But you're a republican
and that means you're an idiot who fell for all those tax cuts, rebate
checks, stimulus packages and that mountain of unpaid bills - our
national debt.
kim
wrote:
I do not mind the debt if I got something for it. What did the $5
trillion buy us? That is what we should be asking of the Republican
leadership.
Dionysus
"zzpat" <zzpa...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8dbe4569-6f26-48ae...@k13g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
Puh-leeze...you really should learn how the US gov't works. As of now, you
appear a dullard.
Dionysus
Lamont Cranston
We're supposed to believe that you do, Denis? LOL!
> As of
> now, you appear a dullard.
Oh, the irony!
>
> The Denis
Failure to refute noted and surrender accepted.