And where Harris and VandeHei write, “Reporters are suckers for comparisons—often glib or even bogus comparisons—between current and past presidents,” they should be equally careful with any finger-pointing. They write that Obama has turned his own comparisons to Carter into comparisons with more successful presidents, Reagan and Clinton. But after Obama’s famous Tucson speech, Thrush ran a report for Politico specifically framed by comparisons to Reagan and Clinton—with only the most tangential mention of Carter. The headline: “Obama speech recalls Reagan.” The lede?
Two weeks after President Barack Obama returned from a Hawaiian vacation spent reading a 900-page biography of Ronald Reagan, he delivered a speech in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday that incorporated, but didn’t parrot, the gilded, common-touch oratory of the 40th president.
The pageantry and patter of the Oval Office that came so naturally to Reagan and Bill Clinton haven’t come quite as easily to Obama, an electrifying campaign performer who is finally mastering the intimate, idiosyncratic language of the American presidency.
Again, Thrush doesn’t buy the new comparison hook, line and sinker, but still, it is the WH-favored comparison—“glib,” “bogus,” or otherwise. Ultimately, Obama is aligned with the two presidents that his aides have herded into his corner. Thrush writes:
…Obama is internalizing a lesson that came as second nature to his two predecessors: A president who can’t make a consistent emotional connection with the people he leads is a president who can’t govern effectively.
Ultimately, Harris and VandeHei have done us a service, acknowledging the Beltway media’s inner leanings, the pervasive groupthink that leads to so much same-same, narrative-following, and often superficial reporting. And maybe they chose not to put themselves in the same basket as Halperin and ABC because they don’t yet consider Politico a part of the mainstream media. (Potentially a false humility given that Harris is co-moderating the first Republican primary debate with Brian Williams, and Politico is co-sponsoring.)
But the service would have been greater if Harris and VandeHei had looked as closely at themselves as they did at their surrounds.
Kudos.. to VandeHei and Harris.. for them suddenly realizing that Obama has tried to manage them. For printing a story on how Obama is just acting "more bipartisan"
by talking about fiscal responsibility and voting on tax cuts.
Kudos to VandeHei and Harris, permanent residents of the Washington Tool Box, for not publishing that actual bipartisan compromise, from day one, as been offered by Obama to Republicans who responded with rallies focused around Death Panels and filibusters of everything, including their own legislation, so that they could deny any progress, any potential victory to Democrats and Obama.
Kudos to VandeHei and Harris, and the everything that's wrong with the political press they symbolize, for not realizing that Obama has neglected the demands of his own base and acceded to the demands of conservatives since he's taken office. For not watching as the Rahm Emmanuels, the Larry Summers, the Tim Geithners, the Ben Bernankes he appointed work with the business community Obama's so unfriendly to to save their ungrateful asses. For not looking as he tried to appoint Judd Gregg to his cabinet. For not watching him rip out the most liberal parts of his conservative health plan. For not seeing him support the most conservative members of his own party over the most liberal. For not getting from day one he has been a goddamned DLC trained, Lieberman mentored, Conservadog Democrat. It's not like he kept it a secret.
If the Republican party of 40 years ago were the republicans of today, policy wise, he would be a right wing republican. He is a right wing politician in any other country outside of the Washington playpen you call a press.
But kudos to VandeHei and Harris, kudos to Politico for printing them, because they get that Obama is trying to appeal to the press he's surrounded with and not dealing with the 10% unemployment / 30 % likely underemployment figures he should be dealing with.
VandeHei and Harris are too f*&king savvy to fall for Obama's bipartisan post tax cut mojo.
http://archive.pressthink.org/2007/08/14/rove_and_press.html
Hey, it's been 3 months since he renewed the tax cuts, time to remember he's a democrat and end the honeymoon. Kudos to VandeHei and Harris for doing another all important article that gazes into the navel of the washington press.
Is the word 'unemployment' found once? No, get serious thimbles. Cutting taxes and entitlements, centristicly, is serious business to the Washington imps.
Kudos.. For christ sake.
You never disappoint Meares.
#1 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Tue 8 Feb 2011 at 10:49 PM
This isn't the first time a figure in the washington press declared obama's honeymoon over:
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2008/03/03/kurtz
I really don't get you people. Obama can do no right by any of you in spite of his abandonment of promises (HAMP, tax cut renewal, public option), duties (serious regulation of finance, wind down of the GWOT), and base (compromise on Social Security future payouts and present funding).
The guy has been indistinguishable from a conservative with a really dark tan. He has used conservative language, made conservative policy, used Sadddleback conservative pastors, made conservative appointments and yet the guy is too partisan, too polarizing, too left.
Why is that? Is it me? Am I wearing the wrong glasses?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lwlx3GnLGs
Tell me.
#2 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Tue 8 Feb 2011 at 11:11 PM