Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
In Politico, John F. Harris and Jim Vandehei write that President Obama plays the media like a fiddle. They argue that Obama's comeback since November says "something about his survival skills, but ... even more about the mainstream media: Obama is playing the press like a fiddle." That's like saying the media aren't willful conspirators, who have helped project his false image all along and aided him in covering up his mysterious past and his dubious associations.
Where the writers really reveal their mindset is in their assessment that the MSM are suckers for politicians who are "perceived as ideologically centrist and willing to profess devotion to Washington's oft-honored, rarely practiced civic religion of bipartisanship."
What? Obama is perceived as ideologically centrist? By what blind people? Obama himself told O'Reilly he was the same guy he always was and proceeded to tick off his credentials as a liberal. But some members of the MSM truly are ignorant of their own leftist bent. They regard liberalism as objective truth (though they otherwise mostly don't believe in objective truth) and conservatism as some perversion of it. Therefore, to them, liberals are not liberals, but noble advocates of an energetic and humane central government. For them to casually conclude that Obama is perceived as ideologically centrist demonstrates staggeringly clouded judgment.
But even more delusional is their assertion that the MSM favors politicians who profess devotion to bipartisanship. No one did this more than George W. Bush. No one was more reviled by the MSM.
Obama might want the public to view him more as a centrist, but his SOTU message, along with his failure to adjust after any of his various shellackings, shows he has no intention of moving to the center. Other than throwing a few bones (e.g., corp. income tax reduction) to conservatives, he made clear that he is sticking to his agenda, no matter how unpopular.
Indeed, just a few days ago he said again that he would work with Republicans, but that he didn't intend to open for debate those issues that had already been acted on, as in Obamacare. Sure, he'll go through the motions of negotiations to adjust it around the edges, but in no way will he voluntarily abandon the overall structure no matter what majority percentage of Americans demand it or how many lower courts invalidate it.
What the MSM is really a sucker for is a liberal who will call his liberalism "centrism" and call his rank partisanship "bipartisanship." That just makes them feel wonderful -- wonderful enough to keep conspiring with him to TRY to continue to play Americans like a fiddle.
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Dec '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
David, have you considered the possibility that the POLITICO piece is simple disinformation? In a comment on Matthew Shaffer's post from a couple of days ago, member Mike Visser pointed out that William F. Buckley called the sneaky assumptions behind stupid assertions "planted axioms." In this case, by claiming that the MSM favors bipartisan centrists, the writers plant the axion that Obama is or has recently become a bipartisan centrist -- and they hope their readers won't notice their sleight of hand.
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Stuart: I would not put it past them, of course, though I don't know that was at play here. Seriously, haven't you witnessed MSMers like Chris Matthews claiming themselves to be centrists? Matthews did it the other day. It's astonishing, but I believe it was heartfelt.
Dec '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
David, remember that Matthews once guest-hosted your brother's radio program. He once was a centrist and suffers from the delusion that HE hasn't changed, EVERYONE ELSE has. I don't doubt he truly believes he is still a centrist - he's just incapable of self-awareness.
As for the POLITICO guys, maybe they too are equally lacking self-awareness. However, to imply sincerely Obama is a bipartisan centrist after his record in his first two years in office would require the ability to tap into deep veins of denial and fantasy.
Edited on Feb 7, 2011 at 1:06pmJan '11
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
"What the MSM is really a sucker for is a liberal who will call his liberalism "centrism" and call his rank partisanship "bipartisanship." That just makes them feel wonderful -- wonderful enough to keep conspiring with him to TRY to continue to play Americans like a fiddle."
Yes, they are suckers for politicians who cloak liberalism with "centrism" and yes, that tactic does indeed make them feel wonderful, David. But why?
Because it confirms that they are smart.
Smart enough to know how the world really works, smart enough to know how to get over on the masses, and smart enough to not seem to be conceited, or selfish, or mean.
The need to be thought of as smart is the key to understanding today's liberals.
For example, even though the test may have happened 20 or 30 or 40 years ago, every liberal can tell you his or her SAT scores.
Test my theory on any liberal you know.
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Stuart Creque: However, to imply sincerely Obama is a bipartisan centrist after his record in his first two years in office would require the ability to tap into deep veins of denial and fantasy. · Feb 7 at 1:04pm
Edited on Feb 07 at 01:06 pm
Indeed.
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Freesmith: "What the MSM is really a sucker for is a liberal who will call his liberalism "centrism" and call his rank partisanship "bipartisanship." That just makes them feel wonderful -- wonderful enough to keep conspiring with him to TRY to continue to play Americans like a fiddle."
Yes, they are suckers for politicians who cloak liberalism with "centrism" and yes, that tactic does indeed make them feel wonderful, David. But why?
Because it confirms that they are smart.
Smart enough to know how the world really works, smart enough to know how to get over on the masses, and smart enough to not seem to be conceited, or selfish, or mean.
The need to be thought of as smart is the key to understanding today's liberals.
For example, even though the test may have happened 20 or 30 or 40 years ago, every liberal can tell you his or her SAT scores.
Test my theory on any liberal you know. · Feb 7 at 1:06pm
Yes, and same w/ certain elitist conservatives who showcased their brilliance (and egalitarianism to boot) voting for Obama. Happily, I was stupid enough to realize how liberal he was in 2008.
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
I got a kick out of this bit from the Politico article:
What's left undefined is what "ideological zealotry" means to them. Surely sweeping government takeovers of entire industries (finance, auto, health) would smack of ideological zealotry. No? Nope. It's just things like Paul Ryan's plan to slash 2% of government expenditures that "smack of ideological zealotry."
Jan '11
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
In addition to being smart, the other factor that makes "centrism" appealing to liberals is that centrism places them - obviously - in the mainstream of America's irresistible progress to a better world, a world that they have already glimpsed in their smart theories.
Who doesn't want to feel that he is the middle of a great movement forward, especially if he is helping to steer that movement from "the vital center?"
As Kevin Williamson has recently pointed out, all progressive thought is constructed around The Plan, the theoretical vision of the future to which we must move.
It's like the old joke of the liberal asking the conservative: "I know your ideas work in practice, but do they work in theory?"
Edited on Feb 7, 2011 at 1:47pmOct '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Does a fish know that he is wet?
Dec '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
That last paragraph you quoted contains the seeds of the answer. To these POLITICO writers, centrism means believing that government is indeed the solution to every problem. Ideological zealotry, therefore, is going to either "extreme" of believing that some problems are better solved by the private sector and that government governs best that governs least or of believing that government solves problems as soon as it creates programs and that there's no need for oversight or management of those programs because they are perfect and run by perfect people.
You and I would recognize that the latter is in fact an extreme view, contradicted by reality and historical experience. But you and I would not characterize the former (the belief in limited government) as extreme to any degree: we'd call it centrist and the default position we inherited from the Framers.
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
David, my favorite example of media bias is the fact that President Obama still gets away with the trope that he is wide open to considering any good ideas that Republicans come up with. He pulls this out during every interview, including yesterday's sit down with Bill O'Reilly. C'mon! Doesn't experience count for anything? Apparently not.
Dec '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
George Savage
David, my favorite example of media bias is the fact that President Obama still gets away with the trope that he is wide open to considering any good ideas that Republicans come up with. He pulls this out during every interview, including yesterday's sit down with Bill O'Reilly. C'mon! Doesn't experience count for anything? Apparently not. · Feb 7 at 6:12pm
That's troublesome -- but what is infuriating is the corollary that he trots out with it, that the Republicans haven't put forward any specific plans, whether he's talking about the budget or health care or energy or any other subject. This is generally within days -- sometimes hours -- after a Republican has presented a specific plan on that very subject... but since the media manages not to report on Republican plans, they let Obama get away with his lies.
Oct '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Reagan wasnt a "centrist". He was a conservative. He was the "Great Communicator". If Obama wants to run as a Centrist Dem, Clinton should be his model. But I hear Clinton's DLC is closing down because of money problems. Moderate Dems RIP 2011.
Dec '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Suggestion for MSM logo: Twisted Pretzel.
Among their notable headlines:
Liberal State Elects Absentee, Wife of Liberal President: Brilliant!
Podunk State Governor Resigns, Gains Greater Influence: Quitter!
Muslim Brotherhood Takes Credit for Sadat Assassination, Leads Democracy Movement in Egypt.
Nemesis of Communism, Reagan Resurrected: Collectivists Worship New Hero.
Hell Freezes Over: Caused by Global Warming.
Dec '10
Re: Obama Doesn't Play MSM like Fiddle, They Both Try to Play Public Like One
Charles Gordon: Suggestion for MSM logo: Twisted Pretzel.
Among their notable headlines:
Liberal State Elects Absentee, Wife of Liberal President: Brilliant!
Podunk State Governor Resigns, Gains Greater Influence: Quitter!
Muslim Brotherhood Takes Credit for Sadat Assassination, Leads Democracy Movement in Egypt.
Nemesis of Communism, Reagan Resurrected: Collectivists Worship New Hero.
Hell Freezes Over: Caused by Global Warming. · Feb 7 at 9:50pm
Brilliantly illustrating that the media these days doesn't report factual news, it creates a preferred political narrative and then assembles (or fabricates) facts that either support the narrative directly or can be arranged creatively to support the narrative.