Monday, March 26, 2007

The media is the mess

If you harbor any doubts about why the average Jake who isn't as obssessed with following politics as we are is so uninformed, you need look no farther than this YouTube segment of the Chris Matthews show. Most Americans get their "news" from these Bozos and we're not talking the B-list nobodies on your local affiliate stations. These are the major opinion makers of the media.

This gossipy, frivolous tripe masquerading as political commentary is coming from Chris Matthews of NBC; Norah O’Donnell, chief Washington correspondent for MSNBC; Richard Stengel, editor of Time magazine; Gloria Borger, national political correspondent for CBS News and a columnist for U.S. News and World Report; and Patrick Healy, a political reporter for the New York Times. You have to watch it to believe it.


As Glenn Greenwald notes, herein lies the root of the evil malaise that has taken over our system.
Really, is it any wonder at all that our government is so fundamentally corrupt and broken when we have a press like this? Why wouldn't top government officials lie continuously when our national press corps finds such lying to be such a source of merriment and humor, and can summon the energy only to attack, mock and condemn those who find the lying objectionable, rather than the liars themselves?
For those who can't watch videos, Steve Benen has the transcript but it's not nearly as strong without the four minutes of incessant giggling going on among these "serious" pundits. They're not concerned about the burgeoning evidence that the administration has engaged in six years of serial lying to the detriment of our national security. But they're outraged that anyone -- namely Democrats -- would call the White House to account for its criminal behavior. It's hard to believe these are the same people who breathlessly covered every phantom scandal the GOP could conjure up during Clinton's term of office. I mean did anyone manage to stay awake during the Whitewater hearings?

As Glenn notes, these media elites care about nothing but maintaining their status and access to the halls of power and they love Republicans. Rather than actually live up to their mission to inform the public, they seek rather to excuse destructive policy and outright criminality in order to preserve their place on the invitation list to the White House Christmas party. It's downright frightening that these are the people that set the tenor of political discourse for our nation.

They're not pundits, they're jesters in the King George's court, distracting the public from serious matters of state with their outlandish pranks. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[thanks to Glenn Greewald for the link]

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Check this out for more:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/europe/

8:26:00 PM  
Blogger Libby Spencer said...

Anon - I'm not sure what you were pointing to there - I just get an archive page with a TOC but thanks for stopping by.

9:07:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think people are not listening to the media elite when they say "the american people don't want investigations". They are not saying that a majority of americans believe... , they are saying that it would be bad for americans, therefore they do not want it. Like an adult talks to child, they do not explain why the americans would not want investigations, americans would not understand.

11:52:00 AM  
Blogger Libby Spencer said...

I think you have that right anon. Clearly the polls show Americans very much want investigations. When the media elite say "some people" they mean themselves only but they have such a high opinion of themselves they apparently believe their view is the only one that matters.

12:19:00 PM  

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