The Strongarm Of The Administration
Tom Bevan notes that Chicago-style politics really doesn’t play well in the rest of the nation:
The White House’s direct attack on FOX News is only part of the strategy. As Axelrod and Emanuel made clear yesterday, they also want to drive a wedge between the rest of the media and FOX News, enlisting other television networks in the effort to paint FOX News as illegitimate.
Axelrod went out of his way to suggest to Stephanopoulos that ABC News adopt the White House strategy and not treat FOX News as legitimate. “The bigger thing is,” Axelrod said, “other news organizations, like yours, ought not to treat them that way. We’re not going to treat them that way. ”
Emanuel suggested the same to John King later in their interview: “And more importantly is not have the CNN’s and others in the world basically be led and following FOX, as if what they’re trying to do is a legitimate news organization, in the sense of both sides and a sense of valued opinion.”
It’s actually quite brazen when you think about it. The two most senior members of the Obama White House – men who control all the information and access to the Executive Branch, the lifeblood of most news organizations – went on national television and suggested that ABC, CNN and other networks follow the White House’s lead and join in its war to marginalize a competitor because it takes a “perspective” that displeases the President.
Do go over and read the whole piece.
In more bad news for the new White House anti-Fox strategy, Helen Thomas – anything but conservative – is also trying to warn the White House off this idea:
Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas on Monday advised the Obama administration to stand down and avoid fighting with Fox News and its correspondents.
In an interview with MSNBC, the columnist — who is promoting her new book on presidents and their campaigns — also stressed the White House ought to “stay out of these fights.”
“They can only take you down. You can’t kill the messenger,” said Thomas, who has covered every president from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama.
This is a really stupid fight, a completely unnecessary one completely instigated from deep within the White House. I suspect it will also backfire in a rather spectacular manner. I suspect it has already done so. The blatant strongarm tactics will not turn people away from Fox News – the opposite, in fact, will – and is – occurring.
By all means, keep it up, guys. The more people see of news you have not approved of, vetted or planted, the more people wake up.
Great strategy! Thanks for the help.
Obamantics | Gaius October 19, 2009
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By Peter, October 19, 2009 @ 8:18 pm
I just read on Instapundit about how they talked to four hundred people at Columbia, in Obama’s graduating class and no one remembered him. Let’s see, that class was 1900 Freshmen, dunno the dropout rate, or transfer in or out but let’s say it stayed about 1900 through graduation. Four hundred interviewed and nobody rembers the guy who became President.
If this White House crowd isn’t careful we may see a crowd of actual reporters digging into the past, much like Woodstein did in the ’70s.This buch surely has heard that you don’t pick fights with someone who buys ink by the barrel. I don’t know precisely how that translates into the Television/computer age but it surey applies. Does Obama REALLY want reporters snooping around Columbia, Harvard, Chicago and Hawaii? Ooh! I volunteer to snoop around Hawaii!
By Sean the Maggot, October 19, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
Nah, I say let them run full steam with this.
Nothin’ puts the joy in my little black heart like seeing your enemy shooting itself in the foot. Repeatedly.
By Mockingbird, October 20, 2009 @ 11:12 am
Boy, if Helen Thomas is telling to not step there, they better listen up!