It's finally happening. I'm not sure what the catalyst was. Perhaps it was the unending string of embarrassing incidents. Perhaps it was the MSM being hit where it lived. Perhaps it's a function of the lame duck status. Whatever the reason, President Obama is finally receiving criticism from all corners.
The Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), otherwise known as Obamacare, has hit a few snags. I don't understand it all, but the crescendoing complaints about it are now being reported in the MSM, heretofore the cheerleaders of the POTUS. Actual critical reporting is occurring, which is nothing short of amazing. And it's not limited to the ACA.
Recently, the New York Times, as liberal a news organ as there is, complained about the utter lack of transparency in this administration. That it's a fact isn't news. That the Times is reporting it and complaining about it is news. Why that happened I don't know, but perhaps it had something to do with the AP scandal, in which DoJ subpoenaed the AP's phone records, a huge no-no within the press corps. Investigating James Rosen, even if he does work for Fox News, also sends the message that this White House isn't necessarily above turning on the press.
But with Benghazi, the AP scandal, the ACA debacle, the IRS scandal, the Edward Snowden mess and now charges that we're spying on our allies (something that, personally, I don't have much trouble with because I'm quite sure they're trying to spy on us, too), the MSM is beginning to focus on the negative stories emanating from the White House and stopping its cheerleading. This is refreshing, because before the POTUS was elected, the MSM always considered itself the safeguard on governmental misdeeds. Once Obama was elected, however, the MSM was there to shepherd the administration's policies along rather than examine them critically.
Now, we have an insider who seems to have been as critical of elements within the administration as he was of its opponents. Jofi Joseph was a national security official who tweeted about myriad subjects, sometimes sophomorically, other times tellingly. If I were the Republicans in the House, I'd grant him immunity and have him testify as to things he knows about the goings-on within the administration, starting with Benghazi, since he tweeted:
Look, (Republican Rep. Darrell) Issa is an ass, but he's on to something here with the @HillaryClinton whitewash of accountability for Benghazi.”
There may be nothing there, but then again, there may be. This isn't the case of a disgruntled employee who was fired wrongly, in his estimation. Had he kept his mouth shut, no one would have fired him, in all likelihood. That's because the POTUS never fires anyone for anything, unless it's dissent.
What conservatives have been noting for five years -- the lack of transparency, the lack of bipartisanship, the scandals, the mismanagement, the lack of accountability -- the MSM and liberal supporters are finally starting to acknowledge, albeit it in whispers. Were this a conservative president who was engaged in these shenanigans, the MSM would be all over him, accusing him of treason at a bare minimum. This POTUS has gotten a free pass, and with that pass comes an insouciance that is incorrigible. When the POTUS's acolytes refuse to answer questions, contemptuously asking What does it matter? when a congressional committee asks for answers. That's how Eric Holder can get away with investigating his own misdeeds, how Jay Carney can choose not to call on the Fox News reporter in briefings, how Valerie Jarrett can jeeringly tell people to watch out if they didn't support the POTUS's reelection campaign...the list is endless.
The MSM likes to exalt itself and its role as the people's watchdog when it comes to government. It has failed miserably thus far in this administration. I still think the greatest threat to this country, internally, isn't the administration but the Fifth Estate. All those newsies who claim to have been inspired by All the President's Men missed the underlying premise that they were to follow the news no matter who was in power or what their own political leanings were. Instead of being journalists, they're newsies, because to put them in the same class as Edward R. Murrow does Mr. Murrow a disservice.
With the White House's stubbornness on the ACA continuing, it will be interesting to see whether the MSM continues to be turned or whether it will revert to form. Either way, in the words of my estimable and quite liberal friend, the MSM is letting the country down.
(c) 2013 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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