Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Sound and Fury of a Noisy Gong Show, A.K.A. the White House Press Core Q& A

If you follow the news and there are times when I truely think I shouldn't, you know about the planted Nico Pitney of Huffington Post at the President's press conference the other day asking about a pre-arranged topic of Iran and its people.

My real question is, "Why?"

Did the President not think that he could have asked anyone other than Fox News to ask a question about what the people in Iran were thinking and hoping for? While it's true that there's been no evidence up to now that the White House Press Core were unwilling water carriers, the regulars at such meetings might have been somewhat timerous about broaching such a relevant topic.

However, I'm pretty sure if Rham Emanuel or Robert Gibbs had said it would further the dialogue and agenda set by the administration and handed out the milk bones, there would have been willing closed rank complicity behind the scenes and we'd have never known about the planted blog reporter except as some vast right wing conspiracy.

Instead, we're treated to a bad version of "the play's the thing" where the reporters get to be outraged that someone is playing with them, and that someone lobbed a pre-planned softball. What they're really mad about is, they didn't get picked to throw the ball.

Of course, when the catcher tells the batter what pitch is coming next, one should expect the swing to send it out of the park, but in this case, it was just a pitch and a bunt of a reply, designed to allow all to say, the President addressed this serious issue and the Iranian people with sincerity and thoughtfulness. Anyone not moved probably needs government health care doctors to examine them for possibly missing a heart, a brain, or a soul. Next question. "Who's going to ask me again about that fly?"

Given the level of toadiness of the media, it's hard to understand how a fly got onto the White House grounds. But then the fly did a better job of invoking a genuine response from the President than the whole Press Corp combined.

So I can't think that the President's people didn't have a reason for putting the Huffington Post so prominently in the spotlight in such a blatant way.

Maybe Rham Emanuel won a bet in a late night poker game, or Adrianna needed more traffic on her web site.

Maybe the President is flexing his political muscles to see just how much the American public will swallow to continue believing what they wish to believe. Maybe he's testing the capacity of the bowing devotees with blackberries in hand, to ignore with their own eyes and their own ears, what is presented before them, for what they wish to see.

We just don't know, and given the level of inquisitiveness remaining in the media in general about (not merely this President but all policies proposed), this is likely to be papered over with thousands of glossy overlays of the scandal involving the South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his South American honey.

Was it a big deal to plant a question? Yes and no. The question wasn't even a real biggie. The answer meant even less. But the reason behind it, well that's a real question. Wish we had a real answer.

2 comments:

MightyMom said...

manipulation of the media....starts as a friendly game of catch with softballs...then the balls start getting harder and the pitches faster.....then comes the curve.


it ends with Hitler.


ain't that cheerful?


PS if you think I'm kidding go and read some of Hitler's speeches and papers...he was a great orator.

Sherry said...

I think that overstates. I've never liked comparisons of people that involve Hitler. I don't view this as a guaranteed slope to absolute anihilation of our society, nor do I consider our sitting President to be a being that emulates pure evil. Instead, I view him as a Ceasar, someone who is worshiped as a god for his position and power.

To me, this is more of a celebrity cult worship that can't help but affect the person being worshiped.

The natural human response to such inhuman adulation, the eroding of true humanity. He shall become Narcisus, only seeing himself in all things, and the press shall become Echo, having no substance, only a repeat response.

Leaving a comment is a form of free tipping. But this lets me purchase diet coke and chocolate.

If you sneak my work, No Chocolate for You!