Sadly, Dennis Kucinich was Fox News’ willing tool in his eagerness to attack President Obama from the left last night while discussing Wikileaks and Bradley Manning. How bad was Kucinich? So bad that O’Reilly leapt in to defend the Obama administration’s prosecution of Manning, thus helping Fox earn some “fair and balanced” cred in a neat Fox News threefer: O’Reilly got to attack the left at the same time that he defended President Obama, all the while still getting in attacks on Obama via an outsource to Democrat Kucinich. You have to wonder how much Kucinich understood what was going on and how much he cared or not.
While the Manning case makes me very uncomfortable, there are ways to argue against prosecuting him without attacking the Obama administration for, essentially, following the law. But Kucinich seemed so intent on making himself an Obama antagonist, he completely ignored Fox's unclean hands in the discussion. While attacking Wikileaks and Bradley Manning – and the left-wing celebrities standing up for him - at the same time it has been on its high horse attacking the DOJ over its investigations into national security leaks to James Rosen.
What, if any, limits should there be on whistleblowers and their publishers? These are serious matters to be debated - and Juan Williams has done a good job raising them while staying loyal to both Fox and Democrats - but Kucinich seemed more interested in positioning himself against the Obama administration than in opening up the discussion to the larger, more important implications.
Kucinich told O’Reilly:
Well, if the government lied, who’s aiding the enemy? …I believe in the First Amendment, which is under attack by this administration. …(The system) is so corrupted, where they’re going to start going after journalists, you know, whether it’s a Fox News man or Associated Press, they start going after journalists for having some kind of consorting with classified information getting out.
As I wrote last month when Kucinich allowed himself to be a Fox News tool discussing Benghazi:
(F)or a liberal like Kucinich to demand answers while ignoring the ulterior motives of Fox News not only helps them advance their partisan agenda but it gives them a veneer of undeserved journalistic integrity and impartiality.
I’ll leave it to others to speculate on Kucinich’s motives. Frankly, I find it unfathomable that he could either be so blind to how he allowed himself to serve Fox’s interests so blatantly or else be so unconcerned.
So here we go again. And again, let me make it clear that I don’t have a problem with people criticizing President Obama from the left. But there’s a time and place for such talk. Going on Fox News and doing so is like running to your partner’s ex to air your grievances after you have a spat. Does Kucinich really think he’s reaching like-minded folks with these kinds of attacks on Obama? If so, does he really think that justifies serving as a tool in Fox’s never-ending war on Obama and Democrats?
