Check Out All The Ways “Objective” Special Report Denigrates President Obama Over S&P Downgrade And Stock-Market Dive
Reported by Ellen - August 8, 2011 -
How does a so-called objective reporter at Fox News demean and/or denigrate the president? Let us count the ways. Fox’s Ed Henry reported on President Obama’s speech today in a segment full of gratuitous swipes. It started with Bret Baier announcing in his introduction that Obama’s “pep talk” to the nation “did not work.” UPDATE: Video now working.
1. Henry emphasized that it took “THREE days after being informed of the downgrade” before Obama “spoke out.”
2. “(Obama) didn’t really offer much new or take responsibility for the exploding debt.”
3. “Despite stocks diving as (Obama) spoke, President Obama dismissed the downgrade and market gyrations that had the nation on edge.”
4. Henry repeated that Obama “took no personal responsibility for the debt, itself.”
5. Henry continued by understating criticism of Republicans in the S&P statement and suggesting Obama was peevishly trying to reposition blame away from himself. “Instead, (Obama was) pointing his finger at Republicans by touting the section of the Standard & Poor’s report that put some blame on the contentious debt ceiling debate.”
Putting “some blame on the contentious debt ceiling debate” is a nice way (if you’re spinning for the GOP) of putting what the report said. As I’ve previously posted, the report was very specific and very damning about Republican tactics.
The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year’s wide-ranging debate, in our view, the differences between political parties have proven to be extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently. Republicans and Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee decisions on more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options. In addition, the plan envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements, the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key to long-term fiscal sustainability.… Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.
6. The S&P report did not blame the president, but for a third time, Henry suggested Obama was at fault: “Despite Republican calls for (Treasury Secretary Tim) Geithner to go, officials say the president is sticking with him and his claim the White House shares no blame.”
7. Henry cited "in fairness," the “huge debt mess” left by the Bush administration before adding, “The fact is that this White House doesn’t seem to want to admit it’s been adding to that debt, handily.”
8. Then, with obvious disdain, host Bret Baier, “asked” – in a tone that suggested he could hardly believe it, “The president’s (pregnant pause) fundraising tonight?”
Henry reported on two big events in which Obama would be “raking in big bucks.”
9. Henry closed by casting doubt on Obama's candidacy, saying that while there’s no doubt his campaign will be well funded, “The question is, what’s the message going to be?”
Let me know if I missed any!
