Category Archives: Media Criticism

I Thought They Were Fools At The Time

…but they really look like idiots now:

“The extraordinary outpouring of celebration, joy, and hope all over the world at this election is something I could never have imagined in my lifetime,” according to Professor Brinkley.”There’s a discipline to Obama that is so extraordinary,” he raved. And then he added: “I don’t think we’ve had a president since Lincoln who has the oratorical skills that Obama has. Obama has that quality that Lincoln had.”

Remnick, too, compared Obama’s rhetorical skills to Lincoln. The campaign also “shows him in a decision-making mold that is very encouraging.” Obama demonstrates a “receptivity to ideas outside the frame” and possesses a “worldview that allows for complexity.” He “assumes a maturity in the American public” and possesses “great audacity.” And not to believe Obama’s election will have “enormous effect” on the streets of Cairo, or Nairobi, or Jerusalem is “naive.” We were dealing, after all, with a tranformational president unlike any in our lifetime.

On and on it went, to the point that Remnick finally had to say, “We’ll climb out of the tank soon.” And while Rose’s guests inserted a qualifier here and a caveat there, reminding viewers Obama’s greatness as a chief executive still had to be proved, the infatuation with America’s 44th president is unmistakable.

Since then, the Obama presidency has suffered an enormous erosion in support. In this country, Democrats in 2010 experienced the worst electoral thrashing since the early part of the 20th century. In the Arab world, President Obama is less popular than his predecessor. Obama’s ineptness in the debt ceiling debate has infuriated his own party; so has his lack of leadership. Even Obama’s vaunted communications skills are being roundly criticized.

And then there was David Brooks’ admiration of his pants crease.

Big-Government Morality

Thoughts from Timothy Dalrymple:

One of the great difficulties of this issue, for Christians, is that the morality of spending and debt has been so thoroughly demagogued that it’s impossible to advocate cuts in government spending without being accused of hatred for the poor and needy. A group calling itself the “Circle of Protection” recently promoted a statement on “Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor.” But we don’t need to protect the programs. We need to protect the poor. Indeed, sometimes we need to protect the poor from the programs. Too many anti-poverty programs are beneficial for the politicians that pass them, and veritable boondoggles for the government bureaucracy that administers them, but they actually serve to rob the poor of their dignity and their initiative, they undermine the family structures that help the poor build prosperous lives, and ultimately mire the poor in poverty for generations. Does anyone actually believe that the welfare state has served the poor well?

It is immoral to ignore the needs of the least of these. But it’s also immoral to ’serve’ the poor in ways that only make more people poor, and trap them in poverty longer. And it’s immoral to amass a mountain of debt that we will pass on to later generations. I even believe it’s immoral to feed the government’s spending addiction. Since our political elites have demonstrated such remarkably poor stewardship over our common resources, it would be foolish and wrong to give them more resources to waste. What we need our political leaders committed to prudence and thrift, to wise and far-sighted stewardship, and to spurring a free and thriving economy that will encourage the poor and all Americans to seize their human dignity as creatures made in the image of God, to be fruitful and take initiative and express their talents and creativity.

Fat chance of that. Not enough opportunities for graft.

Justice Is Served

Joe Fragola has backed down from his BS FUD:

“Since SpaceX filed its lawsuit … the Parties have been working collaboratively to resolve the matter. Regarding the underlying facts, Dr. [Joseph] Fragola investigated a rumor regarding the performance of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle during its most recent launch. Through email communications with both NASA and SpaceX on June 8, 2011, Dr. Fragola confirmed that the rumor was false in that no Falcon 9 engines failed and the first stage did not explode,” SpaceX and Valador said in a joint statement. “There was independent NASA tracking and video of the flight, and subsequent debriefing with NASA, indicating no such failure, indicating no such failures or explosions.

…Fragola, who is based in New York, makes his living as a safety expert. He was a member of the NASA Exploration Systems Architecture Study team that selected the Ares 1 and Ares 5 rocket concepts for the defunct Constellation Moon-return and Mars landing program.

Emphasis mine.

In a just world, he would be unable to make a living as a “safety expert.”

Our Space Journalism Award

As some of you may have heard, I was presented with an award for New Space Journalism on Saturday night. As I said when I accepted it, I thought that it was a grave injustice, so I let the teddy bears, or dogs, or whatever they are accept it instead. The thing that I like about these guys is that they are brutally honest, whether when discussing venal politicians in space districts or space-journalism poseurs. It can sometimes be a problem, though, as you’ll see.

I have to admit, it was a little embarrassing. Don’t kids just say the darndest things?

I’m still looking for all the women I supposedly get. And if any rocket scientists out there can recommend a materials-compatible lubricant for the suggested procedure, I’d appreciate it.

[Update a few minutes later]

For those people worried that she really won’t do any more videos, don’t sweat it. Sometimes the talent can be temperamental, but I’ll calm her down. I’m thinking I’ll buy her a cute little poodle skirt and a pair of pom poms, so she can cheer for SLS. She’ll love it.

Rah.

A Great Riposte To John McCain

From Rand Paul: “I’d rather be a hobbit than a troll.”

John McCain can’t leave public life soon enough for me.

[Update early evening]

On the other hand, Chrissie Matthews has found a new tingle up his leg:

Chris Matthews’ infatuation with John McCain has returned. The day after the Republican senator bashed his own party, knocking “Hobbit” Tea Partiers, the Hardball anchor on Thursday lauded him as “great” and even suggested McCain as a MSNBC guest host: “…He can substitute for me some night with that kind of talk!”

Don’t expect him to actually vote for him, though.

What Did The White House Know?

…and when did it know it?

It’s the first time anyone has publicly stated that a White House official had any familiarity with ATF’s operation Fast and Furious, which allowed thousands of weapons to fall into the hands of suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels in an attempt to gain intelligence. It’s unknown as to whether O’Reilly shared information with anybody else at the White House.

As I’ve said before, if it were a Republican White House, there would have already been calls in the press for impeachment. At least they’re starting to cover it.

[Update early evening]

William Newell circles the wagons for the administration. Expect much of the media to hitch their wagons as well.