Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post writes about “The Secret Selling of Sotomayor” by the White House using off-the-record briefings to push out their story anonymously. “Less than an hour after President Obama announced his Supreme Court nominee yesterday, two “senior administration officials” began holding forth for reporters on the virtues of Sonia Sotomayor.” This treatment as menials was the final straw for some in the press corps.
“We protest in the strongest terms the Obama administration’s frequent use of briefings done on a background basis . . . especially when the same officials briefing often appear ubiquitously on television shows with similar information,” said Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press, president of the White House Correspondents Association. She said this was particularly true on a Supreme Court nomination, “when the issue does not involve sensitive material such as national security information.”
Press Secretary Gibbs responded dismissively and with — some think — a hint of menace. “I’m not sure today is the day I’d make that argument,” Gibbs said. John Aloysius Farrell of US News and World Report characterized Gibb’s response this way. Nice business you got here, little lady. It would be a shame if anything were to happen to it. Farrell adds, “it couldn’t be a sign of arrogance, could it?”
Nah.
The Awakening Conscience (1853) is an oil-on-canvas painting by British artist William Holman Hunt, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which depicts a young woman rising from her position in the lap of a man and gazing transfixed out of the window of a room. Initially the painting would appear to be one of a momentary disagreement between husband and wife, or brother and sister, but the title and a host of symbols within the painting make it clear that this is a mistress and her lover. … The mirror on the rear wall provides a tantalizing glimpse out of the scene. The window — opening out onto a spring garden, in direct contrast to the images of entrapment within the room — is flooded with sunlight. The woman’s face does not display a look of shock that she has been surprised with her lover; whatever attracts her is outside of both the room and her relationship. — Wikipedia
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Welcome to the Most Transparent Administration in History, Jennifer.
The short step from Media to Mouthpiece has been taken, woe betide those who do not conform.
“I’m not sure today is the day I’d make that argument,”
There were probably some poor souls at Pravda that tried to “speak truth to power” at one point or another, I am sure they met a bad end.
Someone once said that “if you want a friend, buy a dog”. The sad fact is that respect is rarely given in gratitude but out of need. The press has put itself in a position where it runs the risk of being taken for granted. But with many of the papers running on fumes, they aren’t what they used to be. And maybe Gibbs was reminding them of how they needed him much more than he needed them. At this point anyway.
But Jennifer did the right thing in taking things to the mat. Often the time to stand firm is at the outset, because things just get harder the longer you let them slide. Let’s just hope its not too late.
“Heel!”
I’m taking perverse joy in how all this is playing out. I am convinced that the Obama administration will prove to be the most corrupt in modern American history (good start on that with Chrysler and GM, by the way).
Especially with Chrysler.
It appears that this “waking” has been in process as Dinocrat explains Here an excerpt:
To date the media have almost uniformly adored their man Obama. Now it appears there occasionally are exceptions to the rule. EJ Dionne went to the White House and got annoyed by the Obama administration’s manipulation:
The disturbing aspect of Obama’s effort to create his new political alignment is that building it requires him to send rather different messages to its component parts. Playing to several audiences at once can lead to awkward moments.
Last Thursday afternoon, for example, the White House invited in journalists, mostly opinion writers, to sell them on the substance of the president’s big speech on Guantanamo and the treatment of detainees.
Unbeknownst to the writers until afterward, they had been divided into two groups, one more centrist with a sprinkling of moderate conservatives, the other more liberal. (I was in the liberal group.) The president made an unscheduled appearance at each briefing. As is his way, he charmed both groups.
The idea, as far as I can determine, was to sell the liberal group on those aspects of Obama’s plan that are a break from George W. Bush’s policies, and to sell the centrist group on the toughness of the president’s approach and the fact that it squares with Bush’s more moderate moves later in his second term…
establishments have a habit of becoming too confident in their ability to manipulate people and events, and too certain of their own moral righteousness. Obama’s political and substantive gifts are undeniable. What he needs to realize are the limits of his own mastery.
One of the wonderful things that’s happening right now is the fracturing of the liberals. When they were all in opposition the important thing was to stay united. Now, as the various parts of the coalition have to actually make decisions, they are showing some signs of strain.
This is normal, and is something like what we saw during the Bush years. There were Republicans who thought invading Iraq was a bad idea (remember Snowcroft?), Republicans who thought staying in Iraq was a bad idea(the Iraq Study Group) and of course a lot of unhappiness about the spending coming out of Congress. It was not a united front at all.
Now the Democrats are starting to go through the same thing. Not all of them are union members. Not all of them are reporters. Not all are public employees. Now that Democrats control the elected parts of the federal government actual decisions are being made that reward some parts of the coalition at the expense of the rest. Normal politics, in other words.
This is a good thing for Democrats. They can’t just complain anymore. It’s time to take responsibility.
It’s been said that the evangelicals are the part of the GOP coalition that delivers the votes and gets nothing. I think we may be seeing their equivalents in the Democratic party. It’s the press. They have nowhere else to go, so they can to little but complain occasionally about their lot. And like the evangelicals, no one will feel sorry for them at all.
As is his way, he charmed both groups.
Am I the only sentient being who is not now and never has been “charmed” by this man? I’ve been puzzled for some time as to why some otherwise clear-thinking analysts (guys too, not just the gals) describe him as “charming.” Maybe there are differences in people’s psychological immune systems as well as their physical susceptibilities.
From the article: …a 2001 speech in which Sotomayor said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
I leave conclusions to the reader.
That the press may be getting tired of being used just makes me want to smile. Hey, all of us hick, rednecks in flyover country tried to warn ya’ll about The 0bamanation and his bunch. Just sayin’.
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
What a profoundly cramped, limited, depressing sensibility.
Time will tell if our sense of national and societal cohesion is now so far gone that we can’t ever again hear statements like these for what they are.
It is in the nature of every White House to try to get the press to write what makes the president look good. For Jennifer Loven to protest is reminiscent of the scene in Casablanca where the police profess shock to find gambling going on.
The real issue, I think, is that the press is beginning to realize Obamba has been twisting them around his finger for two years or more and they’re beginning to realize they’ve not been doing the watchdog thing they keep insisting is their role in society. Gibbs’ reply was rich: he’s so confident they’ve been bought and paid for he effectively told them to shut up and do what they’re supposed to do.
Now the question is, will the press shut up, or will they get more restive? We live in interesting times. . . F
Like the mistress in the painting, the press corps will continue to return to their hard lover that’s really no good for them. They’re lapdogs, and their complaints that they are being treated as such should be seen clearly for the weak whines that they are.
The White House will continue treating the press shabbily, and they’ll keep whining,and it doesn’t matter.
Look, the White House Press Corps are show ponies. They sit there all day long waiting for something to happen. Then Gibbs walks out and the strange burst of activity, a prescribed ritual, launches into action. It looks like maybe jocular banter one day, maybe a little confontation the next to make the appearance of “hard journalism” theoretically possible, or maybe a few tough lines spoken with drama against antagonists who are not in the room. The reporters shuffle off to file their stories, which are of course all the same because they’ve become a little like-minded club, thinking they’ve done their job. What just happened, though, is that they just got spoonfed.
They rankle and murmur over the reality that their esteemed position is no little bit a grand show, but they aren’t going to do anything about it.
Just like last time with Clinton, when the lies get too thick to put a reasonable face on, the narrative will change. “Ohh, look how well they can spin things! They are truly masters of an artform here!”
PA Cat (#9):
Am I the only sentient being who is not now and never has been “charmed” by this man?
No, there are at least two of us.
Jamie Irons
Every once in awhile, the true thuggishness of the Administration pokes its ugly head ever so slightly out of the tall grass. I wonder, with a kind of sick curiousity, when it will decide that it doesn’t have to hide anymore. I also wonder, given that Obama literally defines his self-worth by the amount of power he holds over others, what will happen if he is ever legally required to surrender that power.
The press seems to be in the position of a drug addict; they chose their drug and now they find that they have to perform to get their dose. They are beginning to realize that they are no longer in any way in charge of their fates.
My how the Kingmakers have fallen.
It remains to be seen if any of them have the will to kick the habit and “bite the hand” that they helped put in power.
But, but, but doesn’t Jennifer understand she needs to get the “narrative” right? Without knowing all the details of the extensive narrative, all sorts of deviant “reportage” might take place. Get back in line, Jennifer. The AP needs to stay in step. Otherwise they might be “encouraged” to join the Rocky Mountain News, et al, under the bus.
Any other questions?
This is the face I’ve seen on a surprised girl, a peculiar, partly-empty face that is pretending to be innocent, that is pretending nothing improper is happening. Her face contrasts with the lustful look of the man, who has not yet seen what the girl has noticed outside the window. Whatever she has seen has inspired her to rise from the man’s lap – not quickly, as that would seem suspicious. . . . I think she’s seen a who, and not a who she wants to see.
Her widened eyes, her folded hands – all simulating innocence.
WillDoMathForFood @ 15: “…the true thuggishness of the Administration pokes its ugly head ever so slightly out of the tall grass.”
As is showing itself. There is a series of threads over at Gateway Pundit wherein they are examining the patterns in political donations and Chrysler dealerships. If there is a pattern that shows itself, it could be the catalyst for the end of the Reign of The Won.
They’re keeping score, brother. When it comes time to bail out some newspapers and not others, things like this will be remembered. Lucky for the Obama Administration, a Lexis/Nexis search now replaces the possibly fallible memories of slights and derisions that would normally accompany the creation of the list of which organizations are naughty and which are nice. The administration doesn’t need “all sides”, they just need one that reports all of their press releases.
You don’t have to forcibly shut down presses if they’re already in the process of shutting down on their own. You just dry-dock the boats you like with government money while the rest get beached. If we get down to The Truth and The News as our newspapers of record, the surviving organizations will have selected themselves as much as been selected.
GWB was often fortunate the choice of his opponents, it’s hard to conceive of more wooden opponents than Gore and Kerry. Obama has been fortunate in the timing of his ascention, you can float trillions in debt when people are desperate for safe T-bills — but those conditions are beyond his control, and the debt issue is becoming a problem, likely much sooner than he wanted or even expected. The honeymoon with the press may be almost over, but if it’s over just in time for the government to select winners and losers as it has in the Chrysler bankruptcy it will be yet another stroke of good fortune for the current President.
She sees a squirrel in the tree working hard for a nut…as does the cat under the table, while the lover strokes a discordant cord with his left hand.
The press are like the free-wheeling young woman who services all the guys in the dorm, then discovers they’ve been secretly taking photos, and says: “Hey!! What kind of girl do you think I am?”
Asking the question provides its own answer. “Speaking truth to power”? Only in the same sense that Monica did.
Maybe she’s not standing up, just shakin it a little for him to get a closer look…
PA Cat, no you are not the only one.
W-
The painting was a nice touch. The Wiki article re the painting was a good read. After looking at it and reading the post I still think the picture was really about Bobby Gibbs. You sly ol’ fox you.
When the press shakes off its collective swoon, there’s just a tiny possibility that they will recognize the vast, deep, dark unexplored cave that is Obama’s past. A few reporters might get their blood up despite their school girl crush. The scent of fresh, raw meat just might restart that little “speaking truth to power” mojo that motivated them to attend J-school in the first place.
What they’ll have to realize, though, is that the progressive world they’ve lived in so long IS the power. Progressives love the myth of their own exclusion from the circles of power, as if the world were still run in the interests of geriatric old white WASP men.
The larger problem is that even if Johnny Reporter goes digging for a bone, good luck getting it past his editors. It will take a while for that to sort itself out. But in the end, they might just go for the buzz of publicity more than the slowly dying thrill of being Kingmakers. Been there, done that. Time to burn this mother down. The ultimate goal of all Progressives is annihilation, and more often than not they eat their own.
Jamie and Ashen– ‘For this relief, much thanks!’
The larger problem is that even if Johnny Reporter goes digging for a bone, good luck getting it past his editors.
I think the reporters will find out, if they don’t already know, how unrestrained the side which pretended to kindness and gentleness truly is. Politico notes that:
That’s just a shot across the bow. If the broadsides are unleashed they will be in no doubt who’s boss.
A nation is a body of people with common values. From common vales comes common behavior and from that comes a common culture. When a nation of people occupy a common territory we call that territory a country. Under this scenario, nation and country are synonymous.
It is only from a common culture (customs and values) that a form of governance called democracy (the will of the people) can work. From the will of the people will come generally agreed upon and enforcible laws.
Under the “rule of law” no one individual is above the will of the people as enacted in its laws.
The agents of the will of the people make the laws and the judiciary administers said laws.
If the territory devolves from being a single nation (a group of people with common values and occupying a common territory) to a common territory occupied by muliple cultures (value systems), then the laws do not represent the will of the people in the same way as in a common culture.
The laws enacted under a country comprised of multiple cultures do not have the same general authority as those enacted by common culture. These laws tend to be mere expedients to please various political constituencies.
But the people long for a common thread in their governance. So they put their trust in “The Courts.” Within the law, cultural differences are thought to be put aside so that no one culture dominates another capriciously. We are all thought to be equal before the law. Justice is thought to be blind.
Not so, under Obama. He does not even pretend that he wants justice to be blind. He wants the appointees to the court to be very aware of who is standing before them and to make their decisions accordingly.
We are in a process where the judiciary is becoming politicized and it will soon rule the country. The territory will divided into a series of jurisdiction and judges will become de facto oligarchs.
Inevitably, this will lead to a court rationale that the Constitution can be unilaterally amended by the courts.
Obama’s choice of Sonia Sotomayor to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court is an example of how the court can be corrupted. What is breathtaking is that she is a such a nakedly political appointment. She says as much “being a wise latino woman.” I’m sure Obama would agree that she’s not “typically white.”
Beware Obama. Love him or hate him, he is a force to be reckoned with. Let no one say that Obama has not given notice. His intentions are clear. He thinks the Constitution is flawed and he is impatient. Do not underestimate this man.
Viktor has put his finger precisely into the open sore of Multiculturalism. It grew out of the ward politics of the immigration waves of the late 19th Century and was refined by FDR in the 30′s and carried forward by the Dems for the remainder of the 20th Century. The whole “Immigration Reform” and Bilingualism of the last several years is part of the final push to destroy a common American political culture.
A significant attack came in the latter part of the 20th Century in their attacks on the founders (Jefferson’s child by Hennings, Lincolns alleged homosexuality, all the slave holding)
Obama is the point of the spear. The utterly multicultural. That’s why he seems so unlike the rest of us.
So as the cost of oil goes increasing taxes creates a government that is flush in money and power. Twilight industries, such as the press, need to carefully navigate between the interests of the state and the oligarchs that are their beneficiaries.
“The Kremlin’s subjugation of the Russian press has been, along with a rise in oil prices of over 700%, key to the perceived success of the Putin regime. Mr. Putin learned the importance of controlling the mass media early on. In 2000, faced with a public outcry over the botched rescue of the crew of the Kursk nuclear submarine that sank during a training exercise in the Barents Sea, he went after the press.
…
Media outlets have been taken over by forces friendly to Mr. Putin and his closest associates. This “soft censorship” is accompanied by the more conventional kind, such as lists of verboten topics for television, where a vast majority of Russians get their news.:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121452447866409095.html
The press may feign indignation but they gave birth to an idea through slight and deceit and like any mother they will love their child without precondition. The whole notion of a press coming to grips with the unexpected outcome of Frankenstein’s monster amuses me. Conservatism is status quo and status quo is not news. Our press corp should look foward to the coming conflagration with great zeal and modest hopes for profit.
9.PA CAT:
“Am I the only sentient being who is not now and never has been “charmed” by this man?”
Those of us who grew up poor or had an asshat for a Dad have seen this dog and pony show a bunch. Go figure, so many single parent households nobody knows what a Dad is supposed to be…
Gibbs being expendable as is everybody except the 0, is being given his head on this. It is a win, win for 0. If Gibbs goes too far he is fired and 0 still gets his message across without getting his hands dirty. Chicago business school 101…
33 Those of us who grew up poor or had an asshat for a Dad have seen this dog and pony show a bunch. Go figure, so many single parent households nobody knows what a Dad is supposed to be…
Well, there are all kinds of family dysfunction that can acquaint a kid with the dog-and-pony show early in life. I was blessed to grow up in an intact family with a wonderful dad– but there were several folks in the extended family who were alcoholics and a couple others that the good Dr. Irons would likely diagnose as narcissists. And those types can sometimes hurt a kid as much as messed-up parents. I suppose one benefit of that kind of collateral damage, however, is that I developed an internal radar for “charming” narcissists like Obama– and I keep a wary distance from them.
Growing up in central Florida was a very different experience than what it has become. Northerners, mostly from New York or New Jersy, would retire to Florida because “it was so quiet and laid-back.” But they could not resist tampering with the state as they found it. The beach front properties were bought up and the charming little cabins we rented on summer vacations torn down to put up impersonal large hotels (which block the beach view of everyone else). So they found a paradise and destroyed it. So it goes with multiculturalism. People seem to forget why they flee their birth nations- because they are NOT America. Part of welcoming foreigners used to be expecting them to assimilate OUR culture. So ask the multi-culti clique, what is so great about their culture that they were so willing to leave it behind? Experience differences- Absolutely. Adopt them- No. (I’m obviously talking about more than art and food here)
I was immune to his charms because I know how a capable man or women, of any color, acts and by what kind of criteria they should be judged- that being deeds, not words. Part of the problem for the press and other far-left operatives is they have never met a person of color who is a complete, un-aided success before. I count myself lucky by spending 20+ years in the military where, for the most part, people are recognized by their accomplishments, not their rhetoric. If you want to find a person of any race, color or sex to look up to, that is one place you will find them.
Gibbs retort, telling Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press and president of the White House Correspondents Association the way things are, and the way things will be, is the point of decision for the press. Half standing half sitting and stung by the words of Gibbs song, they can choose to ride out the storm and hope that the temporary “guest” does not quickly abandon her or determine to reclaim at least a portion of her virtue, her self respect.
I am awed by your insight once again, Wretchard, as well as your economy of expressions.
It is now or never, if the press sits back down it is lost, never to be regained but certain to be abandoned when the blossom fades from the flower. If the press chooses to stand there will be difficult times ahead, but at least they may regain self respect.
W
PA Cat, Jamie and Ashen,
Then we are atleast four.
Five, Rurik. O is a magazine subscription salesman, writ large.
We can only hope that in this overreach of the Left and the Lightworkers (recall that “Lucifer” means “light bearer”) they have woken Everyman, whether from a sound sleep or the opium dreams of the Left. And that Everyman decides that it is not enough to dig in his heels and yell “Stop!”, but that nothing will do but to throw the bums into the gutter where they belong, and to get ready to run them out of town on a rail at dawn if they don’t save him the trouble.
Six, Darren.
Those of us who grew up poor or had an asshat for a Dad have seen this dog and pony show a bunch. Go figure, so many single parent households nobody knows what a Dad is supposed to be…
I grew up middle class with the most wonderful dad in the world, but I saw through Obama like the transparent SOB that he is. I don’t think it’s any particular life experience that clears the vision, but I’m not sure what it is. I’ve speculated before it could be genetic. Maybe it’s just willpower – some of us just don’t want to be idiots?
In order for Obama’s “Sotomayor-pick” to work, her confirmation hearings need to focus on her ethnic and gender “identity.” Axelrod is hoping that all her positives can be linked to these contrived “groupings,” and that any negatives raised by her opponents can be pinned on their supposedly “intolerance” of the nominee’s same traits.
Here’s a way to shortcircuit the ruse. Every Republican vetter on the panel should come wearing cardboard 3-D glasses.
In response to the expected chortling this goofy spectacle would spur, the Republican co-Chair can explain in his opening remarks that “we, the responsible party, are wearing our color-gender-blindness glasses for these hearings. We seek to determine whether this nominee is the best qualified person for the job, without being distracted by the nominee’s gender or ethnic background.”
This will put the onus on the Democrats to explain why viewers should put credence behind the Dem’s planned grievance-grouping when the committee’s real role is to vet nominees to the Supreme Court. Progressive prigs like Durban, Kennedy and Feinstein will be forced to either attack the Republicans for being “color-blind” (as MLK admonished us to act in his speeches), or to slavishly pet and promote their nominee’s racialist, special-interest-group appeal.
Both tacts open the Dem’s up to blistering attack from the sensible American middle. Last I checked, the GOP can get the goofy eye-props at any theater with a 3-D venue.
If you’re listening GOP, how about trying a little bit of theatrics in the Sotomayor hearings? Lord knows your opposition pulls this sh_t all the time (recall Clarence Thomas’ pubic hair and a half-empty coke can?!!).
Really, guys. What have you got to lose?
Never, not once, did I ever perceive anything but a charlatan snake-oil salesman, hawking stuff that will cure WHATEVER ails you. From gout to appendicitis to congenital dysplasia – this is the CURE.
His followers heard what they wanted to hear.
I heard a demagogic preacher of empty promises and a panderer of contradictions.
Dr I, you are not alone. From the get-go.
tom w
canton ga
SpeakEasy –
Winter Haven kid here. Our little summer home was in Englewood, on Lemon Bay. Property was so undeveloped that we (a) had sulphur water from the tap for years after building, and (b) cleared the land ourselves from the house down to the edge of the bay. That was one brutally hot, sticky, skeeter-filled, sucky-mud summer. I was 7 and spent it chopping roots and hauling whatchamacallit plants taller than I was. Course there were the fun parts: going to the beach every day, feeding the scrub jays by hand and playing hide-n-seek in our little patch of piney woods.
OK, I give up. Who is the maiden? It seems like the Obama propaganda machine that is out seeing the beauty of cable news and realizing the old liberal press isn’t needed so much.
Didn’t Gibbs the other day say that people should be ‘very careful’ about commening about Sotomayor on the news? He issued some sort of thinly-veiled threat that if anyone critized this pick, there would be consquneces. This Obama administration is straight out of Chicago- gangster and mobster at its core.
Concerning Obama’s snake oil charm: Probably my best friend in the whole world admitted to me recently that he was really thrown off his horse when the news came out that John Edwards had fathered a child out of wedlock while his wife was slowly dying. He said that he had never ever felt like a presidential candidate was “the real deal” any more than he did with John Edwards. I had to bite the lining off of my tongue in order not to lose his friendship. This a 48 year old man with a masters degree and the CEO of a small business. And he got snookered by John Edwards? Evidently intelligent and educated does not mean we have a working BS detector. 52% of the population can’t be wrong, can they? Yeah, I think they were, and are, and probably will be.
Like many others commenting above, I never felt the O’s love. He radiates pathological narcissism. A cursory review of his (ignored, suppressed, spun) record left me wondering how anyone could get excited about such a lightweight. His “soaring” vision and rhetoric amount to sophomoric straw-man triangulation and massive cribbing from a debater’s thesaurus. His real modus operandi –lies, theft and coercion– was never in doubt.
What mystified me was how many very smart experienced people were taken in by him. And, apparently, still are. Or are too embarrassed or invested to admit what a mistake they’ve made.
Only about 190 weeks to go?
pendejo,
Edwards struck me as the sleazyest of the sleaze from the git go. Hearing about his courtroom theatrics confirmed his status as beneath sleazy, in my mind.
PACat, add another; I never saw anything but a Chicago machine and flim-flam corruption guy. I was amazed that so many made him what they wanted to see assuming their interpretation of his truly artfull code words were really him, and that he was lying only to everybdy else. I am also from PA, Philly, and we know total BS when it flows like it does from ObiWon.
“You can fool me all of the time” – Obama/Biden 08