Posted by William J. Kelly May 11th 2011 at 4:22 pm in Islam, Mainstream Media, Obama, Terrorism, Uncategorized, elections 2012, journalism, media bias Thank you, Mr. President. Osama bin Laden is finally gone. Dead. With a bullet in his head. A fitting end to the evil mastermind behind 9/11 – the worst terrorist attack on our own soil in our country’s history.
Last week, after experiencing your lowest approval ratings ever, you finally received a big bump in the polls and praise from all corners – among them your fellow Democrats and even conservative Republicans on FOX. That is not hard to understand. They want to be on the opposite side of anything starting with ‘Osama’ and ends with ‘Bin Laden.’ In this case, that would be you, Mr. President. And, of course, there are your friends in the biased mainstream media.
Apparently, the media believe that you did more than telling your military advisers, “OK, yeah, just go ahead.” Much more.
They way the media portrays it – it was your overarching philosophy in the War on Terror, your courage since 9/11, and your experience in military tactical strategy that saved the day. After all, former President George Bush and the post 9/11 intelligence infrastructure he created were so yesterday. And, really, who cares that the waterboarding stuff you have been condemning as torture actually worked?
Recently, Bill Maher, that respected journalist-comedian (since liberals can’t tell the difference), heaped on the accolades calling you a “multi-tasking ninja.” By his statement, it isn’t clear that Maher actually knows what a ninja is. However, he does have a rather unique perspective.
Just six days after the 9/11 hijackers flew their planes into the Twin Towers, Maher was quoted as saying: “We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it’s not cowardly.” That’s some real ninja thinking for you.
Maher’s equally astute colleague, Barbara Walters, host of ABC’s “The View” announced, “I would hate now to be a Republican candidate thinking of running (against Obama in 2012).” As a former mistress to then-married Sen. Edward Brook, Walters is known for her in-depth knowledge of world affairs. She also appears to like trees and hosts named “Whoopi.”
Then there’s Walters’ gifted associate, Joy Behar, who cackled, “They (the Republicans) should just skip the next election.” That was after she suggested that offering a terrorist “a $6 million book deal” may work just as well as waterboarding them. Shortly after making that statement, Mensa contacted Behar begging her never to apply for membership.
This week, the parade of gushing high-fives and accolades for President Obama continued from Democrat members of Congress, cable news pundits, and newspapers around the country. The same Democrats who called and continue to call George Bush a ‘war criminal.’ The same pundits who demonized the Bush-approved ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ that CIA Director Leon Panetta admitted were instrumental in the Bin Laden raid’s success.
But why let a silly thing like political hypocrisy spoil all the progressive fun?
Of course, political hypocrisy may not count but poll numbers do. A new Pew Research Center poll released today finds that President Obama’s post approval rating has already fallen 10%, or six points, to 50%. (It had jumped to 56% right after the announcement of the Bin Laden’s death.) His disapproval is at 39%, a return to late-February levels. Poor President Obama. That Bin Laden bump just couldn’t last.
Ironically, most of the President’s gains in the last week’s polls came from Republican and independent voters. Gallup, Pew, and New York Times/CBS recorded a 6-point bump, a 9-point bump, and an 11-point bump respectively.
“They finally saw something about Obama that they liked … but the problem is, it’s fleeting,” GOP pollster Adam Geller said of the Republicans and independents polled. “The fundamentals of 2012 are still going to be unemployment, the economy, gas prices, jobs and all this other stuff.”
So much for the suggestion from the likes of Maher and Behar that we just “skip the next election,” eh?
However, there is a bigger hole in the mainstream media’s 2012 strategy to save President Obama. They underestimate just how little Americans have come to trust them and this President.
In 2008, the mainstream media lost credibility with voters and independent voters, in particular, due to its zealous one-sided coverage of the presidential race. In 2011, voters have borne witness to President
Obama’s ineptitude, his mismanagement of the economy, failed stimulus, broken promise on unemployment, and the unethical tactics he used to ram through unpopular Obamacare.
In terms of foreign policy, Barack Obama has maintained an anti-American world view. He does not believe in ‘American exceptionalism.’ In his first 100 days as President, he apologized for the “sins of America” on three continents. He has been more concerned with building a mosque at Ground Zero, closing Gitmo, banning the term ‘war on terror’ in favor of ‘overseas contingency operation,’ and extending his popularity in the Muslim world rather than halting the spread of dangerous Islamic extremism in the world.
He has not been helped by images of him bowing to the Chinese or hugging South American dictators named Hugo. His unapologetic probe of Bush CIA agents who used “enhanced interrogation techniques” – especially now in the wake of the success of his Bin Laden raid – screams hypocrisy.
For their part, the biased mainstream media have been in a constant state of spin, attempting to manipulate popular opinion through by repetition and saturation of specific pro-Obama storylines and themes. So far, that strategy has failed.
In 2012, it will come down to one fundamental question: “Is Barack Obama one of us?” In 2008, the answer was “yes.” In 2012, the answer is most likely to be a resounding “no.”
Thanks again, Mr. President. Thanks for nothing.
Big Journalism
