Saturday, April 26, 2008
Softball Questions For Obama
Apparently the Star editorial board was too awe struck at the mere presence of Sen. Barack Obama to ask any tough questions of him during their sit-down interview this week. Whether he is answering a question about his experience, or the lack thereof, or how he plans to balance the federal budget, he always speaks in vague platitudes. The absence of follow up questions to force him to be more specific is emblematic of how the media has treated him throughout this campaign. He said he's been in elective office longer than Sen. Hillary Clinton and cited his judgment in response to a question about his experience. That should have prompted any decent reporter to question his judgment in deciding to join and then attend Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church for twenty years, becoming friends with anti-American terrorist William Ayres and utilizing the services of his close pal and political fixer Tony Rezko to purchase his South Side mansion. Obama said he would eliminate the budget deficit by closing tax loopholes and raising taxes on those who earn more than $200,000 a year. Yeah, right. Again, no follow up questions. Check out Matt Tully's column today for more evidence of this. He's a nice guy. She's not a lady. By the way, congratulations to Tully on being named Indiana's Journalist of the Year.
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9 comments:
I regard it as complete fair game to press the point that Obama should be asked followup questions on policy issues to get an understanding of how he plans to run the country as President. But to suggest that the Star is not doing its job because they didn't follow the same lazy journalism character assassination narrative as the rest of the lame MSM is simply without merit. Wright's criticisms of America don't make Obama a racist. His association with Ayers 10 years ago does not make him a terrorist or in anyway responsible, culpable or anything for crimes Ayers committed when Obama was eight years old. There is no continuing relationship with Ayers other than his passing association with the guy in the 90's.
As to Rezko, that ground has really now been exhaustively tilled by the Chicago local media itself, who had a hour's long sitdown with Obama on all things Rezko. No allegation anywhere of anything illegal and Obama has said himself numerous times that the dealings with Rezko when he bought his house at a time when Rezko was in so much trouble was boneheaded. For crying out loud, he got hosed on the land he purchased from Rezko and all there is to that story is not what he did, but that he did it when Rezko was in a lot of trouble.
The continued recyling of these stories is nothing more than the lazy so-called journalism of the MSM which is not concerned with journalism, but with anything that can be sensationalized for infotainment profits. He is not a racist, not a terrorist, not a crook, and not an elitist (which is merely code for uppity negro)
So while I can certainly agree with you that piercing followup questions on the burning policy issues of the day were in order, I applaud the Star for steering clear of MSM infotainment nonsense that obscures serious issues in favor of regurgitating lazy MSM participation and complicity in the politics of personal destruction.
Obama's deficit reduction plan won't work and he's clearly just using "soak the rich" class warfare rhetoric.
Increasing taxes on just the top 2-3% and closing "loopholes" won't even come close. (note: top 5% now pay nearly 60% of all Federal Income Taxes per the NTU)
Spending absolutely has to be cut immediately and economic growth must be permanently stimulated by restructuring the tax code and easing regulation. And even with that there's still no guarantee that future entitlements won't need to be restructured.
There is $53 trillion in current and future obligations, mostly related to entitlements, including the $9 trillion current deficit ($5 trillion or so cash deficit - China holds 10% of our treasuries BTW).
To put this in perspective:
$53 trillion is basically what everything in the whole country is worth including mine, yours and Bill Gate's house and cars.
$53 trillion is more than (give or take adjustment for inflation) EVERYONE in the whole country will earn (pre-tax) over the next 8 years.
A good reporter who pays attention to national politics, or even one who paid any attention to the recent Congressional special election would know or have heard this information and could ask pointed questions on the topic.
I applaud the Star for not using the Clinton slash and burn style of journalism. I want to read in the Star about issues not about innuendo, Clinton lies and distortions.....
Tully - Journalist of the year ?
Aaron,
The fact is Obama has a 20 year association with Wright as paster of his church. He's so close to Wright, that Wright presided over his wedding. Wright spouts racism from the pulpit and you think that shouldn't have anything to do with Obama? Please tell me you're kidding.
FYI, Advance Indiana, these Word Verifications have been increasingly difficult. Some of them are downright impossible. What's going on there?
AI..Flynn is correc..these word verifications are becoming almost impossible to decipher.
I have the same problem with the word verification. It's a pain, but it's the only way to avoid the spam.
@Flynn,
Are you calling Wright and his comments racist because they are or because thats the line that the extremely lame MSM has been feeding everyone? Its unfortunate in the extreme that because African Americans have too often used the word racist to describe lesser behavior that did not really rise to that standard, white americans now throw the word around in the same irresponsible way.
Identify for me a statement of Wright's which you think offers proof positive that he is a racist. I'm assuming by calling him a racist, you are saying that he hates or is against white people or something of that sort. Feel free to clarify for me what you mean when you call him racist and just give me one statement that you think proves he is a racist, whatever you think a racist to be.
We've all been sold a caricature of the man that is not correct nor accurate and once sold on that, guilt by association is used to lay a hit on Obama. Bottomline, Obama is not a racist, in any sense of the word. Its a smear job and its the politics of personal destruction. This game is played in order to keep people talking about garbage and not about real issues.
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