Jon Meacham: Fox News Attack Makes Obama Seem More Progressive Than He Really Is

Newsweek:

To the base, the White House looks tough, willing to hit back--all while the base is getting few of the substantive reforms it has fought for. I am not suggesting that the Obama administration has staged the Fox protest as a bread-and-circuses ploy in order to give otherwise dissatisfied Democrats something to cheer, but no matter what the intention, the contretemps has made the White House seem more progressive than it is.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

Comments

[john donne]

Fox is breaking news while the other networks are like puppets on strings. If you watch MSNBC, you never see any dissent. Fox has liberals, radicals, all kinds as guests on their shows. Fox is popular because there is a debate, not an echo chamber of thin skinned automatons.

[TRUTHDUTELL]

What attack?

[indi1216]

Really? We were thinking the opposite, he needs to be more progressive.

[RSKaz]

Please stop with the "perception IS reality" psychobabble, Mr. Meacham. Fox News is not a credible news organization and therefore does not deserve legitimate White House press access. Next item.

Apparently it does take a rocket scientist to figure out this a non story because far too many established journalists can not.

[TRUTHDUTELL]

so you think we should repeat 1930s Germany and refuse access to anyone who does not get tingly legs when they see Bammer?

[RSKaz]

Try to follow allow, Slappy. Fox is not a "news organization" and therefor doesn't warrant access to the president no matter how much feet stamping and breath holding it does on its own airways.

As far as your obvious lack of historical knowledge. Fox's propaganda and demagoguery is precisely what happened in 1930s Germany.

At least try to do little research next time.

[littlepuffycloud]

focks makes President OBama seem more progressive to the saps that watch focks exclusively, like a couple with whom we're friends. November 5th 08, they were CONVINCED 'they' were going to freeze all our 401k's. No matter how much I tried to tell them President Obama was a centrist who once in office, was really going to make a lot of liberals/p­rogressive­s mad, they would have none of it. Thanks focks for providing endless hours of hilarious discussions with our little focks pinhead friends.

[Timothy2700]

The President seems to THINK before he commits. That's a GOOD THING!!

[jennylynn]

Even if it takes 5 months ?

[Kevin Ehsani]

i dont get these complaints about obama taking too long on afghanistan, but then people freak out when he is supposedly trying to rush the healthcare bill through. its absolutely ridiculous. he has to go really fast on one decision, but god for bid he does that with something just as important. seriously, the republican­s/conserva­tives are the biggest hypocrites and cry babies when they dont get their way.

[blacksmithn]

How long is just right when it comes to putting another's life in danger?

Personally, I'd error on the side of caution every time. Chest-thumping jingoists may disagree. Especially if they're not the ones being sent into harm's way.

[Cambridge9]

Imagine how many lives could have saved (both Iraqui and USA) if the last @dmin. had take a few months to contemplate the w@r in Ir@q and how it would affect this country's citizens, it's financial consequences, it's world image, etc., etc.?????

[raker]

"Jon Meacham: Fox News Attack Makes Obama Seem More Progressive Than He Really Is"

Nonsense. There's nothing progressive about saying that a skunk stinks. It's stating the obvious, and it's a politically neutral observation.

[dancingsarah]

When Obama was running for President Fox definitely was not was endorsing McCain over Obama. They were fair. But every other station promoted Obama and kept telling viewers how wonderful it was going to be with lots of transparency and working together as he was Mr. Magic.tt was okay to look into every detail of Palins life and if she made a verbal mistake she was called stupid where Bidens mistakes were used to show how funny and congenial he was. And forget looking into Obamas history.Yet there were lies printed on front pages about McCain.Obama cant take criticism and Fox cant ignore what he doing to our country. Fox gave him the chance and now they have questions and thats their job.

[mypov123]

"When Obama was running for President Fox definitely was not was endorsing McCain over Obama. They were fair."

Seriously?? Umm...no, they weren't fair, they've never been "fair" to Obama. Please, step away from the TV and turn off Fox News lol.

[littlepuffycloud]

Is that why they didn't cover President O's acceptance speech and cut away to Mcpow's sad little speech with the lime green background?! Good try but you should stick to dancing. With sarah.

[Tennys Daughter]

What the he$! are you ranting about dancingsarah? Correction; FOX ignored the real culprit of the mess that this country is in . . . GWB. All roads always leads back to the ..........­.........B­USHES.

[ImissBush]

amen

[jde]

Wow. Is this what "Meta" journalism is?

Don't write about what happened. Write about someone else's account and opinion of what happened.

Ignore things that have been done, and don't worry about the things that haven't. As long as everyone believes it happened, then you can opine freely about it.

It was like reading an article about the upcoming world series... Between the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins.

It's that surreal.

[DofG]

It's all a game. It's unfortunate that America has degenerated into a "free for all" WWF cage match of oppossing ideas and ideologies. It's seems to be the only thing we collective agree on-that we shall disagee. Meanwhile the ship is falling apart. The public option should be a no brainer but it's become a political battle wrapped in cultural war.

Fox News will only tell the truth to the extent that it will promulgate misinformation, and downright lies. The other news outlets came to Fox's defense like someone standing up for a bad relative simply because they share the same blood line; when in some sense they arguably can be viewed as being worse than Fox because they wrap their "bile" within the cloak of "credibility"!

The press, as termed within the constitution, has its protected status because it is essential to self governance. Unfortunately, the profit motive, ideology, and just plain old self interest has created so much distortion in the public psyche that we may never right the ship of our commonality.

My fellow Americans, freedom does not begins and end with the potency of our military might; but in simply understanding that divided we will fail, and fall!

[luvbeingright]

Factual lies should be pointed out and challenged. Whether it's Dan Rather on CBS, Jason Blair at the NY Times, or anyone at Fox News. Let's remember the principle of free speech. Our system of free speech relies on the people to make their own judgements on the truth and importance of speech. Not you, not me, not the federal government, and no, not even Obama. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. ~John F. Kennedy The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen. ~Tommy Smothers If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. ~Noam Chomsky So complain all you want about Fox News. Present your ideas to the people, but don't, don't, not for a second, ever think of penalizing Fox in any way for exercising it's free speech rights. veryfairmor

[DofG]

Excuse me. If you would really take the time to be objective and make a literal comparison to both of our comments, you may find that you might have mistakenly replied to the wrong comment!

If not, I would find it difficult to counter argue with what seems to be a predisposition.

[Kevins]

But even if it did have anything (at all) to do with DofG's comment, it still wouldn't have anything to do with reality.

There has been no abridgement of free speech. Fox is still saying anything it wants. And whereas the White House says Fox is basically the talk-radio of television, talk-radio is also flowing freely on the air.

No problem with free speech.

So your comment has no bearing on reality, as well as no bearing on DofG's comment.

[jcapp1]

Am I wrong or are birth, death, and marriage records a matter of public record. Here the county or state maintains those records. Stop gossiping, if you need to know where Obama was born go check,

[Kevins]

Contrary to what Fox says, President Obama was born.

In Hawaii, actually.

[raker]

Today's Sunday New York Times ran a facile, stupid editorial cartoon, presumably in the name of so-called fairness and balance. The cartoon is a celebration of that go-to cop-out of the MSM, the false equivalency. It suggests that the White House's calling out Fox is hypocrisy because Fox is no different from MSNBC.

Earth to The New York Times: Just saying something doesn't make it so. Fox stands alone. Some of MSNBC's pundit shows have a liberal point of view, but there is no comparison to Fox's dishonest representation of itself as a news organization. It just isn't. This lame comparison and false equivalency only diminishes The Times by making it seem weak and fearful of the bullies on the right. Toughen up, NY Times.

[Golden111]

MSNBC is a legitimate news organization?!?!? BWHAHAHAHAHA!

In 9 short months this WH has become the most he@vy-handed, pol itic ally corrupt in modern times.....bringing the Chic@ go style d e m 'thug' politics to the national stage shows just how bush-league ( the pun was too delicious to pass up) this admin. truly is....... this fre s h pr in ce of B 1 l l Ay ers is not worthy of the Nobel peace prize....just the opposite, this POTUS & his 'ilk' are the real dividers of this cou ntry...w/ the support of the k00 k fringe that inhabit sites like this no doubt......

[Elrancho2]

You are demented. This is what watching Fox News does to people who lack minds of their own.

[milkman]

Meacham, like most other critics of the Obama administration, fail to address the substance of Obama's statement, that Fox is not a news organization but an arm of the republican party. Instead Meacham chooses to tell us about the intelligence Roger Ailes and how he is being bashed by Obama. Meacham
then tells liberals that they should be unhappy with Obama because he is expanding the war in Afghanistan, even though that is what he promised to do in his campaign for president. He finishes his weak and vacuous article comparing the significance of Roosevelt to Reagan. Roosevelt's legacies are a victory in WWII and social security while Reagan's are massive government deficits and deregulation that led to George Bush, the financial disaster of 2008, the bailouts and even more massive deficits of 2009. My advice to Meachan is to try telling the truth for a change. It will set him free.

[Lvm]

You're right about Right leaning Meacham (very right leaning). His uninsightful analysis of anything is adequately boring.

[lobear00]

Fox the propaganda channel should be shut down , their license revoked, and be done with the clowns of fox. When people working for any network, stand before camera's and outright Lie, Mislead people over Public Airwaves, the ones doing the lying and the network should be heavily fined, there is no excuse for the behavior.

[pgsteward]

Your anti-Fox arguments are getting so old and tired.

[Elrancho2]

And those of you who mindlessly defend Fox is not only old and tired, it's banal, inane and unworthy of a 7 year-old's intelligence.

[IssuesInFocus]

Anyone who has ever done a class in journalism 101 fully realizes that Fox is not a news organization. Shame on the other networks--so called journalists who tried to say Fox is not being treated right.

They too have dropped the ball on what 'news reporting is all about. The president and Axelrod are right. Fox needs to get its credentials updated. No one is muzzling them--so saying prove to us that all you carry as a news organization is more than that which is opinion based and is worthy of our taking you seriously.

I have an opinion, so are many others-- when by Fox rules, do they get to question the Administration as a mouthpiece for a particular party? This is about calling a 'spade' a spade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOII_-Q258E

[Elrancho2]

I couldn't agree more. If there was any justice in this world Fox News would be shut down or fined so heavily they would have to shut down. Fox News is a cancer that the unintelligent, angry and ignorant population yearn to contract.

[Golden111]

More mindless obot talking points drivel ...try thinking 4 u'r self for once.....