The end of the road for Barack Obama?

[alienlovechild 75]

"Obama's big problem," a senior Democrat told me, "is that four times as many people watch Fox News as watch CNN." The Fox network is a remarkable cultural phenomenon which almost shocks those of us from a country where a technical rule of impartiality is applied in the broadcast media. With little rest, it pours out rage 24 hours a day: its message is of the construction of the socialist state, the hijacking of America by "progressives" who now dominate institutions, the indoctrination of children, the undermining of religion and the expropriation of public money for these nefarious projects. The public loves it, and it is manifestly stirring up political activism against Mr Obama, and also against those in the Republican Party who are not deemed conservatives. However, it is arguable whether the now-reorganising Right is half as effective in its assault on the President as some of Mr Obama's own party are.

Mr Obama benefited in his campaign from an idiotic level of idolatry, in which most of the media participated with an astonishing suspension of cynicism. The sound of the squealing of brakes is now audible all over the American press; but the attack is being directed not at the leader himself, but at those around him. There was much unconditional love a year or so ago of Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama's Chief of Staff; oleaginous profiles of this Chicago political hack, a veteran of that unlovely team that polluted the Clinton White House, appeared in otherwise respectable journals, praising the combination of his religious devotion, his family-man image, his ruthless operating technique and his command of the vocabulary of profanity. Now, supporters of the President are blaming Mr Emanuel for the failure of the Obama project, not least for his inability to construct a deal on health care.

A thrashing of the Democrats in the mid-terms would not necessarily be the beginning of the end for Mr Obama: Bill Clinton was re-elected two years after the Republicans swept the House and the Senate in November 1994. But Mr Clinton was an operator in a way Mr Obama patently is not. His lack of experience, his dependence on rhetoric rather than action, his disconnection from the lives of many millions of Americans all handicap him heavily. It is not about whose advice he is taking: it is about him grasping what is wrong with America, and finding the will to put it right. That wasted first year, however, is another boulder hanging from his neck: what is wrong needs time to put right. The country's multi-trillion dollar debt is barely being addressed; and a country engaged in costly foreign wars has a President who seems obsessed with anything but foreign policy – as a disregarded Britain is beginning to realise.

There are lessons from the stumbling of Mr Obama for our own country as we approach a general election. Vacuous promises of change are hostages to fortune if they cannot be delivered upon to improve the living conditions of a people. The slickness of campaigning that comes from a combination of heavy funding and public relations expertise does not inevitably translate into an ability to govern. There is no point a nation's having the audacity of hope unless it also has the sophistication and the will to turn it into action. As things stand, Barack Obama and America under his leadership do not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...rack-Obama.html

[Danno 1,228]

I love that line.

<<<<Now, supporters of the President are blaming Mr Emanuel for the failure of the Obama project>>>

[Ali G. 37]

Gezz man, the guy has been in office a bit over a year. What did you expect him to do? Colonise Mars.

Just in case you did not notice, the economy tuned to ###### under the Repub's watch.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Booyah

[William33 110]

"A senior democrat told me"......Who? Unsubstantiated Bullsh!t, as usual.....

Did I miss someone that actually has some credibility?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Gezz man, the guy has been in office a bit over a year. What did you expect him to do? Colonise Mars.

Just in case you did not notice, the economy tuned to ###### under the Repub's watch.

They like to ignore that part.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Fox News is an organization which Hitler could only dream of. I watch it in awe as they spew and spin 'news' precisely as this article indicates.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Great article! All so true . . .

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Great article! All so true . . .

'Nuff said!

[Sofiyya 1,687]

The funny line is, in the first paragaph, which proclaims, "The Fox network is a remarkable cultural phenomenon which almost shocks those of us from a country where a technical rule of impartiality is applied in the broadcast media" as if there is any impartiality in the entire first paragraph.

However, all in all, the Dims are, once again, eating their young, as those of us who have seen all this before knew would happen. And, it didn't take long Anyone heard Massa's rant today?

[Danno 1,228]

Gezz man, the guy has been in office a bit over a year. What did you expect him to do? Colonise Mars.

Just in case you did not notice, the economy tuned to ###### under the Repub's watch.

I also noticed the Dems gained control of the Senate, ( part of another coequal branch of Gov.)

I and most people I know, did pretty darn good for most of Bushs watch.

Though the situation was not as dire as it is now, Bush did try things to stimulate the private sector economy, in fact Obama would luv to have the Economy Bush had then.

But as Obama it not taking Job (in the private sector) serious, we are, were we are.

I blame Bush for a number of things one was his failure to use the Bully Pulpit to do more about Fanny and Freddie after the Senate killed his reforms.

<< The Bush administration pushed for significantly increased regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003,[109] and after two years, the regulations passed the House but died in the Senate. Many Republican senators, as well as influential members of the Bush Administration, feared that the agency created by these regulations would merely be mimicking the private sector’s risky practices.[110][111] In September 2008, the crisis became much more serious beginning with the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac followed by the collapse of Lehman Brothers[112] and a federal bailout of American International Group for $85 billion.[113]>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bush_Jr.

Fox News is an organization which Hitler could only dream of. I watch it in awe as they spew and spin 'news' precisely as this article indicates.

WHY DON'T YOU GIVE US THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF THIS?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Regardless of how bad Obama has been, the Bush Administration brought the country to its knees and damaged our reputation abroad.

[William33 110]

Great article! All so true . . .

Source? I did not miss the lack of substantiation.....

[alienlovechild 75]

Gezz man, the guy has been in office a bit over a year. What did you expect him to do? Colonise Mars.

Just in case you did not notice, the economy tuned to ###### under the Repub's watch.

That line of thought isn't going to cut it in 2012. Any current president is ultimately responsible for the state of the country and will be held accountable by the voters. So far Obama has been a disaster for focusing on healthcare which had nothing to do with the Great Recession while accelerating the bankrupting of the nation. At the same time Democrats had a huge hand pushing the housing bubble as they were curiously silent on the issue while running Congress for the last 4 years.

If the American public is willing to tolerate high unemployment and lower their expectations, Obama has a shot at re-election but now his hype can't change his dismal record on economic conditions. Get ready for Obama's Great Malaise speech a la Pres. Carter.

[William33 110]

That line of thought isn't going to cut it in 2012. Any current president is ultimately responsible for the state of the country and will be held accountable by the voters. So far Obama has been a disaster for focusing on healthcare which had nothing to do with the Great Recession while accelerating the bankrupting of the nation. At the same time Democrats had a huge hand pushing the housing bubble as they were curiously silent on the issue while running Congress for the last 4 years.

If the American public is willing to tolerate high unemployment and lower their expectations, Obama has a shot at re-election but now his hype can't change his dismal record on economic conditions. Get ready for Obama's Great Malaise speech a la Pres. Carter.

Given his short tenure of holding office, your comments are a big stretch, at best.... These things take very much time mate.....Government at it's best......

[ready4ONE 5,400]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bush_Jr.

WHY DON'T YOU GIVE US THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF THIS?

Wikipedia???????????

Ok, here is an example of the Fox Effect as I see it:

1/26/2010

<h3 class="storytitle" id="post-1535">Fox News Viewers: Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered</h3> Filed under: General — Mark @ 8:45 pm

The infatuation Fox News viewers have with their pet network is becoming an evermore heated affair. A new poll reveals the network to have a mesmerizing effect on their disciples.

The poll measured levels of trust in television news viewing. The overall result that is being widely reported is that Fox News is the “most trusted’ of all TV news sources with 49% saying they trust it compared to 37% saying otherwise. But the polls internals tell a more nuanced story.

Republicans have an abiding trust in Fox News: 74% to 15%. The same is true when surveying conservatives: 75% to 13%. Democrats and liberals were not nearly as monolithic in their views. The highest rating any of them gave was only 64% (for NBC). Conversely, Republicans and conservatives were far more negative toward non-Fox news sources where the highest rating was a mere 23% (for CNN). It is this abnormally heavy weighting of glassy-eyed Fox fanatics that distort the overall results of the poll. In fact, Fox is actually the least trusted network amongst a majority of respondents (61%) when you combine the 47% of moderates and 14% of liberals who rate Fox at the bottom of the scale.

What these numbers tell us is how effectively Fox has programmed their viewers to salivate when the bell rings. For these people, Fox is their remote brain. Consequently they will only respond to Fox and will shun any other source. That is the nature of a disciple/master relationship. It is why Fox commands such loyalty from their viewers. It is not surprising, therefore, that the other networks struggle to compete when their audiences are more independent and intellectually curious. It is that sense of devotion that leads to higher ratings for Fox from an audience that is literally bewitched.

The bothered (irrational anger and Tea Baggery) and bewildered (notably misinformed and deceived) parts are just gravy on Fox’s propaganda train.

http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=1535