The New York Times has an interesting update on the never-ending spat between the White House and The Fox News Channel (FNC).
The White House communications director, Anita Dunn, said this weekend, ”We’re going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent. As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave.”
Wow. Is there any wonder why Chris Wallace said, after being rebuffed during Obama’s news show extravaganzathon a few weeks ago, that Obama’s administration was ”the biggest bunch of crybabies I have dealt with in my 30 years in Washington”? I mean, COME ON. You cannot, with any credibility, say that, for example, MSNBC is “a legitimate news organization” and then claim otherwise about FNC. You just can’t.
Here’s the thing. Whenever the White House gets its panties in a twist over FNC, the FNC ratings skyrocket. So it’s not like FNC is freaking out over this or anything. In fact, I would submit to you that they’re kind of reveling in it a little, which, honestly, they SHOULD. Obama’s giving them all sorts of clout and power by claiming that they have none, and he looks foolish to avoid them, and by extension the millions of Americans who watch them.
It’s kind of cutting off your nose to spite your face, really. If you want to change the minds or convince or sway people to believe in you and your policies, isn’t it kind of a good idea to use a platform which REACHES the people you’re trying to sway?
