When I was a kid, I was a big Steve Allen fan. Allen was the founder of the Tonight Show and the master of the ad lib. My favorite was the time he had a chef on and they were both massaging a big piece of beef to tenderize it. Steve said:
You've heard of "Meet the Press?" Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to "Press the Meat."
At no time was this alternate name for the Sunday show more apt than yesterday, when David Gregory asked Debbie Wasserman-Schultz:*
“On the debt, how irresponsible is it that this president has allowed America’s national debt to increase by 41 percent over his term of office?”
Apparently, Gregory received this question through his headset directly from Karl Rove. As explained by Steven Benen,
What Gregory failed miserably to offer viewers was context and any of the relevant details. The president inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit, plus a global economic collapse, plus two wars Republicans never even tried to pay for, plus GOP lawmakers who fought to kill every deficit-reduction measure proposed by the White House. The question presupposes that Obama was fiscally “irresponsible,” which is ridiculous, and presupposes that Obama’s priority should have been the debt, rather than the economy, which is insane.
I expect this on Fox News. “Meet the Press” is supposed to have higher standards.
Wasserman's answer was OK (Bush's wars, tax cuts, Medicare D, etc.), but failed to call out the question as the lie that it is. Here is the actual data:
Bush Tax Cuts: $3 Trillion
Bush Unfunded Medicare D: 300 Billion
Bush 2008 Stimulus including TARP: 200 Billion
Bush Domestic/Defense Spending: 1.7 Trillion
Bush Afghan and Iraq Wars: 1.4 Trillion
Bush additional policies (e.g., Farm Bill): 400B
Bush Total: $7 Trillion
Obama Recovery Act: $800 Billion
Obama 2010 Tax Cut Deal: 250 Billion
Obama One-Time emergency costs (sm. bus., etc.): 400B
Obama Total: $1.4 Trillion
Other components of the debt not attributable to either administration:
Lower Tax Revenues caused by 2008 Recession: $2.6 Trillion
Debt for govt financing, e.g., student loans: 700 Billion
Finance Debt: 700 Billion
Additional Govt. Debt: (e.g., social security trust fund) 3.6 Trillion
Total: $14 Trillion
(Suggestion: Memorize this chart so you're ready when a wingnut, or even a falsely informed non-wingnut spouts talking points on the debt.)
Gregory also:
Completely adopted the GOP line that Republicans had offered tax increases in the "Super Committee" proposal, and
Showed a clip of Obama's statement in July 2008 (i.e., pre market crash, TARP, the need for stimulus) that increasing the debt was "unpatriotic" and asked "Should it not be turned on him now?"
If one interview could encapsulate the corruption of the so-called "liberal" media, it would be that interview yesterday.
"Press the Meat" indeed.
*This is an update and variation on my diary from yesterday, MTP with David "When Did you Stop Beating your Wife" Gregory.