Everyone seems to be extolling the virtues of President Obama today, calling him "refreshing." I'm not impressed with his ability to act like an adult. That's what he's supposed to do. But this diary isn't about President Obama's character; this is about my disappointment with the mainstream media's reaction to him acting reasonably. The quote from the NBC news interview:
"I'm here on television saying I screwed up and that's part of the era of responsibility, is not never making mistakes, it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them," Obama says. "That's what we intend to do."
Various media website headlines after the cut. Warning: Large images to follow.
MSNBC Front Page:
Yahoo.com Front Page:
CNN Front Page:
Washington Post Front Page:
NY Times Front Page:
NY Post Front Page:
Huffington Post Front Page:
Fox News Front Page:
This is not the reaction I want out of my press outlets when a man in power acts responsibly. Notably? Taking that quote out of context greatly distorts what he was saying and unfairly biases the reader against him before receiving any context. Distortion of the truth causes me to mistrust the news organizations and makes me want to throw a shoe at the television.
Somehow, Fox News avoided the memetic use of President Obama's soundbite du jour, in a positive direction. 'Mistake' sounds more mature than 'I screwed up,' and 'I screwed up,' in context, is not the point of his sentence. He was trying to portray this era positively, acknowledging that yes, important public figures need to behave responsibly own up to their mistakes, publicly.
And the media dragged him over hot coals for it. I'm preserving this disgraceful, childish display for posterity's sake; if anyone ever accuses the Mainstream Media of being reasonable and unbiased, I have proof that at this moment, on February 3rd, 2009, they were as partisan as they have ever and always been.