What do you do if reality clashes with your agenda? If you're Politico's Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, apparently you make it up. Consider this breaking news from yesterday's Fox-lite:
Of all the pitfalls Barack Obama might face in the presidency, there is one not many people predicted: He is struggling as a public communicator.
No, not many would have predicted that. But when you're looking for some hot chatter for your next round on the cable news circuit, you have to be ... let's call it creative. So here's VandeHei and Allen, giving an example of President Obama's "struggle":
Look no further than this Sunday’s shows for a partial explanation of the confused messaging — and the thin bench of top-notch communicators in this White House.
Larry Summers, speaking about AIG’s big bonuses, provided lifeless academic reasoning for why there was little Obama could do to prevent the payouts.
"We are a country of law. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate contracts," Summers said.
The next day, Obama was on live television saying he would "pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses.
Wow, that's terrible. What a confusing message. Except VandeHei and Allen left something out:
SUMMERS: We are a country of law. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate contracts. Every legal step possible to limit those bonuses is being taken by Secretary Geithner and by the Federal Reserve system.
There was no mixed message. But since that last sentence screwed up the story, VandeHei and Allen just left it out. And later, no doubt, sat down with Nora or Wolf or Megyn, and solemnly explained Obama's struggle to communicate. If only they weren't the only ones guilty of this kind of garbage "journalism."
Americans are concerned about keeping their jobs, their homes, and being able to afford to get sick. And what do they get instead of real information about policy? Yammering about the most picayune crap, real and imagined. Yesterday Politico decided that Obama had a messaging problem, so by God, he had one.
His tone has been too gloomy. No, wait! It's been too cheerful. He's said too much. He needs to say more. Are his jokes funny, and sweet Mother of God, are those Michelle Obama's arms? Obviously, Obama is struggling. So says Politico.
The President put it another way:
Please note the audience reaction. There was no failure to communicate.