*EDIT* It was Maxine Waters, not Barbara Boxer, I'm just so used to hearing about/talking about Boxer. Forgive my mistake, I corrected it, and I'm looking for the quote.
~Muz
I was already thinking that after reading about all of the "outrage" over the "special olympics" comment from last night, and all of the whining about Obama going on the Tonight Show in the first place (even Meghan McCain proved the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when she posted "hmmm, maybe the president shouldn’t go on leno and talk about basketball and instead explain to me how those morons at AIG got bonuses..." on Twitter before President Obama's interview even aired). And now we have Barbara Boxer Maxine Waters giving the media more red meat about the AIG bonuses by siding with the Republicans and saying Obama isn't saying enough about the stupid bonuses(which I am honestly tired of hearing about at this point, what more can the man say? You'd think he wrote the damn checks himself. And yes, I was one of the "outraged" people about AIG a couple of days ago, but I'm pretty much over that.)
I mean the media has even admitted they have been torpedoing the process of filling spots in the Treasury and other departments with their one-strike media.
Now we have this video from Media Matters which I think underscores why I am so disgusted with the "journalism" being practiced on television these days:
Frankly, it's amazing Obama's approval rating isn't at Bush '08 levels right now, and it's not for lack of the traditional media's trying.
Here is some of what Media Matters Posted on their site:
From the March 16 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: But folks, I have warned you, I have begged you, I have asked you over the years, please don't doubt me. Nevertheless, some people continue to doubt me. David Broder has a piece today -- or had a piece in The Washington Post Sunday all about the honeymoon fading. David Broder, "The End of the Honeymoon."
"Among those who follow government closely, there has been an unmistakable change in tone in the past few weeks. And these are not little Rush Limbaughs hoping that Obama fails. They are politicians and journalists measuring him with the same skeptical eye they apply to everyone else."
"I think the shift began," writes Mr. Broder, "when Obama moved beyond the stimulus bill to his speech to the joint session of Congress and his budget message. For the first time, the full extent of his ambitions for 2009 became clear -- not just stopping and reversing the steep slide in the economy but also launching highly controversial efforts in health care, energy, and education."
Now, I realize I'm not gonna get credit from the likes of David Broder. But my whole point in saying I hoped Obama failed is rooted right here in these stories. There's another one at Bloomberg by -- I'm sorry -- it's at TheHill.com by Alexander Bolton, "Obama's honeymoon bliss fading." Oh, right -- he's taking on too much? What -- he's being too liberal? What -- he's trying to add up all these prog-- exactly what I warned everybody about.
And now, here come the deans of inside-the-Beltway thinking, led by David Broder. "These are not little Rush Limbaughs hoping that Obama fails." By the way, he's not calling me little. He's calling me big. He's calling everybody that agrees with me little. Since I'm the leader. I am the proclaimed leader of the opposition.
Now, I'm not -- folks, I don't care to get credit, but I warned you. From before he was inaugurated, I sounded the warning sirens on this.
From the January 21 edition of CNN's American Morning (retrieved from the Nexis database):
KIRAN CHETRY (co-host): He's already been talking about a clean break from President Bush's policies and backing it up by taking what could be the first step toward closing Guantánamo Bay. So is the honeymoon over already?
The DAY after the inauguration. I think Media Matters could have actually found some charges that the honeymoon was over back in December.
From the January 22 edition of CBS' The Early Show:
MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ (anchor): I know that you wanted to meet with the president today to talk about the all-important economic stimulus plan, and you were told he couldn't do it. Is it possible the bipartisan honeymoon is over already?
From the January 23 edition of Fox News' Hannity:
SEAN HANNITY (host): And still to come, President Obama promised transparency. But some reporters don't think he's delivering, so is the honeymoon with the press over?
[...]
HANNITY: And tonight in "Hannity's America," the president's honeymoon with the press is already over. Now, Mr. Obama's announcement of a, quote, "new era of openness" have left some in the media scratching their heads, wondering, "Well, why so many closed doors?"
Well, it is Hannity, so I can't say I'm surprised. Thank God I don't actually WATCH his show.
From the January 29 edition of American Morning:
JOHN ROBERTS (co-host): Well, his approval ratings are sky-high, but President Obama's honeymoon could be short-lived with a surprising group of supporters: African-Americans. We'll tell you why.
Oh Noez!! If he lost the Black folk, what EVER shall he do?
From the Febrary 4 edition of CNN's Larry King Live:
LARRY KING (host): Amy, is the honeymoon over? Is genuine bipartisanship fading?
Fading? When the hell was there "genuine bipartisanship", or even a REAL attempt at "genuine bipartisanship" before Obama was inaugurated?
From the 11 a.m. ET hour of CNN Newsroom on February 16:
TONY HARRIS (host): Twenty-eight days into the Obama presidency, so much for the honeymoon.
There was a honeymoon? Dammit, did I miss it?!
From the noon ET hour of CNN Newsroom on February 17:
HARRIS: President Obama signs the stimulus into law in about two hours. The biggest government spending spree ever -- well, comes at a real cost here; a bruising three-week fight with Republicans that soured the tone in Washington and brought the honeymoon to a loveless end.
Apparently there was, did anyone get it on tape?
From the February 19 edition of Hannity:
HANNITY: So, in summary, the president is less popular than he was three weeks ago, the stimulus package is really a spending package that most people don't think will help them, and people think that we're becoming too reliant on government. Sounds like the honeymoon is over.
Oh Noez!! People don't like the stimulus package? That's not what I heard, but Hannity is saying it, so it must be true.
From the March 4 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:
LOU DOBBS (host): Good evening, everybody. President Obama's honeymoon with Americans on the economy appears to be at an end; the president failing to win broad support for his economic policies, despite his personal popularity.
President Obama = Fail :'( Is it possible for me to get my donations reimbursed?
From the March 5 edition of Fox News' Happening Now:
JANE SKINNER (co-host): President Obama -- very popular. Few weeks into his term, Republicans have been -- he's so popular, they've been reluctant to really criticize him overtly. But is the honeymoon over? Some of them are taking suddenly a much tougher tone with him. Why?
Yes, why?
From the March 9 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:
WOLF BLITZER (host): I think it underscores not only what we're talking about, but these comments that the honeymoon for this new president is basically over.
GLORIA BORGER (CNN political analyst): Well, I think it -- I think it is over. Look, I think what (Newsweek columnist) Bob Samuelson was referring to was the president's budget. There's -- he believes -- and -- that there was not a lot of honesty in the budget, that the president didn't attack entitlements enough, that the president is maybe reducing defense spending too much.
Wait, it's just now over? I thought you guys (CNN) just told me it was over a couple of weeks ago?
From the March 12 edition of Happening Now:
SCOTT: President Obama and his treasury secretary get failing grades for their handling of the economic crisis -- not from the majority of the American people, however. Mr. Obama's popularity with the public stands at 60 percent or above in most polls. But a group of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal say the president and the treasury secretary get a 59 out of a hundred when it comes to reviving the economy.
Take a closer look. Those economists tell the Journal their plan to rescue the banks came too late and is too vague. The general consensus is that the nation will shed about another 2.8 million jobs over the next year. One in six of these economists believe the recession could become a depression. So, let's talk about these political fortunes of these two men. Joining us: Trent Duffy, a former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush. Bob Beckel, the former Mondale campaign manager and a Fox News contributor. Trent, does this mean the honeymoon is over, at least in terms of these economists?
Oooooooooooooh, so it's not the AMERICAN PEOPLE who think Obama is a failure, it's the economists who are clearly far more important than the over 50% of the people who voted for the man. Thanks for clearing that up.
From the 10 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on March 15:
ALEX WITT (anchor): Is it right -- or risky, rather, for the right to attack the president directly, considering his strong approval ratings out there, or do you think this is a sign that the honeymoon is coming to an end
Wait, I'm confused, what honeymoon was that again?
I mean when the best source for "real" analysis is on Comedy Central between 11 PM and 12 AM ET, something just isn't right.