Journalism - The Way To Effective Govemment
Chris Matthews on Joe Scarborough's show
It's his job to ensure a successful presidency? How the hell are you supposed to do that as a journalist? That's like saying your job as court stenographer is to ensure that a court case is adjudicated successfully. You're either reporting and commentating on the facts, or distorting them intentionally. Of course, there exists a degree of bias in journalism as honest people view facts and events through the filter of perception, experience, etc. But to say, independent of any particular story that your job is to ensure a successful presidency is at best an admission of a willingness to distort or obscure the facts; and at worst, that he has already done so.
It is not just Chris Matthews by a long shot. He's just one of the ones so far removed from objectivity as to not even realize how appalling that statement was. It wasn't enough to get the hook along with Keith Olbermann from MSNBC's election coverage. One would think it a wake-up call when that network thinks you're too biased. Apparently not.
Where does that leave us? The notion that ideas such as creation of a civilian security force of equal power as the US military, or a government-mandated community service program, or raising taxes in the middle of a recession, are casually being tossed around by Barack Obama before he has even been sworn in is scary enough. But to think that the mainstream media is going to look the other way and give this guy the same free pass as during the campaign is frightening.