# Has the media "turned" on Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323 "2013-05-14T16:36:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/101 "2013-05-16T17:22:30Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Well, no. A press that is supposedly objective has to prove that their differences in treatment, stretching back over thirty years, and consistently treating the Republican Presidential candidates worse than they do the Democrats, is justified. Since that is an opinion, it is not something that the supposedly objective media can prove. So by definition, they are violating their own standards by slanting their coverage to fit their opinions. > > Regards, > Shodan Actually I think you have to cite that such a 30 year disparity of treatment has actually existed before you demand that anyone justify it. This seems more about your opinion that anyone else’s to be honest. Did the press treat Dukakis better than Bush 1? Did the press treat Kerry better than Bush 2? There’s a slant here, but it isn’t the entire media leaning to one side, its you. Perception is everything, when you aren’t standing level, everything else seems off. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/102 "2013-05-16T17:48:43Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > This seems more about your opinion that anyone else’s to be honest. It isn’t. > [@](#): > > The tone of coverage in the 30-minute evening newscasts was much more positive toward the Democrats than Republicans. And again, among the major candidates, Obama got the best of it and McCain the worst. Of the 11 stories primarily about McCain that ran on the nightly news in the first five months of the year, not a single one carried a clearly positive tone. Six of them were clearly negative and five were neutral. Percent of PBS stories about Democratic candidates that were positive - 8.3 Percent of PBS stories about Republican candidates that were positive - 0 > [@](#): > > The CNN programming studied tended to cast a negative light on Republican candidates—by a margin of three-to-one… > while coverage for Democrats overall was a bit more positive than negative, that was almost all due to extremely favorable coverage for Obama. > [@](#): > > On MSNBC, a positive tone pervaded coverage of candidates from both parties. Nearly half (47%) of the stories about Democratic candidates were positive, vs. 19% negative and 34% neutral. Coverage of Republican candidates was not quite as rosy but still more stories were positive (38%) than neutral (33%) or negative (30%). > > But here as well, Senator McCain still came up short. Four-in-ten of his stories (39%) were negative in tone compared to only about two-in-ten (22%) that were positive. [Cite.](http://www.journalism.org/print/8197) _:shrugs:_ Nobody is reading the cites anyway. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/103 "2013-05-16T17:50:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Percent of PBS stories about Democratic candidates that were positive - 8.3 > Percent of PBS stories about Republican candidates that were positive - 0 In their defense, if you wanted to write a positive story about a current Republican, what could you say? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/104 "2013-05-16T18:02:17Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > In their defense, if you wanted to write a positive story about a current Republican, what could you say? [That occasionally one will stand up and do the right thing?](http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/hispanic-outreach-leader-for-gop-in-florida-joins-democratic-party/2121062) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/105 "2013-05-16T18:23:55Z")
Kinda reminds me of Lenny Bruce’s line, about how many people were leaving the church and turning to God. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/106 "2013-05-16T19:04:15Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > Despite the fact that Republicans are utterly failing to convince anyone of this, no one has any idea what the underlying implication is. > > Formula for a scandal: > Person X gets caught doing Bad Thing Y trying to get Thing They Want Z. > > Your Y is fuzzy as fuck and your Z does not exist. No one knows what you’re trying to pin on whom. And Watergate was just a two bit burglary. Jesus bleeding Christ … ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/107 "2013-05-16T19:45:25Z")
[The Onion’s commentary.](http://www.theonion.com/articles/obama-supporter-has-perfectly-improbable-explanati,32462/) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/108 "2013-05-16T19:55:29Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > And Watergate was just a two bit burglary. Ordered by, and carried out for the benefit of, the president. That’s the “Z” **babygoat666** was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/109 "2013-05-17T00:46:35Z")
The media narrative is now set: CHARLIE ROSE: You have seen lots of second terms. This one came in on a big political victory, wanting to do things. And you have this picture, one, of intrusive government and yet a president who seems like a bystander in his own government. BOB SCHIEFFER: People were talking in Washington about – some people were saying, “Are we back to the Nixon administration? This is what they did in the Nixon administration.” This is not the Nixon administration, where you had burglars and people talking about blowing up the Brookings Institution. This is more of a case, is anybody home? [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/05/16/schieffer\_on\_scandals\_its\_very\_very\_disturbing\_what\_were\_seeing.html](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/05/16/schieffer_on_scandals_its_very_very_disturbing_what_were_seeing.html) Well, he wanted to be like Ronald Reagan. He’s succeeding on at least one front. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/110 "2013-05-17T00:56:52Z")
I’m sure that meant _something_, but what it means is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/111 "2013-05-17T01:06:49Z")
Reagan didn’t seem to be aware of anything that was going on in his administration. I don’t recall Bush 41, Clinton, or even Bush 43 having to give press conferences claiming that they didn’t know nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/112 "2013-05-17T01:15:12Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I don’t recall Bush 41, Clinton, or even Bush 43 having to give press conferences claiming that they didn’t know nuthin’. Do you recall the firing of several U.S. attorneys who wouldn’t follow political orders and investigate Democrats? You know, that thing that’s sort of like the IRS scandal except it was much more serious and actually came from the White House? I can’t even take credit for noticing the parallel because I think someone else asked you about it in another thread. Or the Valerie Plame thing, which involved senior White House staff and the Vice President claiming he wasn’t part of the executive branch? There were some minor kerfluffles involving detainees who were tortured or died while in custody. When did Bush say he was up to date and well aware of all of this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/113 "2013-05-17T01:19:52Z")
Bush didn’t say, “I knew nothing about it.” Now I’m not saying his behavior was excusable, Bush was one of the worst Presidents in history and a lot of bad things were done on his watch. But never once did he deflect blame or throw his underlings under the bus. In fact, he was often criticized for being too loyal to his people and never holding anyone responsible. BAsically he just flipped America the finger whenever these scandals came up. And he did it again when he pardoned Scooter Libby. And again when he gave George Tenet the Medal of Freedom. This guy wouldn’t even throw a Clinton appointee under the bus. Say what you want about W, he didn’t weasel. And by effectively taking responsibility for his administration, he was rightly punished by the public with record low approval ratings and lame duck status. Obama is headed in that direction, but seeks to avoid it by pointing fingers elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/114 "2013-05-17T01:23:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Bush didn’t say, “I knew nothing about it.” When did he assert his awareness in these matters and his responsibility for them? > [@adaher](#): > > Say what you want about W, he didn’t weasel. I actually don’t agree at all, but I’d rather stay on track here. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/115 "2013-05-17T03:27:30Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > **Has the media “turned” on Obama?** I shouldn’t wonder. One sees **so** many hot white girls in the media, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Molesworth\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Molesworth\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molesworth_2)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/116 "2013-05-18T00:17:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Bush didn’t say, “I knew nothing about it.” Now I’m not saying his behavior was excusable, Bush was one of the worst Presidents in history and a lot of bad things were done on his watch. But never once did he deflect blame or throw his underlings under the bus. I kind of recall the Cheney Administration throwing Valerie Plame under the bus. Perhaps you just inhabit a different reality to the one I do. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/117 "2013-05-18T07:31:11Z")
The President has two people now that he needs to fire if he’s serious about dealing with the IRS: One of his Deputy Treasury Secretaries, who the NY Times reports knew about the targeting before the election and didn’t bother to tell his boss, and the official in charge of that division of the IRS at the time, who now heads the health care law implementation division. Both need to be fired and every day the President doesn’t act is a day he shows that he supported the IRS’s actions. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/118 "2013-05-18T07:46:26Z")
And this is suspicious: > **[IRS stalled conservative groups, but gave speedy approval to Obama foundation](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/irs-stalled-conservative-groups-but-gave-speedy-approval-to-obama-foundation/2013/05/16/90c53e8a-be57-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html)** > > IRS office in the middle of controversy gave nod to Obama group An Obama foundation gets speedier approval than normal. Granted, it actually was a “social welfare” group, but the normal application time is 5-6 months, whereas they not only got special treatment, but also retroactive tax exemption. Whether or not the President had anything to do with the IRS scandal, it’s clear they were working for him politically. They may even have rigged some downballot elections for him, since liberal groups got speedy approval and many Tea Party groups had to disband. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/119 "2013-05-18T08:33:35Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The President has two people now that he needs to fire if he’s serious about dealing with the IRS: One of his Deputy Treasury Secretaries, who the NY Times reports knew about the targeting before the election and didn’t bother to tell his boss, and the official in charge of that division of the IRS at the time, who now heads the health care law implementation division. Unless he fears that, once dismissed, they’re prone to turn around testify that the president’s inner circle had knowledge of their actions. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323/120 "2013-05-18T08:34:42Z")
What is really odd is that the IRS deliberately planted a question to be asked of them regarding the problem as if it was [accidentally](http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/17/lerners-admission-was-pre-planned-public-disclosure/) leaked out. They then turned this into a public announcement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-media-turned-on-obama/658323.md?page=7)