{{When do I defend Bush? I simply compare his to Obama, which according to many of you is fair, but point out that Bush received criticism for things that Obama does not.}}

Repeat after me: there is no conspiracy against Republicans. The right really just is crazy.

Bush got criticized for being out of touch, Obama, while affluent is well aware of the plight that ordinary Americans go through. The guy was raised by a single mother for fuck's sake and went to Occidental College - the dude by no means had a silver spoon. Bush on the other hand didn't publicly acknowledge gas prices were high until 2007, about 18 months after they had gone over $4 a gallon. Bush got into Yale through connections, his family has a multi-million dollar estate, he got straight C's but it didn't matter because his daddy lined a job up for him anyway. And when the companies he ran failed his dad just had the Saudis send him a big fat check to keep him afloat.

Dubya rightfully received the public's scorn for being out of touch - for not addressing economic issues, for squandering our nation's future for short term political gain.

Obama on the other hand - as far as I know hasn't done that and isn't guilty of being out of touch with reality. The guy kept his democratic primary promise to give a weekly address on youtube - he actually talks to whoever the fuck wants to talk to him via his youtube/google channels every week. He's said on multiple occasions he doesn't want to get stuck in the bubble of complacency that is the West Wing.

So if you're wondering why Obama isn't getting criticized for being out of touch - it's because he isn't.

If someone criticized Bush for things his administration wasn't guilty of then call foul on them - but to me it just looks like you're mad that Obama isn't making the same mistakes as Bush.

{{And my statement said Obama gets a pass for everyone except FoxNews. Yes, I know they all have an agenda, most of them leaning left. Obama is about to intervene in Iran (most likely). If a 2-4 year war ensues, do you think he'll receive similar criticism as Bush did, or will he get a free pass because, you know, Obama is doing it because it's the "right thing to do".}}

1) Fox News is the mainstream media (#1 rated news outlet), he does not get a pass from the mainstream media. CNN is the #2 rated news outlet and is also critical of Obama. What the fuck are you talking about? Obama gets the opposite of a pass from the mainstream media, in fact Bush was the one that was getting a pass from the mainstream media (Fox News never said a god damn bad thing about him).

2) I'll eat my words if Obama gets us embroiled in an actual foreign conflict (i.e. a war with Iran, peace keeping or intervention like what we did in Libya doesn't count). If Obama is actually pressured into a conflict with Iran then he cares about something else more than he does about the average American's financial plight and thus isn't as in touch with the state of the union as I thought. Although let's be honest, it'd take a lot of fuck ups for him to come off as out of touch as Dubya was in his later years.

FoxNews is the highest rated news channel because it's the only one the far right can rely on to push the GOP agenda (thus almost all Republicans go there for their news). CNN leans left of center as do the others.

It is what it is. I'm 98% sure Obama will get reelected unless gas gets above $6.00/gallon or we drop a nuke on Tehran (actually that second part might get me to vote for him). He'll get his chance to prove that what he's doing is working. For our sake I hope it works out. There will be a Republican back in the West Wing in 2017. That's just how the cycle works.

CNN and the rest of media never pushed an active agenda, no matter what type of lean the journalists had that colored their stories the news editors in general were mildly right of center. FoxNews purpose is to not publish the news but to actively push and promote an ideological agenda and that represents the final corruption of the media as a source for reform, protection and exposure of corruption in our nation. People no longer trust the media, and FoxNews was the tipping point that broke that trust.

The idea of a more conservative take on the news doesn't bother me, the problem is that in search of ratings FoxNews turned the media into entertainment. That should offend everyone no matter what their ideology.

I trusted the MSM until they hosed RP. still pisses me off how much they slander that man. definitely drives some conspiracy theories about the MSM as a whole being bought by the bi artisans.

To be more too, it isn't just FoxNews even though to me they represent the tipping point where media started failing us, reality TV and a general lack of honest culture also provided for the rise of infotainment as an acceptable level of journalism in our country.

The fact that our media is "free" of control by the state gives us a false sense of security in how honest and altruistic it is.

For real. I'm so mad at TMZ its crazy.

(just a guess)

it seems to me that the american media has confused Neutrality with objectivity.


neutrality is listening to both sides and letting them both make their argument.

objectivity is fairly presenting both sides, then analysing the arguments and comparing them to facts.

this is especially evident when it comes to the global warming debate and the evolution debate.

No, not at all, American media isn't confused. They are very clear about what they care about, ratings and advertisement dollars, it is infotainment. It is no longer about journalism.

i just dont understand, because at least at my college, all the journalist majors were supergrilled with ethics, and all of them seemed a bit arrogant in how they cared more about truth than money.

Yeah most J-School grads I know work in coffee shops or work for some online media, I can see a connection between my experiences and yours. Mainstream, this includes Fox, CNN, Talk Radio, etc, has been consolidated and monetized. Leaving people to slog through countless conflicting sources of "gorilla" journalists, ie blogs, to find any type of truth to events. Or people give up and just rely on Stewart and Colbert, because at least humor is honest to a degree.