Journalists like to claim they speak truth to power. But when Barack Obama wields that power, they’re all too willing to do his bidding, even if it means attacking one of their own. Just ask Jodi Kantor.
Kantor’s book, “The Obamas,” is hardly some right-wing hit piece. She’s a New York Times correspondent who spent years interviewing hundreds of Obama staffers and associates to compile a book focused on Michelle and Barack’s relationship and the inner workings of the White House.
But Kantor did manage to unearth some less than flattering tidbits, such as the Halloween extravaganza the Obamas threw themselves in 2009 — when unemployment was 10% — and then hushed up; or the strife between Michelle and former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel; or the fact that former press secretary Robert Gibbs “had a tense relationship” with the first lady.
There’s nothing particularly earth-shattering in any of this, but it was enough to set the White House at Defcon 1, launching an “early and often” attack on the book that culminated with Michelle’s complaint that it made her look like “an angry black woman.”
And that was enough to get Obama’s media goon squad to start attacking Kantor.
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien dutifully followed the White House spin, ripping into Kantor and ranting, “You have not interviewed her. You have not interviewed her!”
Piers Morgan later called Kantor a “controversial author” and suggested the focus on Michelle was unfair, since she’s not president. (Morgan apparently missed the media’s fixation on Nancy Reagan.)
The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple said Kantor had “abandoned her journalist senses” and turned in a half-baked tome with unreliable revelations because she got paid big bucks in advance.
The same unhappy fate befell Ron Suskind, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who described discord among Obama’s economic team in his book “Confidence Men.” Suskind was savagely attacked by the administration (which “carpet-bombed” the book, according to Politico). But instead of recoiling at this display of White House paranoia, a compliant press instead followed up with killer blows.
As I learned while watching The Big Bang Theory (in re-runs) Defcon 1 is no biggie.
We worry as the numbers get bigger.
Defcon 4 is a big worry.
Odd how memorable some of the lines in that show can be.
But Michelle has nothing to worry about from the book making her look like ”an angry black woman.”
All she needs to do is look in the mirror and look at the photos the press publishes of her.
She can look really good….when she’s partying.
But most of the time her brow is furrowed and her mouth is a frown.
Those evil eyebrows don’t help, either.
A doctor friend of mine saw a montage of photos of Michelle frowning and furrowed and opined if maybe she suffers from ”photophobia.”
That not a fear of having your picture snapped.
It is a medical symptom of a vitamin deficiency that makes you over-sensitive to bright light.
Hmmmm….certain drugs also cause it.
Nan G
hi,
I was just a while ago reading in a local NEWS PAPER, about the trend which
some doctors prescribe pills for the one suffering from insomnia, which the pills are dangerous for them specific, because they are only for psycho derangement advance situation like the quetapine and other,
sequel, and other of the drugs for keeping the excited one quite down and peaceful, good mood,
the great danger for other are building fat in their body, and other causes of hurting kidneys ecetera
bye
and most of anger explosions come from .who take their pills to sleep,
what happen is the pill fall asleep and they stay awake,