Wow, this is scary
Let’s imagine a hypothetical world where George W. Bush was still president and started to say that CNN wasn’t a legitimate news organization. Something to do with too much criticism of the war in Iraq. Karl Rove appears on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” and declare the media should follow the administration in saying that CNN was “not a news organization.” Bush communications directer Kevin Sullivan proclaims that CNN is “opinion journalism masquerading as news.”
And in our imaginary world, the Bush Administration no longer sends officials to programs on CNN to respond to policy questions because Wolf Blitzer fact-checked Secretary Rice on some statements she made. Sullivan says that fact-checking officials is “something I’ve never seen a Sunday show do.” Wolf Blitzer is floored: “He criticized ‘The Situation Room’ last week for fact-checking — fact-checking — an administration official.”
Of course, this would never happen. President Bush was severely criticized for the way he handled his press conferences (which were far less restricted than under the current administration), never mind de-legitimizing a news organization like CNN and ignoring interview requests for government officials. If that were to happen, we’d never hear the end of it. And rightly so. For President Bush to do that would be to deny an important aspect of our democratic process, that of the free press.
Yet this EXACT same world is currently playing out under the Obama Administration with FOX News, and no one seems to care. To have the President of the United States hound a news organization and roundly denounce them for airing criticisms of his actions? This is a the Alien and Sedition Acts all over again. Yet because President Obama is a Democrat, he gets a free pass on acting properly. CNN, MSNBC, and the Big Three Networks seem to think that not standing by their competitor to defend the greater good (i.e. protecting a free and open press) will benefit them more.
But if President Obama gets away with it with FOX News, what’s to stop him from going after CNN? When they dare to run a news story that might be critical of some administration policy, who’s to say Obama won’t have any qualms in squashing that too? Or if Blitzer dares to fact-check an administration official as Chris Wallace did with Assistant Secretary Duckworth, who’s to say CNN access to officials for interview won’t be denied?
The policy being pursued by President Obama is scary. And until we wake up and halt it, we may find ourselves without the free and open press that our First Amendment promotes and that is absolutely necessary for a properly functioning republic.
