Takes One

Looking at the long-term outlook for our country, I've come to the conclusion that the most important story of the Obama years is not a failed economy, our skyrocketing debt, our profligate government spending, the myriad scandals, or the train wreck that we now call Obamacare. It is not the continuing disintegration of the Middle East, unenforced "red lines," Iran's unimpeded quest for nuclear weapons, or Russia's move to annex Crimea. Rather, it's an escalating media bias that has allowed an incompetent, corrupt, and divisive administration to operate without challenge.

The media has decided that it is now an arm of the state—pravda-like. It covers stories that reflect well on this administration (there are very few, indeed), waters down and spins coverage that is negative but can't be avoided, and flat our refuses to cover stories that might create broad public outrage.

A case in point is the IRS scandal. The Obama administration weaponized the IRS. Hard facts along with copius circumstantial evidence make this irrefutable. Yet, the media looks the other way. The Wall Street Journal reports:

ABC, CBS and NBC have so far refused to report the latest bombshell in the IRS scandal - a newly released list from the agency that showed it flagged political groups for "anti-Obama rhetoric." On September 18 USA Today, in a front page story, reported the following: "Newly uncovered IRS documents show the agency flagged political groups based on the content of their literature, raising concerns specifically about 'anti-Obama rhetoric,' inflammatory language and 'emotional' statements made by non-profits seeking tax-exempt status."

Not only have ABC, CBS and NBC not reported this story they've flat out stopped covering the IRS scandal on their evening and morning shows. It's been 85 days since ABC last touched the story on June 26. NBC hasn't done a report for 84 days and CBS last mentioned the IRS scandal 56 days ago on July 24.

These shocking statistics can be interpreted in only one way: there is a clear attempt to bury this important story. What if the media had reacted similarly when Richard Nixon's people burglarized Warergate? In fact, the IRS wrongdoing is far, far more serious because the IRS itself was compromised.

Over the past few years, I've used phrases like "Praetorian guard" and "trained hamsters" to describe the main stream media. The alphabet networks and their print clones have lost their way. They have become a partisan arm of the Democratic party, protectors of a failed President, and propagandists for an one ideology to the exclusion of any other. They have failed to do their job, have failed to speak truth to power, have failed to serve the public's right to know.

It fascinating that a corrupt and incompetent media is protecting a corrupt and incompetent administration. Takes one to know one.

UPDATE (3/11/2014):
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Sharyl Attkisson was one of very view true journalists left in the main stream media. She is an investigative reporter who did excellent work reporting on scandals among Democrats and Republicans. Like all good journalists, she did not give the Obama administration any slack—even though she worked for the trained hamsters at CBS News—and as a consequence, she became a pariah. After all, she spoke truth to power, but that's not the game when Barack Obama is president.

Jonathan Tobin reports:

The news that CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson is leaving the network does not come as any great surprise to those who have followed her career. Last year, at a time when we learned that the Obama Justice Department was spying on Fox News’ James Rosen as well as a group of reporters at the Associated Press, Attkisson reported that her computer had been hacked. But, as Dylan Byers wrote in Politico, Attkisson had an even bigger problem: most of her colleagues at CBS didn’t like the fact that she had spent the last few years reporting aggressively about the Obama administration’s various shortcomings and scandals. Journalists at mainstream media outlets like to pretend that they play it down the middle when it comes to whoever is in power. But it was hardly a coincidence that the prevailing office culture at the network that the president trusted, in Steve Kroft’s memorable phrase, not to make him “look stupid,” would think ill of a reporter that thought it worth her time to investigate stories like Fast and Furious, Solyndra and Benghazi.

Her resignation is for the best. Hopefully she'll now be free to do the excellent reporting she wants to do -- unless al her files are deleted in another "mysterious" hacking event. Hmmm.

UPDATE - II (3/11/2004):
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The Obama administration has worked very hard to pre-program the MSM to report in its favor. Of course the MSM acts like a puppy dog, so hard work probably isn't even necessary. Brietbart reports on the incestuous relationship that exists between senior MSM execs and the administration:

So…

1. According to ABC News, Obama's national security advisor Ben Rhodes was deeply involved in the editing of the CIA talking points.

2. These same CIA talking points are central to what many believe is a White House coverup.

3. Ben Rhodes is the brother of CBS News president David Rhodes.

4. At CBS News, Sharyl Attkisson is one of the only mainstream media journalists with the dogged determination and moral courage to demand the truth about the White House's involvement in the CIA talking points.

5. For months now reports have surfaced that Attkisson's bosses are unhappy with her, that she has trouble getting her Libya stories on the air, and that she's being accused of engaging in "advocacy."

House of Cards, baby, House of Cards!