How About Putting Producers On Trial For Treason? (4.00 / 2)

Shark attacks vs. terrorists, anyone?

Um, no, on second thought, I guess that wouldn't be the best thing to say if you plan on appearing a second time.

How about saying that this proves the superiority of the British system, and if we just had a king & queen to serve as ceremonial uber-celebrities, the President could focus on just doing the job of governing?

Whether you do this seriously or not is up to you.  (Helen Caldicott made a similar suggestion back in the 80s, adding that Tip O'Neill would make a splendid king.  She thought he'd look smashing in ermine.)  But I do think it's a way to open up some critical distance.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 08:07:52 AM CDT

smile and ridicule (0.00 / 0)

Obama is hardly the "first".  Kennedy and Saint Reagen were similarly loved by the press and people.

Also, while on TV it is important to always smile or smirk.  If you only smile when you're being attacked, it looks disingenuous.  

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by: dmineau @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 08:25:19 AM CDT

Kennedy, Reagan, Bush, every politician (0.00 / 0)

I am late to this diary having already missed it, but I would have mocked that article as the rightwing nonsense it is. Reagan with his horseback riding? Poppy Bush with his conveniently non-aristocratic love of pork rinds? W with his staged brush clearing on his prop "ranch"? This kind of thing is nothing new. It benefits politicians to present themselves in a way the public can relate to. For the author to try and make of this phenomenon something novel and specific to Obama is politically motivated nonsense designed to portray Obama as uniquely devious and superficial. The press loves to cover this kind of fluff because real issues are hard and take actual work to understand. It is not surprising that politicians consequently grab this low hanging fruit to boost their image with the public. This is not a story. It is on the same level as the bizarre attempt to make an issue out of teleprompter use - something equally standard for presidents and any public speaker with the budget to buy a teleprompter.

miasmo.com

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by: miasmo @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 14:41:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Also, Bush was a phony. (0.00 / 0)

Also, to avoid sounding defensive, I would point out that at least the fluff lifestyle stuff about Obama is genuine. The guy's real. Although Reagan rode while wearing those aristocratic-looking tight British polo style riding pants (whatever they're called) until his handlers got ahold of him and put him in a cowboy hat and jeans, at least he actually did ride horses. Bush's whole "rancher" pose was so transparent, it's pathetic that the press fell for it. It was obvious that  he was going to ditch that fake "ranch" the second he got out of office. The successful marketing of Junior, the Richy Rich prep school trust fund baby, as "W" the brush clearing regular guy was surreal.

miasmo.com

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by: miasmo @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 14:55:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The obvious: pivot this from (4.00 / 3)

a discussion of froth to a discussion about how discussions of froth are indictments of the press and bury the more important issues--then go hard after those more important issues.

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by: Joel @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 08:29:11 AM CDT

The obvious: pivot this from (4.00 / 1)

a discussion of froth to a discussion about how discussions of froth are indictments of the press and bury the more important issues--then go hard after those more important issues.

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by: Joel @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 08:29:11 AM CDT

This makes perfect sense to me. (0.00 / 0)

Change
"We must break up the banks and never again let them get so big that they distort our politics and take down the economy.

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by: HousesofProgress @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:47:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

There might be something to this (0.00 / 0)

If I was you, I'd first find out whose idea it was to show Obama as soccer-dad.

My first reaction was that this was just the media being dumbed down, and/or lazy - we know that networks like "reality shows" because they're cheap, and since the 'news' is largely about entertainment, anyway, that could readily explain their non-newsy focus. Or, maybe it was just a simple, innocent, human interest story, where the humans we are interested in are the First Family. Certainly, we'd be more interested in the First Family than the family next door.

However, Obama may, in fact, be trying to sell an image. It's never too early to start running for re-election.

So, again, if I was you, I'd nail down the facts of the matter. Whose idea was this?

435 Dem Primaries 2012
Coffee Party Usa
TheRealNews.Com

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by: metamars @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 08:33:24 AM CDT

5-year-olds playing soccer (4.00 / 4)

It's too snarky for your television television hosts (and not based on the metaphors of American football, so the point will be lost on most viewers), but the behavior of establishment media reminds me of young children playing soccer: They swarm around the ball, flailing at it with their feet, and falling down when they miss. The kids who score learn to stand outside the pack and take control of a ball as it escapes.

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by: infoshaman @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:09:25 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

!!!!!! thats good (0.00 / 0)

Change
"We must break up the banks and never again let them get so big that they distort our politics and take down the economy.

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by: HousesofProgress @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:48:54 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

If we had a press... (4.00 / 1)

... maybe we could give it freedom?

I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD.  

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by: lambert @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:10:47 AM CDT

Investigative Journalist (4.00 / 3)

I think a point that needs to be made is that the quality of investigative journalism that Bloggers are doing is outclassing the work of the MSM.

Marcy Wheeler's work in the last month needs to be recognized.

The celebrity focus the MSM is a large part of the reason that "news" is being told by people that are selling their books and making a name for themselves.  

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by: randy80302 @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:23:26 AM CDT

Excellent! (4.00 / 2)

Find out how many prominent blogs have covered the Obama family's soccer exploits. Probably none.

Is it any wonder that people are turning away from the networks and newspapers for real news?

435 Dem Primaries 2012
Coffee Party Usa
TheRealNews.Com

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by: metamars @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:30:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Amen, re: Marcy... (4.00 / 2)

...perhaps a gentle dismissal of the Politico as a credible "news source" of any sort--it''d be nice to have stats about the slant of their crap and outright fabrications, of which there are many, at hand, but alas, too late for that. They call it "Drudgico" for a reason, remember.

So, yeah--pivot from the trivial to the serious, a la the very real news that Marcy's been breaking.

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by: annagranfors @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:30:49 AM CDT

Bingo ... (4.00 / 1)

and you can always point out .. that "Drudgico" is owned by a nutter family .. kinda like the Washington Times being owned by the Moonies .. same thing .. both aren't worth the paper they are printed on .. and I bet "Drudgico" doesn't make any money(just like the Washington Times!!)

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 10:07:20 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I hope you saw the diary about Cliff Schecter (4.00 / 3)

over at Daily Kos.  Be prepared!

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by: Susan S @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 09:59:21 AM CDT

What diary was that? (0.00 / 0)

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 10:09:47 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sorry, it fell off the Rec List (4.00 / 3)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/...

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by: Susan S @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 11:06:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks!! (0.00 / 0)

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 11:57:28 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

we live in the age of twitter and facebook (0.00 / 0)

with all sorts of media types exploding and changing before our eyes. Obama is much more popular than his predecessor, but that doesn't mean his White House is akin to "Survivor" or "American Idol" or "The Real World". We don't really get to see much more of Obama than we saw of Bush.

Also, Obama has two young children living at the White House, so there will obviously be more family interest stories about them. Sounds like a dump, wannabe-provocative Politico story to me, all with the intent of pushing the stale "Obama is a celebrity" meme.

If this were a reality show, it would be called "Extreme Makeover: Nation Edition" where the Obama team has to come in and rehabilitate the country after 8 years of Bush fu-king it up.

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by: existenz @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 10:52:08 AM CDT

Thanks, folks. (4.00 / 2)

Much appreciated. Will post the video of the discussion shortly.

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by: AdamGreen @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 11:55:46 AM CDT

Thanks, folks. (0.00 / 0)

Much appreciated. Will post the video of the discussion shortly.

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by: AdamGreen @ Sun May 24, 2009 at 11:55:50 AM CDT