At least one CNN reporter appears to be going rogue on President Obama and reversing his position from one of worshiping the anointed one to despising the Deceiver-In-Chief. CNN commentator, Jack Cafferty spent most of the Presidential campaign praising then candidate Barak Obama as the true candidate for change.
Candidate Obama was going to bring transparency and openness to government. He was going to distance government from lobbyist influence by pouring sunshine on the business of government sausage making. This would be accomplished by not just by allowing people to see and hear their government in action. No. He was going a full step forward. He promised to encourage people to become more educated and engaged by opening up discussions and debates on critical issues regarding the economy, health care, immigration and more by televising them on C-SPAN.
Obviously, C-SPAN was not invited to cover the bailout discussions that took place after President Bush left office. They weren’t invited to the discussions regarding bailing out Detroit’s automobile industry and the United Automobile Workers Union. Maybe things were happening too quickly for his media liaison to keep up with, but that’s unlikely.
We are more than a year into his Presidency and C-SPAN has yet to be invited to cover the debate regarding health insurance reform, formerly known as health care reform, also, formerly known as “the public option” for health care reform. There are discussions allegedly going on regarding Cap and Trade that have yet to appear on C-SPAN. Then, there’s the consideration for a “son of stimulus” or stimulus II plan that I’ve yet to see scheduled for debate and discussion in view of the public.
I have a hard time understanding why Mr. Cafferty is so upset. To me, it seemed obvious that there was no way that then candidate Obama could keep such a promise. To do so would ensure that nothing could get done for his entire term in office.
After actually hearing the facts and seeing the foundation upon which he, Madam Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid plan to rebuild America, the phones would be ringing so loud and so frequently that answering them would take up any time that may otherwise have been reserved from political mischief.
Apparently, Mr. Cafferty, CNNs sage old intellectual and commentator on things politic, must have believed every word he heard from the mouth of his new found god. His reaction is similar to that of a jilted lover – venomous at best:
“How dare they!” he began on a recent edition of CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
“President Obama and Democratic leaders have decided to bypass a formal House and Senate conference committee in order to reconcile those two healthcare bills. Instead, White House and Democratic leaders will hold informal — that’s another word for secret — negotiations meant to shut Republicans and the public out of the process.
“What a far cry from the election, when candidate Obama pledged to ‘broadcast healthcare negotiations on C-SPAN so the American people can see what the choices are.’
“President Obama hasn’t even made a token effort to keep his campaign promises of more openness and transparency in government. It was all just another lie that was told in order to get elected.”
Or:
“The Democrats insist this is all on the up and up,” Cafferty continued, “with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying ‘there’s never been a more open process for any legislation.’ Really?
“This is the same Nancy Pelosi who, you may recall after becoming speaker in 2006, promised the Democrats would have the ‘most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history.’
“Here’s hoping the voters remember some of this crap when the midterm elections roll around later this year.”
This is quite a distance away from the days on the campaign trail when Mr. Cafferty, in discussing candidate Obama said that the candidate made him feel “hopeful” and in a tone almost like that of a lover discussing the newest object of his affection, stated:
“I like him a lot. I think he’s a bright guy.” That sentiment was followed by: “I like the fact that he’s visible and that, you know, he’s attempting to bring some transparency and some legitimacy and honesty to the office, which has been missing for a while.”
Have no fear, though; not all of CNN has the courage of the most liberal, Jack Cafferty, to re-examine viewpoints and perspectives. For some, the facts and the truth of an issue are insufficient to overcome the religious zealotry that compels them to shed their morality and honor to preserve, rightly or wrongly, their unholy vision, because it is not divine to apologize – just to forgive those who think as they do.
