Thursday, June 18, 2009

Channel Surfing This AM on TV & Sirius

This morning I was pleased to see CNBC's Joe Kernan talking politics with Jack Welch. It was impressive to see ardent supply-sider, Reagan Republican Kernan actually comment thoughtfully on Obama. He pointed out that O's economic team is hardly radical - Summers has long been supported by both sides (including Kudlow), Geithner ran the NY Fed during Bush era, and Bernanke (independent from WH) is a Republican that this administration works very well with. Welch, a pragmatic moderate Republican agreed, but wished the WH would slow down with all the reforms. Both acknowledged that Bam inherited massive, growing deficits and an economy that would only make the deficits worse.

Kernan also pointed out that Obama has executed - or at least attempted everything he said he would. He, for one, takes Obama's pro-free market comments at face value.

CNN was closely covering the situation in Iran. They are all over this story like a cheap suit.

Fox News was covering the dead Continental pilot. I'm not kidding - shrill, urgent reporting with aviation experts brought in to discuss the pilot that passed away during flight. Never mind that the co-pilot was fine and had no trouble whatsoever bringing the flight in on time, as scheduled. The "Fourth Network" is not only rabidly right wing, they are truly "Tabloid TV" in the fine Murdoch tradition.

One more comment - Obama was interviewed this week by John Harwood who asked about a pliant press. To paraphrase our president, "one network is dedicated opposing our policies and if I watched that channel all day I probably would too." The right wingers really need to step back, get out of the echo chamber, and objectively look at what Bam is trying to do. He is on our side.

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