Obama to Appear on Everything, Everywhere. Except Fox.

Agree with your Fox-less assessment. Letterman interview should be probably the most interesting.

Your point on over-exposing himself so everyone hears the message from him is valid; it just makes it a little sad to see the President out making the rounds like he’s trying to open a movie.

Ordinarily I would agree with you; but if he goes on Fox this Sun and he has a msg, it would throw him off-msg to talk about Van Jones and ACORN and “scary” czars the entire time. He obviously would not get to health care. Chris Wallace has followed Fox News and covered these things on Suns. He can fight with Fox anytime. They will be there.

JHC! Jimmy Carter just told Brian Williams some whites don’t like Obama because a black man cannot lead this great country. If I were O, I would cancel all shows.

Would W ever have given Dan Rather an interview after the trumped-up “Rathergate”? Did Dick Cheney ever go on “Countdown”?

So why in the hell would Obama give Fox any credibility as a news organization by giving them an interview? Fox spends half its time saying or implying that Obama is not an American, that he is the Devil Incarnate, that he’s a Communist (not that anyone on Fox actually knows what the word means).

So please, leave your Fox envy at the door. It makes you look like an idiot. Ratings does not equal credibility.

You hit the hammer right on the nail. This James P. is just looking for sensationalism and scandal. Obama has decided to go where the rational people are, not these people who show up at Glenn Becks Million Moron Marches on Washington (The city not the state.)

I’m not sure what’s sadder… the fact that you actually believe some of what you said, or the fact that there are people who will buy that garbage, without knowing the truth or really thinking critically about it.

“Would W ever have given Dan Rather an interview after the trumped-up “Rathergate”?”
Trumped up? Rather and his producer knew the documents were fake, knew some of the claims they were making were fake (see her book for more on that), and went ahead with the story anyway. They were both fired because of it… how was that “trumped up,” or anything close to what FOX News Sunday has done… ever?

“Did Dick Cheney ever go on “Countdown”?”
First off, you’re comparing the President with the Vice President… but letting that go, you do know that Keith Olbermann doesn’t allow people with dissenting views on his program, right? It would be tough for Cheney to go on a program the host refuses to invite him to.

“So why in the hell would Obama give Fox any credibility as a news organization by giving them an interview?”
(1) He’s done it before, (2) memebers of his administration have done it recently, (3) other Democrats across the country do it daily, (4) there is more to these United States than just Democrats and Liberals, and if Obama really wants to “cut through the partisan bickering,” why wouldn’t he want to talk to that audience? He accusing (without naming names) FNC of “scare-tactics” and “misinformation,” but refuses to do anything about it… when he could use his airtime to “set the record straight.”

“Fox spends half its time saying or implying that Obama is not an American,”
Quote Bill O’Reilly, “Again, we found out that President Obama was born in Hawaii.. we were sent the documents. And what are you gonna do? I don’t know why it’s [the Birther story] still around…” Who has been supporting the Birther story on FOX? Anyone? Nope… sorry, but you’re telling a lie.

“he is the Devil Incarnate”
*Yawn* Yet another OBVIOUS lie.

“that he’s a Communist (not that anyone on Fox actually knows what the word means).”
Communist, not really. Socialist, maybe. But either way, do you believe that one or two opinion commentators should dictate the response to the whole network (and sister stations)? If that’s the case, should Obama talk to NBC even though Olbermann routinely called Bush a “fascist” on air, and then called for “civility” in the public discourse? Should Obama go on CNN, even though Lou Dobbs kept talking about the Birther story, when nobody else was? Didn’t ABC do something that Bill Clinton didn’t like… and I’m sure someone on CBS said something negative about the President… so should he bail on all those too?

“Ratings does not equal credibility.”
Obama doesn’t need credibility now… he needs ratings. He needs eyeballs tuned into his every word, so he can make his pitch for healthcare. If he really wants to be bi-partisan, really talk to the independents, and show he’s bigger and better than his opponents, he’d better learn how to talk to them. Right now, he’s coming across and thin-skinned and scared. He talks a good game about respecting everyone… but apparently can’t walk the walk.

@kenyoncallahan

“Obama has decided to go where the rational people are,”
Who decides who the “rational people are”? You? Me? Either way… if Obama wants another term, if the Democrats want to maintain control, and if they hope to have any part of their agenda supported by a majority of Americans, they need people from BOTH SIDES of the aisle. This pandering to one side, while hypocritically claiming “the other guy doesn’t want to talk,” is transparent… and will hurt the left in the end. Unless they start spreading that willingness to “talk to our enemies” to their political rivals, they’re going to have a real hard time with the public.

Time, you are right, except for one thing….you are wrong. You have a company that relentlessly pursuits to discredit him and appease the people who agree that he wasn’t born in this country and believe he is a communist. Not only is he not welcomed there by Fox, but the very same people who are tired of this bickering back and forth right vs left are not the people who watch Fox. The people who are tired of it voted for equality and justice last November 4th. The argument isn’t that because we have a Democratic President we should be fair and equal, it’s that when we had the previous Republican president, he chose to run thing one-sided. Please take note on how President Obama is encouraging Bi-Partisanship.

Thanks for this article posting James Poniewozik.

imnotblue:

I agree with you that President Obama should go on Fox News again if he’s invited. Where I disagree is where you say that there have been no comments about Obama being a communist. You say “Communist, not really. Socialist, maybe.”

I watch Bill O’Reilly and Hannity every night, as well as CNN. Hannity has a deep seated dislike for Obama, and he admits it. Although, in his characteristically hypocritical way, he sometimes says he “dislikes the man”, and other times he says he has nothing against him, but dislikes his policies. He is constantly, not maybe, saying Obama is a socialist. But, he opened a show some time ago with scenes from Nazi marches and fleeting images of hammers and sickles as a subliminal message. This was after the stimulus package was finalized. He did not have to say “communist” to make his message more clear. Coincidentally, the shouts of Marxist, Communist, Fascist (they all have different meanings, mind you), referring to Obama, had already started.

On a Bill O’Reilly show, he mentioned an entrepreneur and showed a sample of the hats he was selling with the hammer and sickle insignia. He could have chosen not to show this, since this was during this same period. But him showing this created an image. COMMUNISM! It was a purposeful choice.

So, yes, Obama should appear on Fox News. But, sadly, no matter what he says, Fox in general will not trust his words, since they say he speaks with a forked tongue. In fact, they will twist his words, and in true Hannity fashion, omit and reconstruct passages in order to serve their agenda.

The perception may be that Fox is a nest of Obama-haters whose audience is monolithically opposed to him,

The perception being accurate in this case.

but I think he would only benefit from being perceived to have the stones to do Fox and do it regularly.

You don’t look like you have “stones” if you pander to people who have made a cottage industry out of peddling lies about you. You look like cowardly appeaser.

If I was Obama, I would bar any senior member of the administration from appearing on a Fox show until Glenn Beck’s show was cancelled. What is Fox going to do? Say nasty things?

[...] Ah.. reaching out to friendlies… like sympathetic Washington Post writers, eh? Or, the entire media sans Fox. [...]

I have to wonder – does NOT appearing on Fox DEPRIVE the Fox viewers an opportunity to see the President on TV?

With 5 different appearances, at 5 different times, ANY viewer can elect to switch to that channel and watch.

To even try to imply the lack of Fox appearance as DENYING anyone an opportunity to see and hear what he says means he is abandoning all Fox viewers is ridiculous.

Of course, if you assume Fox viewers have lost their remotes and can’t change the channel, well, maybe you are right.

But then, how would they watch NASCAR?

I completely agree! I don’t think Obama is trying to avoid his critics/the republicans, but I hope his passing over of FOXNEWS is a statement that their programs aren’t credible. Maybe if they actually were “fair and balanced” instead of a network full of show hosts on constant democratic witch hunts, then they would get an interview. Recognizing their network with an interview gives their message credence. Critics and “red” programs should definitely be given time, but FoxNews is a pathetic excuse for a news network. I personally feel that the mixed viewers as reported in the study can be accounted for- I’ve watched FoxNews before just to find out what the current crazies are up to. I’m not anti-conservative and I believe above all that debate and discussion are essential, but it’s simply not the case on Fox, they spread rumors and misinformation and try to pass it off as news…Good for Obama, stick to your guns and ignore the show until they prove they can report anything realistic.

That would be because Fox would lie anyway. I’ve never seen a tv station more blatantly Republican that they will actually lie through their teeth for them.

well, grandma always said it would come out in the wash… guess time will tell. I do know tis…with tis great union huggin’ a debt ($57 trillion) tat would make Mount Rushmore look like a mole hill. Plus the turnips in D. C. squandering over $100 trillion out of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds…if people don’t get both the jack@sses and elephants off tat dang hill….we the people are gonna have a row to hoe all the way to Venus by way of Galaxy A1689-zD.
All anyone in America needs to do now is to think about George Washington….yes tat fellow tat is on the one dollar bill…..he wus put ther for a reason….it’s the most widely circulated bill tat the Treasury prints.
Read his farewell address back on September 17, 1796 after only eight years at serving his country and you will see why the United States Treasury put his face on tat bill.
Now…read tis quote from “The Flow of Trade in a Global Economy” written by Lance Winslow.
“Now let us look at Wal-Mart again; you buy a product there, 6% goes to the employees, 10-18% is profit to the company, 25% goes to other costs and 50% goes to re-stock or the cost of goods sold. Of the 50% about 20-25% goes to China, a guess, but you get the point. Now then, how long will it take at 433 Billion dollars at year for China to have all of our money, leaving no money flow for us to circulate? At a 17 Trillion dollar economy less than 40-years minus the 1/6 they buy from us. Some say that if we keep putting money into our economy, it would take forever, but if we do not then eventually all the money flow will go. If China buys our debt then eventually they own us, no need to worry about a war, they are buying America, due in part to our own mismanaged trade, so whose fault is that? Not necessarily China, as they are doing what’s in the best interests, and we should make sure that trade is not only free, but fair too.”
OK!….now read tis quote right off Wal*Mart’s China web page….
“Wal-Mart firmly believes in local procurement. We recognize that by purchasing quality products, we can generate more job opportunities, support local manufacturing and boost economic development. Over 95% of the merchandise in our stores in China is sourced locally. We have established partnerships with nearly 20,000 suppliers in China.”
Dang! 95% …..tat only leaves 5% for the rest of the world….now the question…
How much of their currency leaves their country and gets stuck in a foreign bank?
And tis is where we come back to George….yes the man tat is on the US dollar bill…. “Washington had been reelected unanimously in 1792. His decision not to seek a third term established a tradition that is now embedded in the 22d Amendment of the Constitution. In his Farewell Address of Sept. 17, 1796, he drew on the results of his varied experience, offering a guide for both present and future. He urged his compatriots to cherish the Union, support the public credit, be alert to the “insidious wiles of foreign influence,” respect the Constitution and the nation’s laws, abide by the results of elections, and eschew political parties of a sectional cast. Asserting that the United States and Europe had different interests, he declared that it “is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world,” trusting to temporary alliances for emergencies. He also warned against indulging in either habitual favoritism or habitual hostility toward particular nations, lest such attitudes should provoke or involve the country in needless wars.” Take the time to read his farewell address after only eight years of serving his country and than ask yourself tis….How do you think George feels being sent overseas in return for all tat foreign so-call cheap items and being left in a foreign bank because the American worker doesn’t make anythig for the foreigners to buy. Cheap items didn’t make tis great union of 57…oops! 50 states the greatest place on the face of tis Earth…..the American worker (union and non-union) did. You can’t have a strong country without having a strong currency and you can’t have a strong currency unless you keep it floating around within your 50 states. Tis is why the store with the star in the name puts 95% China made items in their stores in China….to keep their “yuan” in their country helping the nice people there. And with only 5% left for all the other 182 country’s tat make stuff including the United States of America….tat doesn’t produce very many jobs outside of China. Being an old person myself and knowing how it wus back in the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s in tis union of 50 states….I look at George each time I pull him out of my billfold and make a promise to send him out for items made in America so after floating around helping each hand he touches jus maybe one day he will shake mine again. Gudnite and God Bless!

I really don’t get it. I am astonished at how out of touch and hubristic Obama’s political apparatus and by extension himself have become. They really do seem to see themselves and their boss thru rose-colored glasses.

I do think he is overexposed. I take your point about the fragementation of the media audience, but I think this is a net-negative for them. Because the more he speaks, the less emphasis and power any one of his words have. His message and the power of his megaphone are being diluted and have become for me more of a joke than something to awe and want to hear.

They seem to think the president is their best salesman but they are turning him from a credible salesman into a hack, tawdry, used-car salesman by thrusting him into the media constantly like this.

And the Fox News Sunday shutdown is truly a mistake. Fox News is one thing, but Fox News Sunday has never been anything but a political talk show like its competitors. The messages this gives out about the Whitehouse: that they are only preaching to the choir, they are unable to handle dissent, they’re arrogant, they don’t consider a huge swath of viewers as worthy of dignity, is more damaging than whatever they are gaining.

I’ve never seen a group of people, the President included, who can’t handle a bad word without taking it personally.

And I say all this as a proud Democrat, who is mystified that the political apparatus in the Obama White House can be so arrogant, out of touch, and unable to take constructive suggestions without considering it a personal affront.

[...] Obama to Appear on Everything, Everywhere, Except Fox [...]

This makes perfect sense for obama, since he wants government to take over everything including free speech. Seems that all CBS, NBC, ABC and there cable partners seem to broadcast is only what the obama administration wants. Yes I do watch fox news, oh and yes I am a member of that mean and nasty tea party that the other networks talk about as being so nasty. It is not surprising that obama will not go on Fox, I guess we really don’t have free speech, or is he just afraid? Seems there is some kind of reason, but I am sure some of you will say it is racism or somthing other than the truth of why He won’t go on. It sure is a shame,,, I wonder what he is paying those other networks. I think he owes the taxpayers and explanation,don’t you?