TheLoop21.com

By: Devona Walker (Add to your loop)
Mon, 02/01/2010 - 01:00

President Obama talks to Republicans, but its meaning gets lost by the media.

This past Friday, the president had a frank discussion with congressional Republicans. It was a good discussion to watch, even stronger than the State of the Union address. He confronted his harshest critics and it was televised!

We got a glimpse of the man we voted for, whose been mired in wonkish details for a year, who only emerges to put out fires and give very formal, scripted speeches. We got a chance to see him on the aggressive -- at least as aggressive as his nature would allow -- and take Republicans to task for mischaracterizing very centrist policies like Bolshevik plots.

Republicans got their turn to bend his ear without the interference of Rahm Emmanuel. And they got an opportunity to say they actually do have ideas and aren't just the party of "No." In their opinion, they aren't obstructionists but people who've been ignored. 

It was a mutual mia culpa for the insanely divisive political atmosphere— something many Americans would really appreciate. While folks like Alan Grayson and Rep. Joe Wilson have emerged as left- and right-leaning media darlings. Most of us are just tired of the bickering and the gaming, and would like, at the end of the day, for something to get done.

During the SOTU, we saw a president committed to doing that. In the follow-up meeting with the GOP, he solidified it. Even the conservative-leaning Rasmussen reported that Obama received a bounce following the SOTU: from 50 percent to 62 percent among Democrats. However, the president's ability to get something done will depend on Republicans and, unfortunately, the "balloon-boy-of-the-day-infatuated-media." It took them all of 30 seconds to characterize it as a wrestling match as opposed to an acknowledgment that they have to work together to get anything done.

I hate to sound like a "know it all," but Obama was doing what I suggested he do: aggressively move to the populist center and away from the establishment center. He has to force the GOP to either stand with him or give the American people a damn good reason for opposing him. And that is exactly what he did.

But instead of the media focusing on substance, they became as superficial as ever. With their "food fight journalism," I would argue they're as much to blame for Washington's dysfunctional nature as the politicians.

It's quite predictable. Dumb criminals, car chases, dumb robberies, celebrities behaving badly, political drama and grandstanding and murder mysteries. The cable news shows have given up on their primary mission of informing citizens. They are ruthless and irresponsible and feel no ethical obligations whatsoever to translate the spin or report the news. The media was, not that very long ago, a trusted source of information.

On Thursday, the drama du jour was President Obama criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal a significant portion of current campaign finance reform laws. And then Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito uttered “That’s simply not true," under his breath. Who cares?

The other drama du jour was Chris Matthews' comment about forgetting President Obama was black during the SOTU. Once again, who cares? We're in the middle of a recession. Foreclosures are still higher than ever. Unemployment is in the double digits. Bankruptcies continue at a record pace. Health care premiums are rising 30 percent annually. Our politicians, regardless of their party, were elected to solve problems. And the media's cheering them on, right down the rabbit hole.

It's no wonder Americans are cynical, angry and...uninformed.

Devona Walker is TheLoop21.com's senior financial/political reporter and blogger. She can be reached at devona@theloop21.com.

Have you had enough of the health care reform debate?

Yes, it's not going to happen

Yes, move onto jobs

No, not until it passes

No, it's important

It doesn't affect me

I don't know