The Press’s Love Affair with Obama

Like it or not, the Press and media have biases towards certain candidates. We can see it in the headlines and in the tone of their coverage and commentary. But should they have biases? In 1958, Edward R. Murrow recognized that news had become a commodity and only acceptable when saleable. He criticized the networks for failing to properly cover the news by putting slants on stories or simply refusing to cover them. It appears that journalists and the media haven’t come very far from the shortcomings that Mr. Murrow observed during his own time.The biggest kept secret amongst members of the Press is that all news about Obama must be good news while all news about
Clinton must be bad news. As the press coverage of Obama’s campaign illustrates, any story must be positive, or they keep to the adage that no news is good news.

Not so for Hillary, almost every story that has come out about her in recent weeks has been unfairly critical of her. As Mark Halperin notes, Hillary is held to a much higher standard. As the front runner, it’s expected that the candidate leading the pack receives additional scrutiny of their public and private lives, but in most polls, Obama is showing as leading the pack in Iowa and in
New Hampshire. So isn’t it time that the press start scrutinizing?

In his 1995 book, Obama disclosed that as a teenager, he had used marijuana and cocaine. He also disclosed that he didn’t use heroine because he didn’t like the person who was dealing it!!! Yet despite this disclosure, the Press has declared that this is un-newsworthy. Instead have tried to bury it by criticizing anyone who brings it up such as when Bill Shaheen did last week.

What’s glaring about Obama’s disclosure is that he didn’t say he experimented with Cocaine and Marijuana as most candidates would say. Rather he said he used it. This begs the question, how many times did he use it? Was it once, twice, daily or weekly? Second, how did Obama use Cocaine? Did he snort it, or melt it down to inject himself? Thirdly, Cocaine is an addictive drug. Although not widely known, Obama is a smoker which should clue people into the fact that Obama has qualities that make him an addictive person. Was he ever addicted to Coke? What’s also missing from Press coverage is the fact that Obama broke the law and got away with it! Possession of Cocaine and Marijuana is a felony in Illinois and
Massachusetts, yet there is no mention of this or other important questions in news stories.

Even more preposterous about his disclosure is his admission about his experience with heroine. Obama claims that he didn’t use heroine because he didn’t like the dealer. This naturally implies that had he liked the dealer, he would have used heroine. As Jeff Foxworthy might say, a fifth grader could make that connection. Nor is his statement really plausible. People don’t use drugs because of their relationship with a drug dealer they use drugs because they choose to use drugs. Most drug users probably don’t even know their dealer on a personal level.

The reality is that Obama hasn’t had to answer any questions about his past drug use other than the ones he answered in his book. Teenage drug use usually doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. If he continued to be a dope user while he was in college, or even at Harvard, it raises serious questions about his ability to make proper decisions.

So in order to prevent the public from making informed decisions, the Press has chosen instead to bury the story. Highlighting the story only turns voters off because polling data has consistently shown that voters ware less likely to vote for a candidate who used Cocaine. The fact that the members of the Press have failed in their responsibilities, raises questions about journalistic integrity.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Obama was held to the same standard that is being applied to Hillary?

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