We noted earlier Wednesday that White House Press Secretary Jay Carney lambasted the press corps for uncritically parroting inaccurate Republican talking points about the "inferno of debt" that President Obama has piled up. Carney called it a sign of "sloth and laziness" on reporters' part.
But on Wednesday night, Rachel Maddow took the challenge to the Beltway media one step further.
"Does it make a difference to the press to have the Democratic White House Press Secretary scold them over not fact-checking Republican claims?," Maddow asked. "I do not know. But we are about to have a test of that."
As Rachel explained, Mitt Romney told Time's Mark Halperin, in a televised interview released today, that he'd get the jobless rate—currently stuck over 8 percent—down below 6 percent during his first term as president.
Though Halperin didn't note it, that pledge doesn't line up with Romney's earlier comments on the subject—something we pointed out at Lean Forward earlier Wednesday. Not long ago, he told a crowd that when it comes to judging President Obama's record on unemployment, "anything over 4 percent is not cause for celebration."
In other words, Romney seems to think he should be held to a different, and lower, standard than the president on the issue—an inconsistency that a more dogged press corps might be expected to point out clearly.
Over to Rachel:
This is a test of the Washington press corps. This is not a test for bloggers, or snarky opinion columnists or liberals on TV, who talk about this stuff all the time. This is a test for straight-up, report-the-facts Beltway reporters, charged with the responsibility of conveying the importance of what the candidates say and do. Mitt Romney says he wants to be held to a 6 percent unemployment rate, but if Obama is at 4 percent that's a failure. This is a test, this is only a test. If there were a real national investment in the rigor of Beltway reporting, your job would be on the line if you didn't get this right.
And of course, there will be plenty of other tests too. Will reporters focus on Romney's charge that Obama has gone around the world "apologizing" for the U.S., and point out that it's flatly untrue? Will they point out the contradiction between Romney's pledge to tackle the deficit and his embrace of the Paul Ryan plan, which experts say will do almost nothing on that score? And will they note that the substance of Romney's economic plan differs little from that of President Bush, which to some might suggest it's probably likely to produce the same disastrous results.
It'll be interesting to see how many reporters pass these tests, and how many flunk. You can bet that Rachel will be watching the results, and won't be shy about publicizing them.
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The vast majority will flunk.
Please post a video of the 'Dick Cheney' segment tonight, May 23rd 2012.
It's here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/47544497#47544497
and
here: http://leanforward.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11838721-dick-cheney-romneys-person-of-wisdom-and-judgment?lite
The media will fail on several fronts. They fail every time they mention Sarah Palin in any context other than a purely historical figure. ANY reporting on what she says or does extends her impossibly long period of relevance. They fail when they fall into the Faux Outrage trap, perfectly highlighted by the Cory Booker maelstrom that erupted this week. Why is there no equivalent Faux Outrage concert when Willard speaks for several days and never utters a factual statement? Chris Matthews should be suspended at times for his witless lines of questioning and inability to EVER let his guests answer a question without him stepping on their answer with his mindless stream of "yeah... ummm.... yeah... well.... uh huh" Shut his mike off when the guest is speaking. He has to ask his questions so many times... it is like he has never figured out there is a delay due to satellite. His guests understand it, but he doesn't. And for god's sake, swallow sometime!
Right now, the media only feeds the beast, and is in bed with it. Rachel is one of the few hosts that understands the standard Murrow and Cronkite set. Tim Russert, God bless him, also understood. Chris Hayes has potential, if he would EVER slow down his speech. There isn't a prize for the most words said in an hour on TV.
Several years ago I read a book by a woman who has long history of conributing for one of the top news agencies about the plight of women in the Arab world. One of the women she interviewed said "Americans have to be forced to fight in wars" The stupid person interviewing her seems to have forgotten that we have not had a draft in a couple of decades and that we have an all volunteer army. If that is being "forced" to fight, I sure don't know what qualifies at being willing to fight.
It is also up to us, the consumers of 'straight' news, to call out the reporters when they fail the test.
True... true...
The media never vetted Obama and held him administration to their broken promises, but I guarantee the liberal media will 'attempt' to dissect Romney, but will fail again as we saw with the phoney wars from the left. Obama said he would reduce the deficit by 1/2 by the end of his 1st term, while actually increasing our debt by a record $5 Trillion.
And what do you think Romney is going to do? Cut the deficit? Balance the budget? Not spend any money? Where do you think all the money for those massive tax cuts for his rich Wall Street buddies is going to come from? It doesn't grow on trees like deadbeat conservatives and their teabagger buddies assume. Romney is worse than Obama and he would totally tank this economy 10x worse than Bush did. Obama hasn't done great fixing the economy, but to think Romney is some saint to save our country is wishful thinking.
You are a magical thinker, OW, who fails to understand realistic correlaries.
the debt and deficit are two different things. A deficit is the difference between what you take in and what you spend. Debt is what you owe to others. Under Obama both are decreasing. The Republican tactic to circumvent this verifiable fact is to combine the current deficit with that incurred by GW and refer to it as one. typical hypocrisy.
Occupy Wacko -- Nbenefiel speaks the truth. YOU prove the lack of an informed electorate and the failure of the media to offer facts.
Nbenefiel prove some of us SEEK out facts because we have personal responsibility for our government "of, for and by the PEOPLE"!!!
We allready know the answer as to whether the "beltway" media will call out the mistruths of the GOP. The answer is no. Media is corporate. Media works for their corporate sponsors, not the government. We also know that the Sunday morning politichat programs are the preferred lying place of the GOP. We know this. Perhaps the NBC/MSNBC house could get it's own act together and require truthfulness from GOP politicos on "Meet the Press." David Gregory could become informed and actually point out mistruths and the ever present fabrications of the GOP....That would be terrific, but it's not gonna' happen. The media works for the corporate folks who buy advertising time and are also the GOP donor base. Corporate media doesn't want to drive it's own gravy train off the tracks. Corporate media has lost it's veracity.
Let's stop calling them "mistruths" and "fabrications" and call them what they are, blatant lies.
Do you know how often many, many of us seethe with frustration when we see the very people who have the JOB to inform us and give us verifiable news... just play the side by side Talking Head game while their "guest" spews talking points (we can see the eyes following a script, damn!) and blatant bull@!$%#. Then the host says "thank you for coming on".
It is sickening. If msnbc/ NBC and other networks can not figure out that you DO NOT serve the politicians, you serve the VIEWER -- maybe one day we'll have a chance to survive as a country that is built on one bedrock premise -- an INFORMED ELECTORATE!!!!
I am not saying to be rude. I am saying to call a lie a lie, a half-truth , a half-truth. Of course this requires that the "hosts/reporters" AND the producers of the shows do their homework BEFORE booking the interviewees/spokespeople.
You have a job. Please do it. (Rachel, I respect you -- the Cheney segment alone should win you awards for guts and research... I only wish your network would use you as a consistent standard. Others are very good, some are soooo not)
The beltway media, must first check with the Super-Pac donors, then corporate lobbyists, after this they report to the Congress to inform them of what to say, then they can report the scripted news story. In terms of economic issues the media check with their management to see if advertising sponsor can accept some pander blather. If we ever see any focused insightful issue being dissected, reduced to its elements and then reassembled to explain what the public sense is true, the world will end.
In statement and answer formal here's template.
Blah, blah it’s the policies that are blah, blah, blah. What policies are you able to name?
Blah, blah it’s the philosophy that is blah, blah, blah. What philosophies are the problems and are you able to name them?
Blah, blah it’s the ideologies that are blah, blah, blah. What ideologies are you able to name?
Blah, blah it’s the economy that is blah, blah, blah. What aspects? Are you able to name them? How does that employ 23 million?
Blah, blah it’s the capitalism that makes blah, blah, blah. What capitalism are you able to name? Can consumer buy those products?
The answers are predictable, bet cha, as blah, blah.
If Ms. Maddow wants to be credible on this test, why doesn't she start with the people on her own network.
The lack of challenging talking points-not answers to questions AND outright liars exists on msnbc to a degree that is sickening to folks who'd hoped maybe one network would have guts and journalistic ethics.
Cash your paychecks -- is that all it's about?
The tragedy in America is the lack of an informed electorate. BIG QUESTION: Are you part of the problem or part of the solution.
Signed, Voice crying in the wilderness (it seems)