By Sal Bommarito
Has the liberal media participated in an effort to diminish the mistakes and errors in judgment of the Obama administration? Absolutely. Progressive reporters and editorial writers have been protecting the president for the past six years. There has been no misstep great enough to inspire a thorough investigation by the free press. Americans should appreciate the untiring efforts of Fox News, which refuses to let the most egregious actions slip by without comment.
All this came to a head during the recent elections. Voters finally realized that the president’s ideological bent and uncompromising demeanor is responsible for a number of decisions that hurt the economy and America’s reputation abroad. The reaction of the electorate has been so severe that Democrat candidates who supported Obama’s agenda during his tenure eschewed him in their campaigns. The press has thankfully begun to dig deeper into the plethora of scandals and dysfunction that have plagued the White House.
Consider the following two issues.
• Obamacare is a disaster, even though the press has consistently advocated the benefits of this entitlement. Creating an affordable medical insurance program for lower and middle class families is and continues to be a noble objective. But the law was enacted without any concurrence by Republicans and ramrodded through Congress. The result was a poorly crafted giveaway that hurt almost as many individuals and businesses as it helped. A huge number of the poorest beneficiaries have received assistance via Medicaid, something that could have been enacted without Obamacare drama.
• With the help of the press, the administration has downplayed the criminal and unethical behavior of various agencies of the government. The IRS scandal tops the list. It is inconceivable that our tax collectors were targeting citizens who have different political preferences, and now they are covering up their misdeeds.
The list goes on. But most disturbing is the ideological tenacity of our president. He is on a mission to punish, sanction and disparage the most successful and wealthiest Americans. He says some citizens are too greedy and capitalistic. They don’t do enough for the poor. He thinks exceptionalism somehow deteriorates our society. Business achievement is unproductive. 1%ers are not paying their fair share.
The 2012 presidential campaign rewarded Obama’s class warfare tactics. He successfully denigrated a person who built a huge private equity business and benefitted by it financially. The media jumped on the Obama bandwagon and destroyed Mitt Romney simply because he has enjoyed a great career.
Along with voters, Democrat politicians realize that the president is radioactive. Many will no longer tie themselves to his misguided policies. Allegiance to the president during the last several years was the downfall for many liberal candidates. Obama’s presence in Washington, his actions and his arrogance together with low voter turnout (apathy) were the undoing of progressives seeking to retain or gain office. The press was forced to participate in the resultant electoral massacre because the story was so pervasive.
During the next few months, important decisions will be made regarding the confrontation with ISIS and Iran’s nuclear program. For sure, Congress, under new leadership, will step up its oversight of these matters. The media should follow suit. Investigative reporters must shed their biases and provide the facts that will help Americans understand what their leaders are up to.
The president is not going to change his method of operation. Already he is threatening to mandate immigration changes without approval of Congress. If this occurs, it will be a long, hard two years until the next presidential election.