I will say that Major Garrett is totally hawt. (afp photo)
Fox News was the go-to cable channel during the Bush administration. It was on all day all over the West Wing and was the default news channel on Air Force One. Not so much anymore. President Obama last night was asked by John Harwood of CNBC about the positive news coverage he’s been getting, and whether it’s good for democracy.
MR. HARWOOD: Last question. When you and I spoke in January, you said — I observed that you hadn’t gotten much bad press. You said it’s coming.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Laughs.)
MR. HARWOOD: Media critics would say not only has it not come –
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah.
MR. HARWOOD: — but that you have gotten such favorable press, either because of bias or because you’re good box office –
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah.
MR. HARWOOD: — that it’s hurting the country, because you’re not being sufficiently held accountable for your policies. Assess that.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah. It’s very hard for me to swallow that one. First of all, I’ve got one television station — (chuckles) — that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration. I mean, you know, that’s a pretty –
MR. HARWOOD: I assume you’re talking about Fox?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And well, that’s — that’s a pretty big megaphone. And you’d be hard-pressed, if you watched the entire day, to find a positive story about me on that front.
I think that ultimately my responsibility is to provide the best possible decision-making on behalf of the American people at a time where we’ve got a lot of big problems. And you know, we welcome people who are asking us some, you know, tough questions. And I think that I’ve been probably as accessible as any president in the first six months: press conferences, taking questions from reporters, being held accountable, being transparent about what it is that we’re trying to do.
I think that actually the reason that people have been generally positive about what we try to do is, they feel as if I’m available and willing to answer questions. And we haven’t been trying to hide the ball.
I do think that, you know, we can’t be complacent, and that as long as we’ve got these tough problems in place that not only journalists but the American people are going to keep on asking, you know, whether or not we’re delivering.
Awkward! (ap photo)
