Talk about covering one’s rear.
After writing an article advising President Obama to go for the GOP’s throat in his second term — and then receiving harsh criticism for the piece — the CBS News Political Director and Chief Political Correspondent for Slate magazine has spoken out and defended his original work.
“Some people thought I was giving the president my personal advice,” John Dickerson wrote. “No. My goal was to make a compelling argument based on the facts.”
In his rebuttal of the critics, Dickerson said his piece had simply highlighted the probable second term outlook based on Obama’s personality, political fighting style and goals — a “math problem with an unmistakable conclusion.”
The political director accused readers of missing the point of his article and reading the headline without its context. He added that Obama’s incredibly liberal second inaugural address had given veracity to the original article. Dickerson wrote that he had not, in his first piece, advocated for non-partisan agreement in Washington because he sees that as impossible for Obama to achieve.
“This piece was written from the viewpoint of the reality as it stands, not a more pleasing future we would all prefer to inhabit,” he said.
Dickerson included in his second article a note from a family member who said President Obama will make the Republican party stronger in the future.
“I look forward to a Republican Party that is a worthy adversary and a worthy advocate,” the family member wrote. “Barack Obama should inspire us conservatives to be better, not to be whinier.”
While the future does look bleak for compromise and working across the aisle —thanks to Obama’s ‘us against them’ political mentality — Dickerson’s piece still raises some red flags. Despite his response, readers may wonder if Dickerson’s article was really a ‘math problem’ or just liberal bias masked with the guise of objectivity.
