Cesca Pulls No Punches

In the wake of former Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan's new book, in which he writes that the term "liberal media" is a myth, blogger Bob Cesca rightly calls out the "very serious corporate media" on their painful self-pardoning over going to sleep on the job during the early years of the Iraq War, prostrating themselves before the Bush administration's well-oiled and pervasive propaganda machine, which included Pentagon operatives posing as independent military analysts.

I loved this part:

The Republican candidate for president of the United States wants to bomb Iran. He wants to continue the occupation of Iraq. He declared that he would be Hamas' worst nightmare (whatever that means). But... Senator McCain has a killer recipe for goddamn dry rub, so step up to the coleslaw and ice-cold Busch beer -- it's time to ignore more Republican justifications for war! Why? Because Senator McCain is awesome.

Yes, while many of the top-shelf cable news reporters are making excuses, the Bush administration and the McCain campaign are making plans for more wars. But they're also making ribs for all the very serious reporters! So never mind all that. Pass the sauce.

I will acknowledge that McClellan's tell-all is frustratingly late to make much difference. In fact, he should be granted full immunity to testify before Congress to get even more detailed. He's no longer bound by loyalty to Bush, but he could self-incriminate, so let him off the hook so that we can hook the big fish.

But Cesca is spot-on about how deferential the press/media were after 9/11. We the people were so blinded by patriotism after that horrible day, and seeking comfort in the words of the president as he pledged to find the killers and bring them to justice was understandable. But the press should not have joined the chorus of cheers, and should not have been hanging flags from their front porches and putting bumper stickers on their cars like the rest of us. They needed clearer heads than that. And their continued fealty to the Republican Party as McCain is portrayed as "da man" all the way to the convention, while the Democrats are shown to fulfill their traditional roles as bickering children, is evidence that they have not learned yet, and will not learn anytime soon.

It is heartening to note that those who will cast their votes for Obama, the likely nominee, are not regular watchers of network or cable news. One hopes that they can reach their parents and older friends and convince them to click into the blogosphere for real journalism and unadulterated commentary.