Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Washington elitists, government types and the media villagers who are completely out of touch with average Americans who do not live in the "Beltway Bubble," apparently took offense to President Obama being the first president since Grover Cleveland in 1885 to miss the Gridiron Dinner in his first year in office. They got their panties in a twist that Obama chose to spend the weekend with his family rather than participate in their skits and comedic roast of the president on Saturday evening.
So how did the media villagers and Republican bloviators retaliate? Their talking points on Monday were to criticize Obama for laughing during his 60 Minutes interview on Sunday evening. These A-holes are shameless.
David Shuster sitting in on Countdown and his guest E. J. Dionne, Jr. did an excellent job of taking down these "Beltway Bubble" bloviators 'Countdown for Monday, March 23:
SHUSTER: Of course, the president‘s position in the global economic meltdown and on the past and future of the war on terror all pale in importance compared to the fact that the president laughed while talking about government bailouts.
* * *
Exactly what joke — was Mr. Obama making about money? Was he laughing at middle-class families on bread lines? Was he laughing about kids losing their medical insurance when their parents get laid off?
Or was it the one where the priest, the donkey, and a hedge fund manager walk in to the employment office — no, the president was laughing as you‘ll hear on this clip at the absurdity of his own position, at the lack of political popularity for the steps the government is taking, at the catch-22 of his predicament.
And as he explained seconds after laughing, it was not insensitivity to this dilemma; it was gallows humor familiar to anyone in a dilemma.
SHUSTER: When Mr. Bush was pushing privatization for Social Security, he told a woman he thought it was fantastic that she was working three jobs to make ends meet for her family. But Obama laughing at his poll numbers, at the general poll numbers, that merits widespread discussion of economic insensitivity? Help me out here.
DIONNE: Well, are we shocked at double standards in politics? Do we expect consistency on these things?
You know, I was reminded a line from the scripture I think in the Book of Proverbs, “A merry spirit doeth good like medicine.” And that‘s what we need right now. I‘d much rather have a president who laughs than a president who is mean or a president who‘s glum.
If he were laughing about sending troops to Afghanistan, men and women to fight in Afghanistan, I‘d say yes, there is a problem with that. But he was deadly serious when he spoke about that. If he were laughing about unemployed people, there‘d be a lot to criticize. But he was deadly serious when he spoke about that.
I think, if you forgive me, it‘s laughable to get down on him for laughing.
Shuster's final question: "What does it say though about the politics of those who want to make a big deal about laughter? Is it because they simply don‘t want to argue of the substance of the plan or argue about the direction that he‘s trying to take things economically, that they‘re just looking for something simple?"
I'll take this one. This is the right-wing technique of "grand distraction" to get the public to focus on the trivial rather than address the larger issue. It is the equivalent of failing to see the forest for the tree. This technique has been used to great effect and to the great ruination of our political discourse in this country for decades. I get the sense that most people are finally coming to their senses and realizing that they have been played for fools by the media villagers who believe they are the lords of public opinion, and the public is growing sick and tired of these "Beltway Bubble" bloviators who foment faux scandal and feigned outrage.