I can't tell you how pleased I am that Barack Obama has agreed to an interview with Fox's Chris Wallace. The interview is long, long overdue and reflects a real maturity in the Obama campaign. You'll be able to see the interview tomorrow morning on your local Fox Network broadcast station or tomorrow evening on FOX News cable channel.
I don't believe Obama was dodging Chris Wallace or FOX News as much as he was responding to the childish pressure from the far left who love to demonize FOX News. As Barack Obama fought hard for the Democrat Presidential nomination he was under intense pressure to please the hard core of the party who used FOX as a litmus test. Appear on FOX, fail the test.
I believe Obama is serious when he says he wants to change the way Washington works. I believe Obama is serious when he says he want to reach out to all the people.
For Barack Obama this appearance with Chris Wallace is the the next logical step on the road to the Presidency. Obama will win the nomination. He is ready to move beyond Hillary Clinton's sad efforts to derail his candidacy. It is reported the bulk of Obama's comments with Wallace are aimed squarely at Republican John McCain. He is politely trying to ignore Clinton. I think this is a winning strategy.
And it certainly should prove to the skeptics that his message of change is for real.
10 comments:
My dear Wizard, it is impossible to demonize Faux News: they are already demonic, certifiably. It is just as difficult to demonize George Bush, America's first - and I hope, last - Neroic figure.
I just watched Fox News Sunday with Barack Obama. I felt he did quite well, altough I would have loved to see more substance and fewer platitudes.
Chris Wallace handled the interview very well. It was fast paced and substantitive. He gave Obama every opportunity to expand his answers and provide more specifics, but Obama failed to hit the slow pitch balls out of the park.
Instead we got singles, a few bunts, and an occasional double.
In the reporter analysis after the interview, they felt Obama isn't "fighting for the nomination" aggressively enough... he is too laid back. I feel this is a really terrific observation. I'd love to see Barack Obama working harder and providing more concrete answers.
vigilante, I couldn't disagree with your characterization of FOX News more.
I'm pleased that Barack Obama is one progressive who feels he does need to engage in dialog with the other 50% of Americans in our nearly equally divided country.
What is it about non-Faux news that prevents
the other 50% of Americans in our nearly equally divided country from getting a hearing on Barack Obama?
Ron Chusid of Liberal Values makes several really good points today and at least partially addresses your question: Obama Reaches Out To Clinton Conservatives on Fox News Sunday
But more than "reaching out" to just Clinton conservatves, Obama reached out to all conservatives.
McCain may only gain a few converts by his visits to Selma and the 9th Ward, but he is "reaching out" to the poor and to blacks. He can only do that by visiting their neighborhoods. He must be on their turf.
By appearing on FOX (and not just simply shutting down the conversation by calling them names like Faux News), Obama said two really importing things to the viewers: 1.) I respect you and your values, and 2.) I want to enter into dialog with you.
The only way Obama could do this was to appear on FOX and behave EXACTLY as he behaved today.
vigilante, You might also want to take a look at the perspective written by Kyle Kutuchief over at politics.ohio.com. A strong Obama supporter, he believes the results in Pennsylvania would have been much different if Obama had just appeared on Fox News two weeks earlier.
".....If that answer had been given two weeks ago on Fox News, this would be a much different race. Pennsylvania needed to hear that before the election."
Wizard, please excuse me for a long quote from Adam green. My time is short in this economy, and this segment seemed so much on point:
It was a mistake for Obama to go on FOX’s Sunday show and treat the experience as if it was a real news interview. Democratic politicians need to understand that FOX is a Republican mouthpiece masquerading as a news outlet. When dealing with FOX, you either burn them or they will burn you.
It's well documented that FOX executives send morning memos to anchors and reporters dictating Republican talking points. In 2006, one said, “Be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents...thrilled at the prospect of a Dem controlled Congress.” Robert Greenwald's videos have shown FOX's consistent pattern of smearing Barack Obama, smearing Hillary Clinton, smearing African Americans, and denying global warming.
FOX's power lies not in its audience size – which is puny and consists mostly of unpersuadable voters. Instead, FOX's power comes from tricking politicians and real journalists into treating their “breaking stories” like real news, thereby propelling smears like the Swift Boats and Rev. Wright into the mainstream political dialogue. That's why progressives fought (successfully) last year to deprive FOX of the legitimacy that comes with hosting a Democratic presidential debate. And that's why Democratic politicians should never treat FOX like a real news outlet - including FOX's Sunday show.
If you follow my link, you will find footnote links embedded in this segment as well as a longer story. Have a nice day.
Pardon my language, but Green is simply full of shit. His sources are largely biased nonsense, but what I objected to most about his column (I had already read it), was his attack on Obama.
If Green has this little repsect for Obama, they why in the hell would he ever support him.
"Because Obama didn't "take on" the Republican framing of these questions, Obama was cornered into saying things like, "I think there are a whole host of areas where Republicans in some cases may have a better idea [than Democrats]" and parroting the right-wing caricature of "Chablis-drinking limousine liberals" and boasting about being "fiercely attacked" by bloggers at Daily Kos."
I personally think enough of Barack Obama to believe he spoke the truth, not that he was "cornered into saying things....." Green seems to act like Chris Wallace "outsmarted" Obama (which he most certainly didn't).
With fiends like Green, Obama doesn't need enemies.
vigilante We've beaten this one to death and I don't want to inadvertantly risk offending you. Let's simply say we disagree on this one. I do respect your opinion.
I have to mutilate the corpse. Faux News is a joke, Wizard.
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