Can You Spot the Bias?

Deb Riechmann of the Associated Press might as well be penning love letters to President Obama with drivel like this:

WASHINGTON – Leaving the White House for the last time on Tuesday, President George W. Bush blew a kiss out the window of his presidential limousine, a gesture that capped an eight-year administration marked by two wars, recession and the biggest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

Bush’s exit was bittersweet. He left office with low approval ratings, but he remained upbeat, smiling and joining in the celebration of President Barack Obama’s ascent to rock-star status, even as he faces daunting challenges, especially a depressed economy.

I’m surprised she didn’t use “marred” rather than “marked.”  I am not unhappy to see Bush go.  In many ways, I think his was administration was disastrous, especially for the cause of limited government.  But I question how much of his effectiveness as a chief executive was hampered by difficult times.  He did not ask for 9/11, nor the housing and financial crisis.  He didn’t ask for high gas prices or low gas prices.  He may have gone to war in Iraq, but he inherited the Iraq problem from previous adminsitrations.  Perhaps a better chief executive could have better dealt with these challenges, but I suspect that no matter who had been in the White House in 2000, we’d be sick of him by now.  Barack Obama’s day of reckoning is yet to come, but it is coming, and I wonder whether reporters will still be reporting of his “rock star” status then.

3 thoughts on “Can You Spot the Bias?”

  1. Interesting that her bias is so strong she blatantly ignores her own company’s stylebook just to call President Bush by the title of Citizen Bush.

    If she’s a vanity Googler (or her editors keep tabs on her), they all might refer to the top left hand corner of page 245 of the latest copy in paperback.

  2. I wonder whether reporters will still be reporting of his “rock star” status then

    Yes, yes they will.

    Ever play Texas Hold ‘Em?

    There’s always someone who thinks the 7 & 2 in their hand is worth betting on. Then the flop comes with nothing, but instead of calling it quits they keep raising. The turn gives them maybe a 3 and they put even more into the pot. By the time the river is shown, they are too ‘invested’ to give up, even though the best they have is a pair of threes.

    Too many people are overly invested in a run of the mill, human being that just happened to get his way into the White House. No matter how he fails, they will continue to invest in him. Even when the river turns up nothing, they will not be able to look at him and declare a losing hand.

    I watched as many of my friends did the same thing with Bush (I admit I hit the flop and did a round of betting before I cut my losses).

    We’ll make it through. In 4 or 8 years, there will still be a United States of America. It won’t be like it is today. One can only try to do his or her part to make the future better.

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