"Don't compare me with the Almighty; compare me to the alternative."
???
??????
Really? The "alternative" to the Almighty Himself?
Now, if you haven't seen any front-page stories or headlines about this statement, that should be a clue to the identity of the person who actually said it -- you guessed it:
Barack Obama.
He said it at a recent fundraiser in affluent Woodside, California, for which the minimum entry fee was $35,800. (Scroll down to the very end of the story to get the quote, which is repeated without the slightest sense of sarcasm or irony, or even awareness of the implications, because this is the New York Times, reporting an Obama fundraiser.)
But can you imagine the headlines had Governor Rick Perry, or -- heaven forbid -- if Herman Cain had said something like this at a fundraiser?
"Satanic Candidate Finally Admits His Connection"
"Freudian Slip Tells Us All We Need to Know about Cain"
And so on, and so on . . . but all we get in the official state news organs is silence. (Try Googling the quotation on Google's News site.)
Now let me give you one more recent sample of the mainstream media's double standard. Take a look at this recent quote, and see if you can guess who said it (hint: it's a television newscaster).
"[W]e thought we'd bring you up to date on those protesters, the Occupy Wall Street movement. As of tonight, it has spread to more than 250 American cities, more than a thousand countries, every continent except Antarctica . . ."
Really, again? "More than a thousand countries" on every continent except Antarctica?
The United Nations started out with 51 members in 1945; as of 2011, its membership had grown to 193. Even if you try to count Palestine and Taiwan, you still could not break 200, let alone a thousand.
So who made that fatuous statement on network TV? Was it Sarah Palin on the Fox News Channel, perchance?
Decidedly not. If so, one could just imagine the next day's headlines and TV commentaries:
"In her latest gaffe in front of national news cameras, Governor Palin once again demonstrated her unreadiness to serve in national office, with an appalling lack of knowledge about the number of countries in the world . . ."
Or once more, if it had been Herman Cain?
"Cain Again Demonstrates His Ignorance of Foreign Affairs"
Well, since you didn't see anything like those stories or headlines, just who was it who demonstrated such monumental ignorance in front of the news cameras -- and got away with it?
Are you ready?
Here's the video:
No, there's absolutely no bias in the national news media.
None whatsoever.
Strictly speaking, the "alternative" to the Almighty is not the devil, but creatures (or perhaps "nothingness").
ReplyDeleteBut that doesn't make the statement any less odd. (And I doubt the press silence stems from theological competence.)
Your construction of the president's words make sense, and perhaps, given the limited amount actually quoted, are the most obvious interpretation of what he was saying; but I took his words to mean "Don't puff me up to be something perfect; all it takes to prefer me as a candidate is to compare me to whoever the other guys put up." That is, by "the alternative" he didn't mean the alternative to God, he meant the alternative to Barack Obama. Perhaps a video or even a transcript of the entire speech would make it plain which of these two interpretations were closer to what he meant.
ReplyDeleteNetwork News reporting is all about playing to its chosen audience and trying to steal the audience of your competitor. What used to be be big three, ABC, NBC, and CBS are all competing for the same 40-45% of the population. They will not say anything to anger their base. Of course bias is there. Truth was thrown out the window long ago.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, sam and VB. After a little reflection, one can sense that what he must have meant is something like: "I'm a mere mortal, so don't try to compare me with the Almighty. Just think of what it will be like if a Republican gets elected, instead of me."
ReplyDeleteBut that is how most of the conservative blogs and media have handled the subject -- if they even have mentioned it. My point is how there would have been an entirely different treatment, and lack of charity, given to the same statement if one of the Republican candidates had made it.
UP, I think you give far too much leeway to the actual percentage of the American population which relies on those three networks for their news and opinion. And the trend is for less and less.
Yeah it does seem pretty clear to me that he was referring to his own alternatives.
ReplyDeleteBasically don't compare Barack to God, but to his presidential rivals.
I emmigrated from Scotland to the USA and I believe, being a student of politics, that Barak Hussein funded by George Soros and the idiots that will be whipped into a frenzy by Hillary Clinton, believes he will be the President again and forever.
ReplyDelete