Yes.

Yes, I am pleased with the “change” that Obama has brought so far to the country. I am most pleased with the fact that we no longer have a president who is a self-serving ideologue that governs for a select few. True, many who read this will probably disagree with me, and that is okay.

I imagine there are those who believe that Obama is taking away our rights and freedoms, is striving to build a reverse-racist society, is proposing a government takeover of the private sector, and desperately wanting to weaken America’s defenses against terrorism. Many believe that Obama is making our country less safe and setting us “on fire”, as one charismatic fellow once said.

I fear, that is not Obama who is ruining our beloved America, but instead our news sources, especially cable news, that are weakening our society. It is commonly believed that mainstream media is liberally biased. However, I would argue, that instead there is a conservative slant in the media. Don’t believe me? If Rush Limbaugh sneezes or Newt Gingrich tweets or Sarah Palin says, “you betcha”, or Liz Cheney yawns, their views are spun from the Internet to cable television and into the traditional media. Liz Cheney, for instance, was interviewed over 23 times in a matter of weeks.

In an effort to increase viewership/readership, which in turn leads to more money, the news of America has become increasingly partisan and one-sided. It is a great business model simply because it works. None of us want to read or watch something that challenges our beliefs. However, news and reporters should be unbiased. We are losing that “unbiased” report and therefore, we are also losing the moderate voice.

For instance, the other day I was reading the debates about the torture memos. I was particularly stuck by this comment from a reader:

I have yet to see a single pundit or politician change his of her position on torture or “enhanced interrogation” based on anything that’s come out since the torture memos. Isn’t that odd?

This comment does not need to be limited to just pundits and politicians. It also includes cable news “reporters” (both FOX and MSNBC), bloggers, commentators, and even me.

I also fear that is not Obama who is making our country less safe, but that it is the news media. There are loud voices who get too much airtime and too many people listen. Recently we have witnessed terror in our own country. For instance, the PA man who killed 3 police officers because he feared Obama was going to ban guns, the murder of an abortion doctor while attending church, and just yesterday the murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. These terrorists are not the detainees from Gitmo, they are Americans. Even a FOX news reporter speaks of this “frightening” situation.

 

 

To give my unbiased opinion, I find that one of the most moderate voices we have out there today is…President Obama. I see him as what he actually is:  “a politician with progressive values but moderate instincts who has hewed to the middle of the road in dealing with the economic crisis, health care, Guantanamo and the war in Afghanistan.”

I know most won’t agree with me and that is okay and I would be happy to hear your reasons. I would be happy to share mine as well if you want them. 

So, yes I am happy that I voted for and support President Obama.

 

Thanks for reading!

- Doug

Update: There is a Op-Ed piece written by Paul Krugman today (6-12-09) on some of the things I discussed in this post which you can read here.