White House’s Nixonian Need to Attack President’s Critics
Over at the Daily Caller, Rob Bluey describes how the new kind of politics Barack Obama promised in his 2008 presidential campaign has manifested itself now that that post-partisan president is in the White House:
Veteran reporter Keith Koffler, who writes for White House Dossier, noted recently the “Obama White House has long practiced the tactic of bullying reporters who write stories it doesn’t like.” When [White House Director of Progressive Media and Online Response Jesse] Lee first got the job in May, Koffler predicted it would “formalize the strategy and signals that such behavior is likely to escalate as the campaign begins.”
And that’s exactly what has happened. Over the past three months, there has been a high-profile incident involving the White House and journalists on at least three occasions.
Bluey goes on to detail this bullying. Ed Morrissey, who initially defended the Lee appointment as the White House exercising its “right to respond to criticism” even though he thought the task was “better left to the DNC,” thinks that now Lee is making the White House look bad:
Instead of looking hip and timely, attacking Twitter users would make the Obama administration look petty and thin-skinned, and would diminish the seriousness and dignity of the Presidency. Punching below one’s weight is a strategy that never pays off.
Did the much maligned George W. Bush — or any of his White House communications aides — ever attack that good man’s critics in such a public manner? And he was accused, you might recall, of being a divisive force who could not brook dissent.
Why this administration’s need to attack its critics? And why don’t we see more discussion of this Nixonian tactic in the mainstream media?
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Bob-ba Bluey!
Anyways, last week when Rush was talking about how school kids are bullied into believing their very existence will kill polar bears and destroy the Earth, it occurred to me that we need a It Gets Better set of vids highlighting liberal bullying.
Comment by TGC — July 7, 2011 @ 6:17 am - July 7, 2011
Why does everyone have the need to take an occasional swipe at President Nixon?
Comment by Julie the Jarhead — July 7, 2011 @ 6:52 am - July 7, 2011
@Why does everyone have the need to take an occasional swipe at President Nixon?
Why not? It isn’t like we owe him anything. He doesn’t represent my set of beliefs. He’s better than Obama, however.
Comment by Xiphias — July 7, 2011 @ 8:32 am - July 7, 2011
Julie the Jarhead,
“2.Why does everyone have the need to take an occasional swipe at President Nixon?”
Because dead people can’t defend themselves?
Comment by Richard Bell — July 7, 2011 @ 9:01 am - July 7, 2011
Julie, while I’m a fan of Nixon’s unquestionable foreign policy chops, the man fed into the paranoia that oftentimes accompanies such a high office.
Unfortunately, this paranoia led to his downfall, and will always be the thing for which he is most remembered. I don’t think Dan meant it as a swipe against Nixon, just an indication that the Obama administration seems to have just as little tolerance for dissent.
Comment by Eric Olsen — July 7, 2011 @ 12:00 pm - July 7, 2011
“5.Why does everyone have the need to take an occasional swipe at President Nixon?”
Because he enacted price and wage controls and screwed the economy sideways for over a decade?
Comment by DaveP. — July 9, 2011 @ 3:24 am - July 9, 2011