I was in the hotel restaurant for my breakfast. CNN was on the television, but I wasn't watching it. Instead I was scanning through the USA Today as I munched on my eggs.
But suddenly CNN grabbed my attention. What drew my attention was the new female morning anchor, apparently the replacement for Soledad O'Brien. Her name I don't know and frankly don't really care. I looked up from my USA Today because she was over-the-top excited. I wanted to see what she was so excited about.
She was talking about the White House concert last night, which I believe she was calling "Memphis Soul". But she wasn't really gushing about the concert or the performers. She was excitedly gushing over the Obamas. Sort of like a teenage girl from the 60's who just got to see the Beatles in concert.
That concert got some play on Fox News recently as yet another example of the Obama's living like America's King and Queen. They enjoy hosting concerts from famous entertainers held privately in the White House for only them and their closest friends. All at taxpayer expense, of course.
The White House shut down that criticism for this private concert by inviting the PBS cameras in to broadcast it. That way it looks no different than all the White House performances we've been seeing on PBS through the last several presidencies.
The most striking thing I noticed from this small event is the polar opposite coverage. Sour grapes criticism from the Right about the "Imperial Presidency" contrasted with groupie-like worship of the Obamas is about as stark as you can find an example of the polarization represented by the media these days.
All over a silly concert, which in the grand scheme of things means nothing to the weighty issues of the economy, unemployment, Iran, North Korea, immigration, etc. The appropriate reporting would have been to say the White House hosted a private concert last night featuring this list of performers. Leave the discussions about imperial presidency and the Obamas' coolness factor to the editorialists and move on to the important stories.
I know, silly pipe dreams.
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