The outrageous offenses against Richard Cheney

[laststeamtrain]

Glenn Greenwald
Tuesday March 17, 2009 10:48 EDT
The outrageous offenses against Richard Cheney

(updated below - Update II - Update III)

Over the weekend, Dick Cheney -- at John King's prodding -- accused Barack Obama of, among other things, lying to the public about his proposed domestic policies, taking advantage of the financial crisis to foist enlarged government on unsuspecting citizens, and leaving us all more vulnerable to slaughter by the Terrorists. When asked about those comments, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy, so they trotted out the next most popular member of the Republican cabal. . . . Not taking economic advice from Dick Cheney might be the best possible outcome of yesterday's interview."

Some reporters are horrified that Dick Cheney would be spoken of with such disrespect. CBS' Chip Reid immediately objected (and the video conveys even more than the words how offended he was):

"Can I ask you, when you referred to the former Vice President, that was a really hard-hitting, kind of sarcastic response you had. This is a former Vice President of the United States. Is that the attitude -- is that the sanctioned tone toward the former Vice President of the United States from this White House now?"

On his Twitter feed, ABC News' Rick Klein was similarly aghast at Gibbs' disrespect:

<snip>

Journalists love to depict themselves as hard-nosed, rambunctious, ornery adversaries of establishment orthodoxies and political power. The reality is the opposite: there simply is no class of people more reverent of the political establishment and more devoted to protecting and defending its prerogatives. Of all people, journalists ought to be embarrassed to publicly play the role of decorum enforcers when it comes to how the politically powerful are treated. They should be the last ones -- not the first ones -- demanding that controversial political figures be treated with the type of profound reverence typically reserved for religious leaders and monarchs. Identically, in the most minimally healthy political culture, high political leaders would be the least entitled, not the most entitled, to be shielded from cutting political criticism.

Note, too, that Reid and Klein aren't bothered by Cheney's rather extreme accusations about Obama. Only Gibbs' far more mild reply has offended their establishment-devoted sensibilities. For many of these sycophantic, needy TV journalists, Dick Cheney is still the icon of Serious Protective Republican Authority -- that which, more than anything, merits our deep respect and gratitude. We've become a society that sees the President (and those nearest him) no longer as public servants accountable to anyone, but rather, the ultimate expression of revered authority deserving of glorification and homage. And it's the "watchdog" journalists who, as a class, embrace and enforce that twisted ethos more than anyone else. They are the ultimate and most loyal servants to the political establishment.

<more>

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/17/journalism/index.html

After St. Tim they're waiting in line to suck Dick.

[EFerrari]

1. Why didn't John King ask Cheney about his assassins?

And why did Chip never ask Cheney about his torturers?

[goforit]

2. Hey Chip Reid????.....Cheney IS this country's #1 terrorist and #1 treasonist!!!

So screw you!!