What has enchanted you the most, Mr. President?

By Bobby Eberle

I realize the so-called mainstream media has gone off the deep end, but the extent to which they are in the pocket of Barack Obama is stunning. During Obama's prime time press conference in which he (and the media) celebrated his first 100 days in office, the questions ranged from ineffective to plain ridiculous.

Aren't the media supposed to ask challenging questions? What happened to the media that hounded President Bush? During Obama's press conference, as unemployment continues to rise, Obama stated that he has "already saved or created 150,000 jobs." Are you kidding me? The statement itself is outrageous, and not one "journalist" called him on it.

First, here's a portion of Obama's press conference and some Fox News analysis:
Is this reporter for real? What has "enchanted" you the most? We have a struggling economy and no questions about the economy? Not only does the Washington press corps not ask original questions that challenge Obama, they also don't ask the follow-ups when Obama makes comments that are just plain crazy. The entire mindset is "if Obama says it, it must be true."

Example:
As noted in the AP news story Obama adviser sees increase in unemployment, "unemployment will increase in the next several months." People are getting laid off. They are looking for work and can't find it. This is what happens during a recession.

However, at the press conference, Obama said that the stimulus bill "has already saved or created over 150,000 jobs." I don't even know where to begin! First of all, if any Republican president were to use an idiotic statement such as "saved or created" in reference to jobs, the press corps would be like sharks with blood in the water. Saved or created? In addition, no one questioned Obama on the figure of 150,000. Not one question... not at the press conference... not during the rest of the week. Nothing.
Rather than dive into the calculations, I'll refer you to an interesting post at SCSUscholars.com. The author has a field day trying to come up with how 150,000 jobs were saved or created. Quoted in the article is a great comment attributed to Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT):

You created a situation where you cannot be wrong. If the economy loses 2 million jobs over the next few years, you can say yes, but it would've lost 5.5 million jobs. If we create a million jobs, you can say, well, it would have lost 2.5 million jobs. You've given yourself complete leverage where you cannot be wrong, because you can take any scenario and make yourself look correct.

The comments are exactly right. Obama uses language that allows him to look correct regardless of the outcome, and not one journalist will call him on it. People are losing jobs!
The press conference was filled with even more softball questions, such as, "Can you reassure the American people that if necessary America could secure Pakistan's nuclear arsenal?" Reassure the American people? As a journalist, what do you think the answer to that question would be? Of course he can "reassure" the American people... It's Barack Obama, remember?

When Obama gets asked what has "enchanted him the most," you know that all honesty and integrity has disappeared from the proceedings. An Obama presidential press conference is nothing more than a love fest of patting each other on the back and deceiving the American people. Contrast that with the utter disdain the media showed for the protesters on tax day and Obama's comments about them this week, and we can see their full agenda: Join the Obama bandwagon or be prepared to be steamrolled.