The winning theory for the "scandals"

[ProSense]

A DUer called it:

Reading between the lines of Obama's over-night "firestorm" of "scandals"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022844339

When the Village turns on a President

By Greg Sargent

A lot of liberal bloggers have harshly criticized Politico’s big, much-discussed piece today reporting that “the town is turning on President Obama — and this is very bad news for this White House.” If Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei claim this to be the case, then it’s self evidently true, though it’s unclear that the consequences of this will be quite as bad as VandeAllen suggest they might...We should take this seriously. As Ed Kilgore puts it: “make no mistake: this is a declaration of war by elements of the Beltway Media who are determined to show us all they still have the power to `bring down a president,’ as they arrogantly used to say about Watergate.”

<...>

The claim that the press now has “every incentive” to be “ruthless” is fascinating, and worth unpacking. Why, exactly, is it more in reporters’ interests to be more aggressive in its coverage of Obama right now than it was before? Easy. Now that ”the town” has turned on Obama, being as aggressive as possible in going after him will lead to accolades among media colleagues and ingratiate you with sources, including even Congressional Democrats who will presumably now distance themselves from the White House, in the knowledge that ”the town” has decided the President is in political trouble. It’s hard to interpret this any other way. This is not a particularly flattering description of the proper role of the press, and few reporters would cop to it or accept it. But there’s no reason to doubt VandeAllen’s candid suggestion that this is how parts of the Beltway media genuinely function.

Again, points for candor. The whole “second term curse” narrative is mostly a media construct, but it’s actually a self-perpetuating one. The danger is that once the “second term curse” idea becomes the story, the actual factual makeup of any given ongoing “scandal” becomes less and less relevant, while the focus intensifies on the White House’s handling of it. The current scandals vary in validity. As Kevin Drum puts it:

Benghazi is still the nothingburger it’s always been, and everyone knows it; the DOJ episode is a policy debate, not a scandal; and it’s vanishingly unlikely that Obama had even the most tenuous connection to the IRS targeting of tea party groups, the only genuine scandal in the bunch.

But all of this gets caught up in a big “White House on defensive” narrative. And as a result, it is not in anyone’s “incentive,” as VandeAllen put it, to separate the scandal wheat from the chaff or focus on whether this or that new emerging detail is actually scandalous. Indeed, the “second term curse” and “White House on defense” storyline becomes the excuse for not doing this. It’s good to have this dynamic nailed down – by VandeAllen in particular.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/15/when-the-village-turns-on-a-president/

The GOP corporate shill media are pissed...about a lot of things.

How New York Times, NPR And Wall Street Journal Print Fossil Fuel Talking Points Without Full Disclosure
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022849564

Associated Press Laments Tragic Plight Of The Very Wealthy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022458384

Wrong on Obamacare, WSJ editorial board searches for new spin
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022846359

They're determined to tag this administration with a "scandal."

[malaise]

1. Jim VandeHei is a ReTHUG hack

who backed RMoney to win the White House

[ProSense]

2. Oh, I know very well who he is, but

this OP is in the context of Greg Sargent's and Kevin Drum's observations.

The point is that the Republicans are crying scandal and the complicit media is helpling to amplify it. Why?

I think they don't want the President to have any quiet to move on his agenda. There is a lot going on, health care is being implemented and so is Dodd-Frank. Keystone XL requires a decision. Ending the sequestration involves closing corporate tax loopholes and taxes on the rich.

The media decided that these bullshit "scandals" are more important.