If you thought the left-wing Politico’s Friday lead piece taunting the GOP to shut down the government was a knee-slapper, you should read what is leading today: “Can the media avoid rush judgment on Obamacare?” Essentially what you have here is an outlet that likes to present itself as objective, begging its media colleagues not to report on any problems the American people might have with Tuesday’s ObamaCare launch. This, despite the fact that the White House has already admitted there will be “glitches.”
Again, because Politico is always trying to fool people into believing it is an objective news outlet, the piece also warns the media not to declare ObamaCare a “success” based on the first few days. But if you want to suffer through reading one of Politico’s typically overlong articles, it is clear that, on behalf of the White House, Politico is pleading/warning the media that reporting on any frustrations the American people might have with ObamaCare is not real reporting:
When Obamacare enrollment begins on Tuesday, reporters in the Twitter age will be tempted to declare the health law a success or a failure in the first few days — a judgment that will certainly be stoked by advocates on both sides of the issue.
And any rush judgments could have a big impact on public opinion of the law. Right now, the majority of Americans in recent polls say they oppose the law, but the Obama administration is hoping that will turn around once people see it in action.
The first days of enrollment are a chance for that to happen — but there’s just as big a chance that the public could become convinced it’s a huge disaster, if technical breakdowns in the new health insurance exchanges dominate the news.
It has been extraordinary to watch the media this week as they completely shifted their long-held values. For decades, the media held no higher political value than the idea of bipartisan civility and compromise. This week, though, it is perfectly okay with the media for Obama to risk a government shutdown by saying he will not negotiate with house burners.
And now when it comes to ObamaCare, Politico, a media outlet that prides itself on being the ESPN/play-by-play of politics, no longer wants the mediato report on what is happening at the moment and in real time. Instead, this objective, unbiased, not-at-all-liberal news outlet wants that news downplayed or outright ignored in order to … give ObamaCare a chance.
Apparently Politico no longer wants to be seen as the ESPN of politics, but rather the History Channel of politics.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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