"Our job is to bash the president"

Wow. Did anyone hear about this?

On Friday night's edition of Inside Washington, the first topic was whether the media's been unfair to President Bush given his abysmal approval ratings. NPR reporter Nina Totenberg said Bush received a free ride for years, so now the worm has turned and the coverage is fierce. A free ride? As if we’ve never heard criticism leveled at the president before now? Then the host turned to Newsweek's Evan Thomas, who was up front in his assessment of the media's role:

Gordon Peterson: "What do you think, Evan? Are the mainstream media bashing the president unfairly?"

Evan Thomas: "Well, our job is to bash the president, that's what we do almost --"

Peterson: "But unfairly?"

I can’t take anyone seriously when they dismiss the notion that the media has a blatant bias, one that’s hostile to this administration and makes no pretense of objectivity.

The message is very simple: the mainstream media are the key players in shaping public opinion according to the political outcomes they would desire. This agenda has consequences since we are currently in a global war against an ideology whose principle objective to transform the world into an Islamic state. The West has to fight to reform Islam except that it has an academic elite and a media that are actively engaged in foiling any effective response to this threat. As well, the insurgency understands that the only way they can win in Iraq isn’t by tactical military success but by undermining the American public’s support for the war.

So, in the end, neither the insurgents nor the media here at home want the project in Iraq to succeed.