in interview of Pres. Obama, Steve Kroft goes for punk journalism. His GOP handlers will be pleased.

[Bill USA]

On '60 Minutes' on Sunday, Steve Kroft interviewed President Obama and he couldn't pass up the opportunity to win BJ points with the GOP by going 'punk' on the President.



Steve asked about the coming mid-term elections by starting with "do you think you're going to get shellacked?"


Before the President could say anything Kroft had another question - or two - for him:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-60-minutes/

Steve Kroft: Or do you think that, I mean, are you optimistic? What are the issues and what are you going to tell the American people?
[font color="blue"]{Oh how chummie, and impolite. steve can't wait for an answer to one question before jumping onto the next one. Gosh, do you think he's really interested in the PResident's answers?_B_USA}[/font]

President Obama: Here's what I'm going to tell the American people. When I came into office, our economy was in crisis. We had unemployment up at 10 percent. It's now down to 6.1. We've had the longest run of uninterrupted private sector job growth in our history. We have seen deficits cut by more than half. Corporate balance sheets are probably the best they've been in the last several decades. We are producing more energy than we had before. We are producing more clean energy than we ever had before. I can put my record against any leader around the world in terms of digging ourselves out of a terrible, almost unprecedented financial crisis. Ronald Reagan used to ask the question, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" In this case, are you better off than you were in six? And the answer is, the country is definitely better off than we were when I came into office, but now we have to make...

Kroft needled the President about whether of not the Democrats can hold the Senate. Then he actually went back to ISSUES concerning the American people. But he still couldn't give up the punk journalism.

Steve Kroft: You think you can convince people that they're doing fine, economically?

This is actually a proposition within a question. He's saying the President is trying to tell people they are "doing fine"... in other words - have no reason to expect better economic conditions. THat's NOT what President Obama said and that's not what the President is saying to people. But, President Obama seemed to be prepared for hostile questioning from one of the Corporate media GOP toadies. The President had a succinct, grown-up response for Stevie..

President Obama: Hopefully, they get a chance to hear the argument, because all I'm doing is presenting the facts.

That is, if the Corporate media break from the tradition of only providing 'news' that's been approved by their GOP handlers and start relating the facts to people. Then the Democrats will do okay.

but that's not likely now. They've 'protected' the people from the fact that the GOP have set records for filibustering everything the President and the Democrats have proposed to repair and rebuild the economy from the Trickle Down - Deregulation disaster (what % of the people know about this ...7%, 3%?). Since Obama was elected to office the word "filibuster" is verboten on M$M. How many times have you even heard the word since Obama was elected on M$M - even though the GOP has set RECORDS for filibustering? That's M$M, always happy to keep servicing the GOP.

Meanwhile I have heard a couple dozen discussions about President Obama's "leadership" all over M$M. However the Corporate Lobbyist Party does in November, they owe a debt of gratitude to the television networks for helping sell the GOP anti-Obama propaganda on every issue the GOP has been opposed to solving - oh, which is EVERY ISSUE we are faced with.

Corporate tv has been providing hundreds of millions of $s in free propaganda to the GOP. Too bad THAT is NOT taken into account by those tracking the spending on political ads.


IF you think Kroft's performance was offensive, unprofessional, not really intended to provide the viewers with greater understanding of the issues or President Obama's view of them, go to Steve Kroft's interview of President Obama page and let them know what you think (I did)..

.... BTW, if we don't register our criticism of - and disgust at M$M's practice of doing the GOP's bidding, it will only get worse and further confuse those who get most of their 'news' from the M$M.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-60-minutes/

[femmocrat]

1. He was so rude the way he kept interrupting the president.

At one point Kroft seemed to wave him off while he was mid-answer, so Kroft could ask another dumb question. I don't know how Obama keeps his cool during these interviews.

Thanks for the link. I'll send them my two cents, too.

[Bill USA]

4. thank you for commenting on 60 Minutes interview page! If we can't be bothered to register our

disgust or criticize shoddy, biased 'journalism' there really is no reason to expect them to change.

I like to tell them that their biased, less than fully informative 'journalism', is what is driving people away for M$M to the internet ( and I mention specific web-sites so it doesn't sound like an empty threat) to find out what is really going on.

[Fred Sanders]

11. The email address is [e-mail]

The following is my email message:

Re: Stephen Kroft Interview of President Obama, 60 Minutes

May I take the liberty of registering my disgust with the tone and content of your apparently very best interviewer doing the most terrible and disrespectful questioning of a President since the insane interview done by Bill O'Reilly of Fox News upon the President being elected for the second time?

May I?

Kroft needled the President about whether of not the Democrats can hold the Senate. Then he actually went back to ISSUES concerning the American people. But he still couldn't give up the punk journalism.

..............

Steve Kroft: You think you can convince people that they're doing fine, economically?

.................

This is actually a proposition within a question. He's saying the President is trying to tell people they are "doing fine"... in other words - have no reason to expect better economic conditions. THat's NOT what President Obama said and that's not what the President is saying to people.

Your corporate agenda, ratings and profit driven strategy has been providing hundreds of millions of $s in free propaganda to the GOP. Too bad THAT is NOT taken into account by those tracking the spending on political ads., but I and many others are making sure as many people as possible understand that you are not peddling news anymore, you are peddling propaganda as quid pro quo for the countless millions of ad money dollars flowing into your coffers from Republicans and their dark money benefactors.

How about reporting and asking about the countless filibusters in the Senate, the countless crazy policies of the religious right that is now dictating 19th century social and economic policies to the GOP? How about reporting on Obamacare again as it reaches 10 million new subscribers while lowering costs? How about not hosting The Man Who Choose Palin as relevant to anything on the planet? How about asking how the President managed to save the nation and the planet from another Great Depression caused by the very same Republicans who you prop up as credible pushing the very same disastrous policies?

How about reporting how much money YOU are making from these political ads?

Do not think it is going unnoticed. You in the free press are guardians of democracy only so long as the people are convinced you are doing the job....and you are not.

Sincerely,

Fred Sanders

[sketchy]

13. Excellent letter

I don't know where Steve Kroft finds the nerve to be so rude.
He has pissed away a lot of credibility with his obvious bias.

[monmouth3]

2. Yes, the President needs to do these types of shows...He should be able to select

the person interviewing him. He is the President. Let him select or no interview...

[Bill USA]

6. I think the interviewee should be able to ask a few questions of the interviewer.

Like the president could have asked Steve: "you know We've had the longest run of uninterrupted private sector job growth in our history".. Did you know that steve,

Kroft: "Well. I .."

Presient Obama: "Come-on now Steve. tell me the truth. Did you hear that for the first time from me, or was this a fact that was reported on CBS News?"

Kroft: "I was aware of the fact, yes."

President Obama: "Well, that's good Steve. I'm encouraged when somebody who presents himself as a professional journalist is aware of some pertinent facts before he interviews the President of the country."

... just doing a little Brain Storming here. I just think if the President is going to be faced with hostile questioning from a GOP minion he should be able to 'cross examine' his interrogator.

[monmouth3]

12. Excellent!

[YarnAddict]

3. The Prez handled it just fine

and got a chance to defend his record. It couldn't have worked out better for him.

[Fred Sanders]

5. The free press is not free, mad money is gushing into the corporate media coffers and any

accountant will tell you the river of green is flowing fully from Bullshit Mountain, not Democratic Hill.

So of course the media will worship the folks that send so much of the precious shit downstream to them, filling their bank vaults to overflowing, it is just good business sense not to bite the filthy hands that feed you. And they do not care anymore if their bias is in full view, they will also redouble the effort to birth it. Who is going to report on their own corruption and that of their benefactors?

If the free press are guardians of democracy,who did we set up to watch the watchmen?

Citizens United, you did build this.

.........................

A million K and R's.

[Bill USA]

7. I had a dream. I dream't that you registered your contempt for the Corporate media, crawling with

GOP toadies, on their websites (on the pages with the specific news item/report, as applies, you object to).

[Fred Sanders]

8. Here is a good one. I registered my disgust with the NY transit authority 2 days ago over

the ads of the hatemongers Pam Gellar and her minions of very stupid and hateful people and got a response that they were constrained by a court ruling and had no choice, one day before they announced they were pulling some of her ads.

I think email is a better route, not comments sections. Every corporation has an email address, sometimes many.

Wish now I had not deleted the exchange.

[Bill USA]

10. excellent!! you of course can use both. they both have their positives. with email you are

identifying yourself and may get an answer. What's good about comments on line is they are seen by others and may encourage others to speak up.

Since M$M reaches so many people that's what makes their duplicity so damaging to the country.

[KT2000]

9. he was interviewing from RW

talking points and like most so-called journalists, did not have a real grasp of the facts. He was mowed down by Obama's intellect though.