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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 3/6/13

How "Liberal Media" Keep Blaming Obama for GOP's Radical Behavior

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Message Eric Boehlert
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Reading what has now become  a cavalcade  of Beltway pundits, led by  New York Times  writers, denouncing President Obama for failing to avoid the drastic budget sequestration, and berating him for not "leading" by getting Republicans to abandon their chronic intransigence, I keep thinking back to the earliest days of Obama's presidency when the press concocted new rules regarding bipartisanship.

Specifically, I recall a question NBC's Chuck Todd asked at a February 2009 press briefing as the president's emergency stimulus bill was being crafted in Congress. With the country still reeling from the 2008 financial collapse, and the economy in desperate need of an immediate stimulus shot in the arm, Todd asked if Obama would consider vetoing his own party's stimulus bill if it passed Congress without Republican support.

Todd wanted to know if Obama would hold off implementing urgent stimulus spending in order to pass a different piece of legislation, one that more Republicans liked and would vote for, because that way it would be considered more bipartisan.

I mention that curious Todd query because only when you understand the warped prism through which so much of the Washington, D.C. press corps now views the issue of bipartisanship does the current blame-Obama punditr y regarding sequestration begins to make sense, even remotely.

Here's what the prism looks like, and here's what it's looked like for the last four years: Blame Obama for Republican obstinacy. (Or, as a backup: Both sides are to blame!)

And remember, most of the pundits currently taking misguided aim at Obama on sequestration are part of the supposedly "liberal media" cabal, the one that conservatives insist protect Obama at any cost.

As key observers have noted  in recent days, the facts on sequestration are not in dispute: Obama has made repeated offers to meet Republicans in the middle with a proposed deficit reduction plan built around a mix of spending cuts, reform to entitlement programs, and revenue increases. Republicans have countered by saying they will not agree to any deal that includes revenue increases. In terms of "leading," Obama has done everything in his power to try to fashion a deal with Republicans. In response, the absolutist GOP has refused to move off its starting point; it's refused to move at all. (Hint: They wanted sequestration to occur.)

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