The 'ABCs' of integrity?

Ron Smith:

What former CBS news correspondent Bernard Goldberg identified in the title of his recent book, A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media, has not cooled in the slightest.

Not since John Fitzgerald Kennedy wowed the press with his looks and charm and the elegance of his wife, Jackie, has a president been so widely idolized by those members of the Fourth Estate who are supposed to report with some objectivity on presidential policies and promises. This is not a healthy thing. We are not some backward nation worshiping a Dear Leader - are we? Well, are we?

There's much buzz this week about the decision of ABC News to air a special edition of its World News program June 24 from the White House. Charlie Gibson will anchor the news from the Blue Room in a program described by the network as a special town hall meeting on health care. Republicans (remember them?) are very upset about this, maybe because their views on health care reform (whatever they might be) are being left out of this telecast. They think having the president's views amplified on television without opposition is pretty chilling.

Ken McKay of the Republican National Committee wrote to the head of ABC News to complain. He said, "Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are included. Our request was rejected." Further, he said, "I am concerned that this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democratic agenda."

Well, yeah. Ken wasn't born yesterday. ABC honchos are insulted by such a scurrilous take on their enterprise, insisting that their people will be in charge of picking the folks in the audience and who will be allowed to ask what of Mr. Obama and will be very objective about it. See, that'll guarantee fairness, won't it? The network says this White House appearance was arranged on its own initiative, suggesting to the gullible that longtime ABC News correspondent Linda Douglass' current job as the director of communications at the White House Office of Health Reform played no part in this. OK, it was mere coincidence.

...

When you consider the financial support employees of ABC gave to Obama as oppose to Republicans there are serious questions about their conflict of interests in picking the questions for the meeting. It is not clear that they will make materially different choices than the Obama staff.

This is a program America should tune out.