Media Benghazi blinders

Jonah Goldberg:

If you want to understand why conservatives have lost faith in the so-called mainstream media, you need to ponder the question: Where is the Benghazi feeding frenzy?

Unlike some of my colleagues on the right, I don't think there's a conspiracy at work. Rather, I think journalists tend to act on their instincts (some even brag about this; you could look it up). And, collectively, the mainstream media's instincts run liberal, making groupthink inevitable.

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Last week, Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that sources on the ground in Libya say they pleaded for support during the attack on the Benghazi consulate that led to the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. They were allegedly told twice to "stand down." Worse, there are suggestions that there were significant military resources available to counterattack, but requests for help were denied. 

If true, the White House's concerted effort to blame the attack on a video crumbles. Yet, last Friday, the president claimed that "the minute I found out what was happening" in Benghazi, he ordered that everything possible be done to protect our personnel. That is either untrue, or he's being disobeyed on grave matters. 

This isn't an "October surprise" foisted on the media by opposition research; it's news.
This story raises precisely the sort of "big issues" the media routinely claim elections should be about. For instance, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last week that the "basic principle is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on, without having some real-time information about what's taking place." If real-time video of the attack and communications with Americans on the ground begging for assistance doesn't constitute "real-time information," what does? 

This is not to say that Fox News is alone in covering the story. But it is alone in treating it like it's a big deal....
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Liberals in the media seem to like stories that show conservatives as "scary."  They tend to see liberals as having a pure heart.  So when a liberal like Obama screws up they seem to be inclined to overlook his screw ups, especially if they might cause him political damage during a tough election.  That is how their media bias works.

BTW. see the post below where a Delta Force retiree gives his analysis of the Panetta principle.

There is potential for a real scandal in teh Benghazi story, and real journalist should be interested in the story.  But like Fast and Furious, they are just not inclined to pursue scandals that hurt Obama's chances.