I’m not one to criticize the press because I understand that a degree in communications or journalism does not give them any special understanding of politics and economics. Even if they took Econ 101 and Poly Sci 101 they were fed the usual mainstream flotsam. Why criticize people who don’t have a clue? Most of them are
liberal and believe in Obama and the power of government to solve problems. I also don’t expect them to be unbiased and it would be naive to express outrage over it. My approach has been to point out the problems and try to explain things clearly from my perspective. But …
The Fourth Estate seems to be worshipping our president.
At the end of President Obama’s press conference tonight, when asked about solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, he said as an aside:
That whole philosophy of persistence, by the way, is one that I’m going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come, as long as I am in this office. I’m a big believer in persistence. I think that when it comes to domestic affairs, if we keep on working at it, if we acknowledge that we make mistakes sometimes and that we don’t always have the right answer, and we’re inheriting very knotty problems, that we can pass health care, we can find better solutions to our energy challenges, we can teach our children more effectively, we can deal with a very real budget crisis that is not fully dealt with in my — in my budget at this point, but makes progress.
I couldn’t believe my ears when on CNN’s Anderson Cooper post game commentary, Democratic Party operative Paul Begala (not a journalist) said in reference to the above statement that it was an interesting “meditation by President Obama. Picking up on this, David Gergen (a journalist) commented that it was a nice “meditation” about who Obama was. They seemed very excited about it.
Ignore the political content of the statement and you will find it’s just an ordinary statement of his philosophy of keeping at something to get it solved. Who doesn’t believe that? It’s like saying you don’t believe in trying hard. Of course, trying hard is good. But is it profound? Is it a meditation? No.
Here’s the context in which their statement was used: religion. We all know of the Meditations of St. Paul (and perhaps, St. Augustine, St. Anselm, St. Charles, St. Alban, St. Pio, St. Alphonsus, etcetera) and Begala and Gergen used the word in that context. You know, “meditation” as in something profound to take home and study in peace to gain greater understanding.
I will bet you that the words “meditation” and “President Obama” will soon gain currency in the world of the Fourth Estate and we’ll be hearing more of it from other journalists. It will be one of those words like “robust” and “24/7” that sweep through our culture. This is not a criticism of our president. It’s really a criticism of the state of our system of education. And it’s not a good thing.
Good eye. I am going to venture out on a limb and guess that Obama was coached ahead of time to rap up his press conference with a little motivational message about how sticking with the plan will reap rewards. Like you say this is not profound stuff. This is a message Kindergarteners hear all the time. This is the ‘philosophy’ of The Little Engine That Could, or of the ant and the rubber tree plant.
Begala’s choice of the word ‘meditation’ was, no doubt, focus-group tested to impart a sense of calm — to allay any fears people might have that Obama’s various bailout and stimulus plans are risky or ill-considered. Modern politicians do not utter one word without checking with their consultants.
I forget how calculating politicians are. Focus group tested–I like that.