Blockheads

So Chuck Todd of NBC comes on after the President finishes his press conference in order to assure us that, he, Chuck Todd, and his colleagues in the Village Media are still in charge of reality and we won't know what to think about what we just saw until he, Chuck Todd, and his colleagues tell us what it is we just saw.

Todd says the President did a good job but it's too bad he didn't do this last week because now it's a case of too little too late because even though the stimulus is going to pass he's lost the battle for public opinion.

These blockheads do not read!

Via Froomkin:

Frank Newport writes for Gallup: "The American public gives President Barack Obama a strong 67% approval rating for the way in which he is handling the government's efforts to pass an economic stimulus bill, while the Democrats and, in particular, the Republicans in Congress receive much lower approval ratings of 48% and 31%, respectively.

"These findings, based on Gallup Poll interviews conducted Feb. 6-7, underscore the degree to which Obama appears to be maintaining the upper hand over his opponents from a public opinion perspective as he and congressional leaders wrangle over the precise form and substance of a new economic stimulus plan."

Also in Chuck Todd's world, the people wanted President Clinton impeached and George W. Bush was a popular President.

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Update:  Commenter Anne D.  reminded me that Glenn Greenwald and Jay Rosen talked to Bill Moyers this past Friday about the establishmentarian mindset National Press Corps types like Todd cling to and defend.  Video here.  Transcript there.

And read Rosen's post on how the internet is contributing to the erosion of the establishmentarian Media's ability to control the message, Audience Atomization Overcome.

Comments

[Rana]

*gently bonking my forehead against my lapdesk*

[cebm]

My 'public opinion' is Chuck Todd is an asshole. Privately, I think he's a really big asshole.

[Linkmeister]

I think it was Josh Marshall who wrote there was an entire phalanx of pundits on CNN waiting for the press conference to be finished in order to interpret it for the great unwashed. Apparently punditry is a recession-proof industry, unlike, say, CNN's entire science unit, which got dumped a few weeks ago.

Somehow I doubt that there were any radio pundits after any of the FDR fireside chats.

[Anne D.]

Lance,

Your observation of Chuck Todd is timely . Check out Jay Rosen and Glenn Greenwald discussion of the media/Washington era of Obama with Bill Moyers on his PBS show last friday, 02/06/09. Chuck Todd and the others don't want to lose control of the message. In my opionion, like NBC, CBS and ABC who were not ready to compete against cable channels, the Washington media elite haven't coped with the internet and (or to acknowledge) the power that is there. It was discussed during the Moyers show growing strength with people rallying aroung blogs where they find simular viewpoints.

[lina]

You gotta wonder how/why Chuck Todd got the White House beat. He seemed to be having a good career covering horse race politics and crunching numbers. I don't believe he has any journalism background. Then again, no journalism cred is really required to cover the White House. Reporters sit around in little cubicles all day waiting for one person (the Prez) to say or do something. It's a crappy beat. It seems like the most prestigious job in reporter world, but it truly sucks. Maybe Todd is perfect for it.

[Claire]

Thank you Anne D. (and Lance) for that Moyers transcript. Fantastic. Moyers quotes Greenwald, "The media stars in Washington almost never understand that there's anything wrong with the establishment of which they're a part."

[Matter-Eater Lad]

The thing Chuck Todd had going for him last spring during the primaries was that he was often the ONLY person whose arguments and comments were grounded in cold, hard, numbers. He was looking not at whether Obama could win in Pennsylvania or Clinton could win in North Carolina, but at how many delegates each candidate had and what the likely end result was going to be.

The lesson NBC learned from this was not that talking heads should ground what they say in facts, but that Chuck Todd needed a resume-building slot covering the White House before he could be moved onto bigger things. But in the absence of cold, hard facts like he had during the campaign seasons last year, he's as likely as anyone to repeat the received wisdom of the village insiders.