The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Narrative Control: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling

Posted on | February 28, 2013 | 24 Comments

“Woodward, I think, leans to the left, but he is unafraid to call out the President of the United States when he’s lied to.”
— Stephen Dethrage, University of Alabama

Obama has been lying about the sequester, and when famed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward blew the whistle, this made Woodward the demonized enemy. Anyone who disputes the Obama-approved narrative must be discredited, by any means necessary. Ben Smith at BuzzFeed reports:

The White House official whom Bob Woodward charged had crosssed a line by saying he would “regret” printing his version of a set of Washington negotiations was Gene Sperling, the director of the White House Economic Council, a source familiar with the exchange told BuzzFeed Wednesday.
The email from Sperling to Woodward, which Woodward read to Politico Wednesday, has transfixed Washington, with Republicans and some in the press charging that it embodies a White House lording it over a cowed press corps.
Woodward, Politico reported, called the top official — identified to BuzzFeed as Sperling — to tell him that he would question Obama’s account of negotiations leading to the “sequester” — automatic cuts set to take effect next month.
The aide “yelled at me for about a half hour,” Woodward said, and then sent a follow-up email that read, in part: “You’re focusing on a few specific trees that give a very wrong impression of the forest. But perhaps we will just not see eye to eye here. … I think you will regret staking out that claim.”

Instead of defending Woodward, other journalists are volunteering their assistance in attempting to discredit him, as Aleister at American Glob shows the shrieking reaction from Obama’s media sycophants.  This is shameful, and we should not be surprised that this beatdown on Woodward appears to have been orchestrated by Media Matters chief bully, Eric Boehlert:

Boehlert’s tactics are obvious. He wants to marginalize Woodward and his reporting out of the fear that Obama might actually be held responsible for a law he proposed, got passed, and signed into law.

Boehlert and his fellow thugs don’t care about truth. They care about partisan conformity and subservience. Becca J. Lower noticed that at least one young journalist still prefers the old-fashioned truth.

Category: Budget, Media Bias

Comments

24 Responses to “Narrative Control: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling”

  1. souperfan2012
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:18 am

    @smitty_one_each
    It was Gene? That means Jarrett.

  2. PATR2014
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:18 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Enforcing Media Conformity: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling http://t.co/YCCuNDB2Ez #TCOT

  3. Detoxbydesign
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:18 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Enforcing Media Conformity: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling http://t.co/YCCuNDB2Ez #TCOT

  4. akrongarber
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:20 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Enforcing Media Conformity: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling http://t.co/YCCuNDB2Ez #TCOT

  5. ABEomination
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:23 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Enforcing Media Conformity: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling http://t.co/YCCuNDB2Ez #TCOT

  6. Svenster
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:39 am

    I think Woodward should feel insulted that they only rolled out a minor functionary like Sperling to threaten him.

  7. ProudoftheUSA
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:39 am

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Enforcing Media Conformity: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling http://t.co/YCCuNDB2Ez #TCOT

  8. Steve Skubinna
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:55 am

    In related news, the weekly chocolate ration has been increased from 30 to 20 grammes.

  9. Griz2000
    February 28th, 2013 @ 9:58 am

    Remember, “Dissent is Patriotic!”

  10. Shawny Lee
    February 28th, 2013 @ 10:08 am

    My guess is that Val Jarrett was just too busy dishing out “payback” to some other credible threat to the Obama narrative. So much truth….so few WH aides.

  11. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    February 28th, 2013 @ 10:22 am

    The Emperor Obama has no clothes!

  12. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    February 28th, 2013 @ 10:37 am

    Emperor Obama has no clothes. Woodward just had the temerity to comment on it.

  13. Bob Belvedere
    February 28th, 2013 @ 10:51 am

    You heard the Left wrong – they actually said: ‘Dissonance Is Patriotic’.

  14. Shawny Lee
    February 28th, 2013 @ 11:36 am

    lol….waiting breathlessly for Dead Nixon’s comment on this one. I’m sure this isn’t the first time Mr. Woodward has been yelled at for a half hour or threatened.

  15. Becca Lower
    February 28th, 2013 @ 12:39 pm

    That’s probably like a walk on the beach for a guy like Woodward. And I think Dead Nixon’s still wrangling with Twitter at the moment (stuck in Gulag!)… His backup handle is @DeadDickInHell.

  16. Becca Lower
    February 28th, 2013 @ 12:41 pm

    Thanks for the mention, Stacy, but I bet Stephen’s even more thrilled. It was his first-ever blog post. LOL

  17. Around the Blogosphere in Eighty Twenty Seconds | Daily Pundit
    February 28th, 2013 @ 1:26 pm

    […] Narrative Control: Woodward Gets a Warning from Gene Sperling : The Other McCain […]

  18. Bob Woodward to 'College Journalist': "My First Thought Every Day is, 'What Are the Bastards Hiding?'" - Lowering the Boom
    February 28th, 2013 @ 2:30 pm

    […] Thanks for the linkage. Welcome, The Other McCain […]

  19. Shorter Wonkette: Butt-Sex Jokes Are Only Funny When Liberals Tell Them : The Other McCain
    February 28th, 2013 @ 2:37 pm

    […] this story is actually about, however, is the Left’s continued struggle to maintain narrative control. If irreverent humor or inaccurate reporting help advance legislation, policy and candidates […]

  20. Adjoran
    February 28th, 2013 @ 2:44 pm

    Yglesias is, of course, front and center of the bootlicking media sycophants, desperately trying to outpace Ezra Klein for the coveted “Most Fawning Toady” award.

  21. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    February 28th, 2013 @ 3:23 pm

    Don’t give any chocolate to Chuck Todd…it is bad for dogs

  22. The Political Hat
    February 28th, 2013 @ 5:48 pm

    Here is the full e-mail purportedly sent to Woodward: http://tinyurl.com/bm27go9 from Politico

  23. Shawny Lee
    February 28th, 2013 @ 5:59 pm

    Ooooo….and now Lanny Davis, a definite Dem says he also recieved threats from Obama White House on his columns.
    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/02/breaking-lanny-davis-breaks-silence-admits-threats-from-obama-white-house/

  24. K-Bob
    February 28th, 2013 @ 10:03 pm

    Huh. I just figured these reporters are in so deep they would only get threats for coming back with an inaccurate polyp count. Did someone accidentally attempt real journalism?