The Leftwing media's slipping...they can't even lie well anymore..

From The Week........This is just too hilarious and damning to NOT post today:

Why conservatives can't whitewater Obama

By Bill Scher | The Week – 

The Republican Noise Machine is falling on deaf ears

Twenty years ago, conservative media mavens seemed able to turn any minor flap into scandal gold, be it a decade-old land deal that lost money or a mundane replacement of White House travel office staff. They even pressured Bill Clinton, early in his first term, to accept an investigation led by an independent special prosecutor, which years later led to his own impeachment. Liberals, in disturbed awe of the Right's ability to control the media narrative, dubbed the conservative media the "Republican Noise Machine."

Yet today, no matter how loud conservatives scream "Benghazi," "Solyndra," "Fast and Furious" and even "Intim-O-Gate" (Glenn Beck's failed attempt to brand the IRS and leak investigation controversies), President Obama glides past. His poll numbers remain relatively stable.

(Z: Judging from how really important these stories ARE (and, at least for a few days after they hit just before they get screamed over, the Dems also find them difficult to swallow), it's so clear that it's less a Republican failure in not screaming 'louder' but the White House's amazing power to shut down any criticism...keep reading)
There is not really a "what did the president know" drumbeat, and no suggestion he warrants independent investigation.  (Z: is the author kidding?   Even some Dem politicos want to know what the president knew)  Calls for Attorney General Eric Holder's resignation died down following his meeting with Washington media bureau chiefs. (Z: And the dishonest author doesn't say why?  Doesn't that statement not only puzzle you but maybe scare you a little? What was done?  And is Holder that powerful or is our media that stupid or soft?) Benghazi lightning rod Susan Rice just got a promotion, and her Republican antagonists are pledging cooperation.
What happened to the Republican Noise Machine? Here are three reasons it's sputtering:

1. Liberals finally learned how to fight back  (Z: Wait...that means the liberals have never been pro-active in attacking conservatives? :-)  HILARIOUS)
When the 1988 George H. W. Bush presidential campaign derided Gov. Michael Dukakis with smear after smear, the Democrat fatally believed he could simply ignore it because "nobody's going to believe it." In the 1990s, Bill Clinton naively believed naming a special prosecutor would put to rest any doubts about his real estate dealings. In 2004, Sen. John Kerry thought he could wait a few weeks before responding to the "Swift Boat" attacks on his war record and avoid inadvertently spreading false smears.  (Z: "smear after smear"?????..those DAMNED Republicans!!!!....it's so nice of the Democrats to have NOT smeared Sarah Palin or John Ashcroft or Albert Gonzalez or George Bush or Michele Bachman or Rand Paul or............gad, I don't have room here...so glad they never criticized them, huh? :-)  Was this author born yesterday?

But in 2008, the Obama campaign aggressively fought off smears, sometimes with high-profile speeches, sometimes by quietly getting factual responses in the hands of the media. And newly established outside groups like Media Matters provided big assists.  (Z: aha...'factual responses'...as IF there weren't still two sides to those items....and GOOD THING we got leftwing smear groups like Media Matters to be polite to Republicans and help the president :-) (sarcasm)  But, that's considered just FINE...)
Today, the forward-leaning approach continues. Democrats are quick to challenge the credibility of chief Obama antagonist Rep. Darrell Issa. The work of left-leaning reporters that debunk hysterical conservative charges is rapidly shared, minimizing the echo chamber effect of smears being repeated by traditional media outlets for days and accepted as fact before any belated corrections materialize.
(Z: what to say.?  'hysterical'?   Is "Mr. President what were you doing the night of Benghazi?" 'hysterical'? Is "but why invest in Solyndra and then again in other companies who had equally negative prospects? 'hysterical'?  "Why did you take Fast & Furious to the ridiculous lengths you took it, getting people killed and then saying this was Bush's plan when it's so clear you took it beyond his wildest nightmares?)
2. Conservatives have cried wolf too many timesConservative firebrand Michelle Malkin futilely tried to tag Obama as fostering a "culture of corruption" in a book published merely six months into his presidency. Breathless charges of cronyism in the Solyndra matter proved to be baseless.  (Z: No, not baseless, just quieted, hushed up; all those connections with Geithner and Obama's families and Sun Bank, and Obama's blatant lying about not knowing Bill Ayres even tho the public learned soon after that he knew him very well..?....really?  "Baseless?") You will not be surprised to learn that "Fast and Furious" was not a deliberate plot by Obama to ship guns to Mexican drug cartels, maximize cross-border gun violence, and con the public into accepting draconian gun control. These are a mere few examples of smears gone bust in the Obama era.  (Z:  Oops!  'maximize cross-border gun violence?'..no, nobody said that, pal and so your exaggeration on that is a lie and has no bearing except to obfuscate from the truth)
In turn, conservative muckrakers don't get the benefit of the doubt anymore. Granted, the traditional media still lets conservatives stir the pot, happily broadcasting initial charges. But the media has been less inclined to let conservatives dump the pot all over the front pages with wild speculation, day after day after day.  (Z: Translation:  Try to find one story on CNN on Solyndra anymore, or F&F, or the AP Scandal (which they were LIVID about at first), or Benghazi, or even the IRS story which CNN was more than troubled about at first....etc..instead, they're spending HOURS talking about Prince Harry, Cruise prices and interviewing every second cousin of every OK tornado victim. I honestly wonder sometimes how hard it is to ignore the real stories of the day...The Royal BABY and talking dolphins are more important?)

3. When something does go wrong, Obama is quick to take care of business
Martha Johnson, resigned. Robert Peck, fired. David Chaney, resigned. Greg Stokes, indefinitely suspended without pay. Louis Caldera, resigned.  (Z: Don't you love that 'RESIGNED'?  Wait, I thought he said it's OBAMA who "takes care of business.."  They "resigned"?  Below, he says Obama "got rid of them.."  which is it?  HAAAAAAAAA!)
Don't know who those people are? That's because President Obama got rid of them fast enough to prevent their minor scandals from being exploited by Republicans and becoming extended media soap operas.

The itchy trigger finger has its downside: Agricultural Department state-level director Shirley Sherrod was infamously and prematurely whacked before it could be proven she was the victim of a dishonestly edited video charging her with anti-white racism. Liberal Obama detractors accused Obama of cowering in the face of right-wing bullying.  (Z: Oops!  The truth is known and it's nothing like this....they were NOT 'dishonestly edited',  many Black folks are saying they feel betrayed by Sherrod and her ilk, and that truth has been proven)

However, Obama's overall record shows he is quite willing to fight back when he is standing on firm ground, yet also willing to jettison problem staffers when he sees their actions as indefensible. Sherrod's ouster was just one mistake out of haste. But Obama's basic approach of speedy decision-making has served his purposes of preventing low-level scandals from metastasizing.

Z: This is why Americans have to read all sides of every news story and from all media venues.....I'm sorry, but this article was far too funny not to take apart for you.............You can probably even do better in showing how dishonest it is:    FIRE AWAY

Z