Rachel & Keith Talk About White House Visit and Selective Amnesia at FOX "News"

One of the most aggravating things about political discourse is the trope of "selective amnesia." It is carping from the left to the right, or from the right to the left, for something their side has been equally or more guilty of. It is as bad when Terry McAuliffe does it or if Karl Rove does. Those two (and several others) are a certain species of creature in political news that will spin any event or utterance by a public figure as a "win" for their side or a "fail" for the other side. They are--on both sides of the aisle--worthless and contemptible in my opinion.

We expect this from them, and from arch partisans on AM talk radio. And we've gotten to the point as a nation where we either ignore them, or shrug our shoulders and say, "eh, what can you do." Only the most rabid political junkies give them credence. It is when this behavior spreads to--well--the entirety of FOX "News", that it can bleed into other areas, and into "conventional wisdom." That's when I get really torqued off. It reminds me of Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley from Aliens, when she said, "Did I.Q.s drop sharply while I was away?"

To hear Rove and others blast the White House for having a gathering of liberal news and opinion people is one of these selective amnesiac moments. The George W. Bush White House was legendary for their manipulation and use of the media. Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Mike Gallagher and many other far-right pundits like them were routinely invited to speak with President Bush. Liberals and progressives were effectively shut out. President Obama by contrast has had guests from both sides of the aisle. It is enormously frustrating to read and watch this sort of story play out, and only have the real story featured on The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. And if you think I'm showing my own sort of blind spot here, watch the clips and tell me where I'm wrong.

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(Worst Person in the World #2, Tucker Carlson, is the relevant part of this clip:)

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