ABC TV Becomes the All Barack Company

ABC (formerly American Broadcasting Company) was so thrilled with President Obama's speech on health care, and so overwhelmed by the brilliance of the underlying Kennedy medical care takeover, that the bigwigs have decided simply to move into the White House to avoid having to take a trip across town to hear the words of the Great Healer.
ABC's coverage after the speech became more fawning as time wore on. At first, ABC actually made a few comments that questioned whether the plan was perfect, or even whether America could afford it. But ultimately, starting with George Stephanopoulos on "World News," a sycophantic avalanche had begun which by Wednesday afternoon ran 55 to 18 comments in favor of the plan. The lockstep has begun.

Stephanopoulos was ecstatic reporting how Obama received wild applause from doctors who agreed that the health care system should be run by healers and not by bean counters. Many of us who saw the speech would have said "mild" not "wild," but applause is in the ear of the beholder. Dr. Tim Johnson, ABC's socialized medicine advocate, said "it was a very tender moment . . . and I think he was right on target at reaching out to the heart of most physicians." Johnson neglected to mention that while he was reaching for doctors' hearts with one hand, Obama was reaching for the taxpayers' wallets with the other.

And then came the bombshell. Stephanopoulos promoted an upcoming June 24 primetime special "Questions for the President: Prescription for America." Johnson will be joining Stephanopoulos for that coup. Not a bad "get" for the network, except the special will be set up, organized in, and broadcast from the East Room of the White House. I guess Martin Sheen already had the West Wing tied up. That's a whole lot more than what reporters used to call a "scoop."

The reaction to this symbiotic love fest has so far shown up only on conservative websites, some local radio and TV stations, and of course, Fox News Network. Grace-Marie Turner, president of the not-for-profit Galen Institute said that if ABC's June 24 special turns out to be one-sided, it would be "unconscionable." Good Morning America will join ABC's World News in a week of coverage of the issue. It's called "softening up the opposition." Turner added that "it is absolutely reckless of ABC to host a presentation from the White House on this issue and to not include opposing viewpoints."

Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay complained to ABC News and asked for "an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected." More to the point, McKay said that without outside comment, the report will be nothing more than a "glorified infomercial."

Although ABC News senior vice president Kerry Smith insists that ABC has "had many critics of the President's health care plan on ABC reports," he was unable to explain the three-to-one margin of favorable comments over negative comments. In the two day period leading up to Obama's speech, ABC, CBS and NBC had a total of eight segments and two news briefs promoting the plan and the President's upcoming speech. In that same time period, the three networks allowed one critic, and showed one short segment from a commercial opposing government-run health insurance. But it remains unclear how ABC got the exclusive on the East Room. Maybe CBS and NBC already got the Lincoln Bedroom.

Even former Presidential candidate John McCain (RINO, AZ) found his conservative credentials long enough to ask "How can we possibly , reasonably address this bill . . . without accounting how to pay for it?" As of this writing, neither McCain nor any other opponent of the bill has been offered rebuttal time from ABC, let alone an entire wing of the White House to broadcast from. The real statistic which ABC will be completely ignoring on the 24th is that of the 47 to 50 million uninsured people that Obama and the Democrats claim need government health care, 9.7 million (a low estimate from the Census Bureau) are non-citizens, 7.9 million are under 24 years old (and need little medical care or haven't yet gone to work where employer-provided insurance would largely be available), and more than 9 million earn over $75,000 per year and could well afford to pay for their own insurance.

Thanks to my friend Angel in Arizona and several of our regulars for reminding me that this is about more than just a crazy, socialist government takeover of health care. It is also about the extremely dangerous intimacy between the media and the administration which undermines the whole purpose of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press. A news organization that takes up residence in the White House is no longer performing its genuine public function. It's one thing to be in the tank for a politician, and it's quite another to become his roommate.

Because I felt it was appropriate to post this column today, I will be doing my San Francisco Diary on Saturday instead of its usual spot on Thursday.