Media Matters Only Takes President Obama In Context

President Obama’s Palace Guards are at it again. The folks over at Media Matters were quick to jump to the President’s defense after a press conference during which he declared ”the private sector is doing just fine.”

When millions of American’s are out of work and you’ve had 40 straight months with unemployment over 8%, that isn’t the kind of statement you want to make. But he did. You can call it a gaffe, an unforced error, or just a guy who doesn’t really get what’s going on in the private sector. Media Matters called it none of these. Instead, they went into full defense mode. In a post entitled “Obama Said Job Growth Is Doing Fine,” they presented this defense:

BuzzFeed is stripping comments by President Obama at today’s press conference out of context and calling that distortion of what Obama said “a gift to Republicans.”

Obama addressed reporters on the economy on Friday and said, “The truth of the matter is that, as I’ve said, we’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine. Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government.”

Obama was clearly drawing a contrast between job growth in the private sector — which, as Obama said, has added about 4.3 million jobs in the past 27 months — and the public sector, which has lost 550,000 jobs over the same period.

There is nothing controversial or shocking about those comments. Yet BuzzFeed is leading a media campaign to present that observation as beneficial for conservatives.

First off, the title is a complete fabrication. President Obama did not say “job growth is doing just fine.” You can listen to his remarks 100 times and you will never hear those words come out of his mouth. As much as they might wish that’s what he actually said, he didn’t.

But never mind that blatant falsehood. Let’s move on to their “context argument.” I might be willing to entertain them on this if they were willing to make this argument in all cases, but they don’t. Remember when Mitt Romney said he likes “being able to fire people who provide services to me?”

I do. Of course there was a giant firestorm from the left about that statement. Naturally, the media took that comment and made “I like being able to fire people” the money quote. What do you think the folks over at Media Matters had to say about that? You think they said “Whoa! Wait a minute! Let’s look at the context!” Yeah, fat chance. Here’s what they did with that:

What Kind of Person…

“I like being able to fire people who provide services to me,” Mitt Romney said yesterday in New Hampshire. He was talking about health care providers. But what kind of person says that?

---

CORE MESSAGE

What kind of guy says he likes firing people?

Connect: Most of us would never say we like firing people — no matter the context.

Contrast: But for Mitt Romney, it’s different. Yesterday he actually told voters that he likes being able to fire people who provide services to him.

Define: What kind of guy says that? Apparently the same kind of guy who says ”corporations are people,” we should let big banks kick people out of their homes, and casually bets $10,000 like it’s pocket change.

Values: Someone who says they like firing people isn’t someone you’d want as a role model for your kids, and it’s not the leader you’d want running your country.

---

ATTACKS AND RESPONSES

“Mitt Romney didn’t say he enjoys firing people. You’re taking it out of context.”

• Most of us would never say we like firing people — no matter the context. That’s just not something most people would say.
• Apparently the same kind of guy who says ”corporations are people,” we should let big banks kick people out of their homes, and casually bets $10,000 like it’s pocket change.

See that? When Mitt Romney says something that sounds bad, they don’t bother with context. Instead, they actually had their “Action” guys devote an entire page offering ways to use it as an attack on Romney. They even offer advice on how to counter the argument that he was being taken out of context.  Then? They offer statements declaring him unfit to be a role model or President of the United States. Ridiculous.

What happened to context, guys? Oh, right. That only applies to their beloved President Obama.

See? Media Matters isn’t interested in fairness, accuracy, or context. In fact, they don’t even appear to be interested in being remotely honest. The only thing they’re really interested in? Is defending President Obama when he gets in hot water and helping him get reelected.