Obama-Fox News Feud

Fox News is in the White House House.

Irreverent Wag

President Obama is ripping conservative bloggers and Fox News  for precipitating the shutdown, for prolonging the shutdown and for keeping the ObamaCare showdown alive and kicking   Obama does not mention the so-called mainstream media, who almost universally blame the Tea Party for the shutdown and characterize government workers and Americans as a whole as victims.  No mention is made of Americans as potential victims of Obamacare.

The Fox News –Obama feud has been going on since the election of 2012. 

Obama has reacted by taking frequent pokes at Fox in his news conferences and  other TV conferences.  His justice department also investigated Fox News  report er James Rosen for his supposed leaks  and tried to exclude Fox News from participating at White House news conferences.  The Obama administration mocks the Fox News slogan of “fair and balanced”as a travesty of objective reporting.

Fox News has countered by constantly highlighting the Benghazi fiasco,   interviewing those the other side of the shutdown controversy,  and questioning the competence of the administration in its bungled health exchange rollout.  Fox  reporters add fuel to the feud  by asking  embarrassingly direct questions at national news conferences.

A big reason for the Obama team’s  distress over Fox News is its cable news market share dominance.   This dominance was reflected in the October 15 cable news ratings.

Total Day		Total  (000s)	25-54 (000s)	35-64 (000s)
FOX News		1,392	305	592
CNN		561	168	270
MSNBC		594	145	286
CNBC		149	40	67
Fox Business News		56	9	27
Headline News		160	52	83

Fox News dominates among cable news networks by over  2:1 margins.

To make matters worse, from the Obama point of view,  are irreverent comments like these from Fox’s business correspondent  as of yesterday.

“Mr. President, Fox News isn't what's making Americans sick about your healthcare law. Your healthcare law is. Welcome, everybody, I'm Neil Cavuto. And excuse this departure from form. But I think this is just poor form. So, it's time we set some things straight.

Mr. President, we at Fox News are not the problem. I hate to break it to you, sir. You are. Your words are. Your promises are. We didn't sell this healthcare law. Sir, you did. Remember this?

President Barack Obama: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period.

Mr. President, tell that to tens of thousands of retirees at IBM and Time Warner and dozens of others, who've been dumped from their coverage and told to find their own coverage. Fox News didn't break that news to them, Mr. President. Their companies did.

Fox News didn't push more of those firms to hire part-time workers. Your healthcare law did. Fox News didn't incentivize fast food restaurants to scale back their benefits. Your healthcare law did. Fox News didn't make doctors want to opt out. Your healthcare law did. Fox News didn't make insurance premiums sky rocket. Your healthcare law did. Just like Fox News didn't grant hundreds of exemptions to companies that needed them. You did. And Fox News didn't delay one key provision after another, including online enrollment for those small business exchanges. You did.

Just like it wasn't Fox News that said we had to pass this to see what was in this. You did. Or was that Nancy Pelosi? Sometimes I'm confused. But of this I am not. Fox News didn't re-do basic math. Sir, you did. Fox News didn't say you can cover 30 million more Americans and not see a hit in premiums. You did. Fox News didn't say you could throw in those with pre-existing conditions and not have to pay for it. You did. Fox News didn't all but say you could get something for nothing. You did. Fox News didn't come back years later and say, oh yea, we did raise some taxes. You did.

Here's where you are right about Fox News, however, Mr. President. We can do math. And did. You cannot. And did not. We said it, and proved it. You didn't. And we're all suffering for it. Take it from the numbers guy at Fox. Numbers don't lie. The number of Americans working part-time and nervous. The number of retirees days away from being dumped on exchanges and anxious. The number of company bosses with any news to pass along on those exchanges, but still clueless. The number of doctors who want out. The number of congressmen now opting out. No, Mr. President, none of those numbers lie.

But with all due respect sir, I can only conclude you do know; I know, I know you hate us at Fox. But please take a look in a mirror, and fast. You think we're the skunk at your picnic. But that doesn't mean we're the ones that stink. Because that smell isn't coming from the folks reporting on your law. Mr. President, that smell is your law.”

However you feel about this feud, you will have to concede that nothing makes for better copy and higher ratings than a good old-fashioned fued.  It will be up the American people in November 2014 to decide who is the skunk at the tea party - Fox News, the Tea Party or You.

Tweet:   Fox News irritates President Obama for two reasons: 1) its dominance among cable news networks; 2) its skepticism over his leadership..