For instance, though Zakaria clearly has no detailed knowledge of the issue, he nevertheless wrote, "Whatever the paperwork shows, Mitt Romney was not running Bain Capital after February 1999."
Zakaria then displayed his true ideological colors, toeing the Post's editorial line, which for years has been enthusiastic about the supposed economic benefits of off-shoring American jobs. Zakaria added...
"Even if he [Romney] had been [in charge], outsourcing jobs to lower a company's costs -- and ensure its survival -- is not sleazy; it's how you run a business efficiently. (Is President Obama suggesting that we put up tariff barriers to prevent outsourcing in the future?)"
That cavalier attitude about shipping U.S. manufacturing jobs to low-wage countries abroad has been neocon dogma for decades. Remember how all those smart people told us that we were entering a new "information age" in which industrial production was irrelevant and we should focus on devising stuff like new financial "instruments." The 2008 financial collapse has done little to dent that doctrine.
Edge to Romney
In this political/media climate, one can expect that Romney will not only have an advantage in the avalanche of TV ads -- endlessly blaming Obama for the poor economy -- but will have that theme reinforced by the national press corps. Even many liberal talkers can't resist repeating the self-fulfilling prophecy that the voters will punish Obama for the jobless rate.
There is, of course, a counter-narrative that is more interesting and accurate. It is whether the Republican plot -- hatched at the very start of the Obama presidency to make the U.S. economy "scream" by frustrating Obama's jobs initiatives -- will succeed.
Though the U.S. press corps knows that the Republican-sabotage narrative is true -- it's been reported, for instance, by author Robert Draper -- virtually every mainstream journalist knows intuitively not to mention it in the context of the struggling economy.
When poor jobs numbers come out, the journalists fall into line, saying this will hurt Obama's reelection chances; they don't say this is another result of the Republicans holding the U.S. economy hostage and trying to sabotage the President's reelection.
Pile onto that the media's timidity about simply correcting distortions, like Obama's selectively edited quote regarding the importance of a public infrastructure for business success, and you have a good idea where the presidential campaign is headed over the next few months.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
