Obama the Socialist

The US media is pathetic. It treats news as "entertainment" and it views politics as a sport of "gotcha". It doesn't see any responsibility to present issues clearly and provide the necessary analysis to aid readers in understanding issues. Instead, it turns trivia into "issues". Witness this example pointed to by Ezra Klein in his blog on The American Prospect. As you read this, please remember that Obama has been telling us that he is a "pragmatist" and wants to find solutions by reaching across the political spectrum to get the best ideas where ever he can find them:

For months, the New York Times has been complaining that they've been stiffed by Barack Obama. Tradition has it that the president sits with them for a pre-inauguration interview. Obama didn't. And nor did he give them a quick post-inauguration interview. But he gave them 35 minutes this week. Finally. At long last. The Paper of Record gets a crack at the young president. They asked:

"The first six weeks have given people a glimpse of your spending priorities. Are you a socialist as some people have suggested?"

Obama said no. But these are serious journalists. So they followed up.

"Is there anything wrong with saying yes?"

And then: "So to people who suggested that you are more liberal than you suggested on the campaign, you say, what?"

And then: "Is there one word name for your philosophy? If you’re not a socialist, are you a liberal? Are you progressive? One word?"

The economy is collapsing. The Omnibus bill is flailing in the Senate. The Treasury Department still needs a workable approach to the banks. Why is the New York Times wasting Obama's day -- and their 35 minutes of interview time -- with these gotchas? Did they really think he would slip and admit that his stimulus plan was cadged from a footnote in Das Kapital?