Press pussies soft on O

http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/national/press_pussies_Ao6JpaYYf8qvXKlbaahB5N

Press pussies soft on O

By MICHAEL GOODWIN

Last Updated: 2:13 AM, August 22, 2012

Posted: 1:55 AM, August 22, 2012

In its otherwise glorious history, the Oval Office has suffered its share of scoundrels. Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, to name just two, certainly left distinctive stains.

Yet Barack Obama’s conduct puts him in a class of one. Day in, day out, he diminishes the traditions of an office that, starting with George Washington, were created to keep the presidency above the soiling scrum of partisan politics.

No. 44 specializes in a small-mindedness fueled by arrogance and contempt. So much so that, if he loses this election, he’ll already have earned the title for his next book: “Honey, I Shrunk the Presidency.” Let us count the ways.

He has attended more fund-raisers than any president in history, turning Air Force One into a collection shuttle.

He stands behind the grand seal of the United States of America to level scurrilous attacks on his opponent, by name, and even names the opposing vice-presidential candidate. He’s more respectful when he talks of Iran’s mad mullahs.

He leaks classified information for political gain, then feigns shock over complaints.

Oh, and he lies virtually every time he appears in public.

All these offenses against decency are now in service to his campaign, an enterprise that turns grubbier by the minute. All were on display during his press conference Monday.

His appearance surprised the press corps, which was bellyaching that he had ignored its questions for two months while yukking it up during softball interviews with star-struck radio and local TV types.

Absence did not improve the media’s performance, but his answers did reaffirm his penchant for the low road. He had two goals: to capitalize on the nutso “legitimate rape” comments of a GOP Senate candidate, and to create a headline to detract attention from the growing crowds and bold tone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

So prepped, he ventured into the kittens’ den and was rewarded immediately with the mushiest question ever: What did the president make of the rape comments, and are they typical Republican fare?

It’s tempting to believe the first questioner, a lackey from The Associated Press, was a ringer inserted by the campaign, but such machinations aren’t necessary. Most of the press corps tilts so far left that coaching would be redundant. Obama calls the press “my base,” an admission that means Joe Biden doesn’t have to fear inquiring minds focusing on his transgressions.

Consider that the charge from the sitting vice president that Republicans favor a return to slavery didn’t ignite the media’s sense of outrage nearly as much as the rape comments from an obscure Missouri candidate. Liberal loyalty demanded they help build that female firewall for Obama by reinforcing the “War on Women” trope, and so they acted.

Without double standards, the media would have no standards. So the rapt and rumpled press corps looked like props in a campaign commercial — maybe they will be — as Obama spent most of his 20-minute oration in attack mode.

He also peevishly denied that his campaign had taken the low road or that it had accused Mitt Romney of committing a felony, even though his top spokeswoman did exactly that.

Liar, liar — if only his pants had caught on fire. Imagine the New York Times headline: “Obama Performs Stunning Magic Trick.”

OK, life’s not fair, especially in the newsrooms that comprise the smug echo chamber. If they didn’t know better before, Romney and Paul Ryan surely realize now they will not get a fair shot.

They’ll have to make their own luck in a world where the White House/media complex can hijack a debate on the future of the country to obsess over the brain-dead ramblings of a single man, as long as that man is not Joe Biden.

The lesson is certain: The GOP ticket will be hoisted not only by their own words, but also by any association that can be created to aid their demise. It’s not personal, it’s business, and that’s the life the press corps has chosen.

For the rest of us, this is the president we’ve chosen, at least for now.

Tweed it & weep!

When it comes to political corruption, New York used to be the champion of badness. Boss Tweed, the chiefs of Tammany Hall — they were gloriously notorious for malfeasance.

Now we’re saddled with low-rent crooks, petty chiselers filching pennies from the worn public purse.

The charges against Bronx Democratic Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, detailed in riveting Post articles, ought to embarrass her and her politically powerful family in more ways than one.

Bad enough she’s been accused of using public money to support a rotating cast of lovers. But imagine how ashamed her supporters must be if she really aimed so low. Never has sex seemed so cheap.

Until proven innocent, she stands guilty of violating a canon of political corruption: If you’re gonna steal, go big.

Instead, Rivera, according to one of those ex-lovers, used a nonprofit financed with earmarks, then siphoned off the cash for her lovers’ salary and their dinner dates. Campaign expenses were said to be hidden in community-service projects, as were payments to family members.

Rivera’s alleged use of a taxpayer-backed nonprofit as a personal piggy bank is also far from original. The nonprofit scam is so routine that the mayor and governor must stop funding these shadow political groups.

The only “service” too many of them provide is the kind Rivera supposedly sought.

Mike’s own ‘hail’storm

There’s no shortage of judges who use the law to push their politics. One turns the Fire Department into his personal pinata, and another, who doesn’t like stop-and-frisk, green-lights a class-action suit against the NYPD.

But the ruling against City Hall’s taxi plan doesn’t fit that pattern. Judge Arthur Engoron reasonably cited the state Constitution’s home-rule provision.

Despite its appeal, the Bloomberg administration should have seen the result coming. City Hall effectively conceded the provision by trying first to get the City Council to approve the sale of more medallions and a new class of cabs for street hails outside Manhattan.

Only after the council balked did Bloomberg go to Albany for help. The end-run around local rule was a fatal flaw, Engoron said. It’s also inconsistent with Bloomberg’s usual demand for more city autonomy.

Because he counted on revenue from the medallions, the mayor is threatening layoffs. If they happen, they’ll fall on his shoulders.

See what she Khan do anywhere else

Brushing aside criticism of Kublai Khan, Mayor Bloomberg declares his bicycle czar “a superstar,” adding, “This woman is going to be in demand in every major city around the world.”

There’s an easy way to test that market — announce she’s ready to move on and see what happens.

Hey, maybe that’s what the mayor is doing. He’s tired of her, too, and is cleverly advertising her availability.

Please, God, say it’s so.

Joe is gaffe that keeps on giving

There’s a report Joe Biden will show up at the GOP convention. I say let him speak. His wild-man gibberish will make the case against four more years better than anything Republicans can say.



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