Far from challenging Obama for his obvious lies on sequestration, some quarters of the media (and I’m being charitable by saying “some”) are happily carrying his water and running “news items” that could have been written by David Axelrod. Oh, wait, that is his official job at MSNBC now.
The Associated Press gets the award for ripping a headline straight out of a White House strategy memo, with the following Tweet: “BREAKING: Obama signs order to begin $85 billion in spending cuts that he opposed but couldn’t avert.“
The state media apparatchiks of North Korea can only gasp in awe and slowly doff their caps in salute. Literally every word of that headline is a lie. Obama didn’t sign an order to begin the sequester; it’s not worth $85 billion this year; it does not “cut” spending at all, not even over 10 years; Obama did not oppose the sequester – he designed it, insisted upon it, and vowed to veto any move to neutralize it; and he had abundant opportunities to avert it, with a fresh one placed on the table just as it went into effect. Among the last-ditch alternatives was one that would have given him complete latitude to implement the spending reductions any way he sees fit, a complete upgrade from the partial authority he has now.