As the three major scandals engulf Washington many people are comparing Obama to Nixon. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no comparison. We need to get our feet back on the ground and start thinking clearly. Obama’s Benghazi and IRS problems ain’t Nixon’s Watergate by a long-shot. There are two key differences: Media and Remorse.
MEDIA
Watergate gave the media the perfect opportunity to tear into Nixon with gusto. They were laying in ambush for years and Nixon gave them a huge weapons cache to fire. The media gleefully piled on, assigned teams of reporters to dig deep and find whatever negative items they could on Nixon and his staff. The Washington Post supported and encouraged Woodward & Bernstein to take it to the limit and made them left-wing heroes and media darlings. In short, that media frenzy was driven by the prospect of shredding Nixon and Republicans.
On the other hand, the Benghazi and IRS scandals are giving the media the perfect opportunity to protect and defend Obama. They’ve been doing that for years but now they really have to step-up their game because of the serious nature of these events. Their socially liberal mandate and big-government agenda match perfectly with Obama. The media and Hollywood have invested millions of gallons of ink and thousands of sound bites in Obama and will do whatever it takes to protect those investments. While Woodward & Bernstein were lionized for their Watergate reportage, CBS actually spiked Sharyl Atkisson’s solid reporting on Fast & Furious, Solyndra and the Benghazi debacle. CBS killed many of her stories because they appeared “too partisan”. In other words, CBS didn’t like one of their own threatening their investment in Obama. That’s one big difference from how the Washington Post and other media handled Watergate.
The Obama team actually had private, off-the-record meetings with select members of the media so they could spin their side of the Benghazi story without getting any push-back or skepticism. Of course those “select” members of a compliant Press just love such exclusivity. In fact, however, they are selling their journalistic souls to the devil for short-term headlines and are in gross violation of their First Amendment duty to be fair, impartial and truthful. The good news is that a few (but only a few) media types are starting to feel shame for their obvious duplicity.
In addition, the media and Obama Administration actually welcome the IRS dust-up because it diverts public attention away from Benghazi. It will be very easy for Obama and the media to spread the blame for IRS problems since so many people and Departments are involved. That’s a simpler way to deflect blame from Obama.
But the glaring and obvious Benghazi failures rest squarely on Obama and Clinton since they were directly responsible for diplomatic safety and the subsequent response, or lack of same. Benghazi is a true failure of leadership and is much more dangerous for Clinton and Obama in the long run. That’s why the media will happily keep the IRS scandal on the front pages instead. Sadly, the GOP will accommodate them by over-reaching with four (4) Congressional hearings on the IRS and chasing that hyperventilated AP/Rosen “story” down a rabbit hole. That’s perfect for Obama because it allows the Benghazi investigation to languish.
REMORSE
President Nixon and his team actually showed remorse and contrition for their actions. They also had a modicum of shame. None of them invoked the Fifth Amendment. And Republicans convinced Nixon to resign in order to save the nation further scandal and possible impeachment. Based on that daunting scenario and clear evidence of wrong doing, it was right for Nixon to resign. So he did.
In stark contrast, however, the Obama Administration is bold, arrogant and defiant. They have no shame or remorse. They understand the media will help protect them for as long as possible so they act accordingly. Clinton and Obama altered CIA reports and blamed a video for the Benghazi attacks. Obama actually promoted Susan Rice to the post of National Security Advisor despite her obvious and numerous lies.
Obama and Holder “just didn’t know” what the IRS was doing. The IRS official directly involved in targeting conservative groups takes the Fifth. IRS Administrators stonewall Congress. Sarah Ingram used her key position at the IRS to thwart conservative groups and was rewarded with a promotion to manage Obamacare implementation. Scary thought.
Rest assured there is no John Dean on the Obama team.
Normally Democrats will never…ever…force another Democrat to resign from any position for any reason under any circumstance (Anthony Wiener was the rare exception). Bill Clinton used the full power of the federal government to fight the Lewinsky investigation and even lied under oath. Bill lied until the last dog died and Hillary helped him. So did the media. The urgent liberal quest for political power at all cost precludes acting in good faith for the good of the nation. Their attitude, “Let them eat cake.”
Based on this history it’s clear that Obama is Nixon-like but without any shame or remorse. Or guilt. And the media “presstitutes” exhibit few of those qualities when participating in off-the-record meetings with this Administration.
But the REAL SCANDAL that Republicans, Democrats and the media are ignoring is the tragic manner in which the Veterans Administration is mishandling veteran’s injury claims. Despite repeated empty promises by the Obama Administration to rectify this enormous problem, the wait for thousands of war-torn soldiers to get their claims adjudicated actually increased to more than 24 months.
In addition, the VA has a little known but documented policy of giving veterans the lowest hiring priority. Civilians get preferential treatment over vets. What irony!
Imagine the veteran’s suffering. Imagine their pain and frustration.
This is an ongoing, self-made tragedy that exemplifies the abject failures of the major two parties. No Republican or Democrat is running around with their hair on fire about this debacle. And you will not find any of those stories on any front page because they reflect badly on Obama.
