Right-Wing Media Launches Kitchen Sink Attack On Obama's Afghanistan Speech

From Media Matters

The right-wing media reacted to President Obama's address on troop withdrawals in Afghanistan by dredging up familiar, petty attacks, such as criticizing the number of times Obama referred to himself, and claiming the address was a "campaign speech" instead of a "war update." This follows a long history of the right-wing media launching frivolous attacks over speeches Obama makes on all manner of issues.

Attack: Obama Said "I" Too Many Times

Hannity: "I Heard The President Mention Himself, 'I, I, Me, I, I, I,' I Think About A Dozen Times."On the June 22 edition of Fox News' Hannity, host Sean Hannity said, "The one thing -- I don't know if you noticed this -- I didn't hear General Petraeus' name. I heard the President mention himself, 'I, I, me, I, I, I,' I think about a dozen times. I didn't hear him mention General Petraeus in this speech. That was an omission? How is that possible?" [Fox News, Hannity, 6/22/11, via Media Matters]

Fox & Friends Counts The Number Of Times Obama Said "I" During Speech. The June 23 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends edited Obama's speech to isolate the number of times Obama said "I." The segment featured a running counter in the corner of the screen. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 6/23/11, viaMedia Matters]

Attack: Address Was A "Campaign Speech"

FoxNews.com: "The President Chose To Use The East Room Of The White House To Offer ... A Campaign Speech." In a June 22 FoxNews.com op-ed, DC International Advisory President and former aide to Dick Cheney Stephen Yates wrote:

Americans can be forgiven for wondering what exactly was offered up by their president as he announced his timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan Wednesday night. Quite naturally they would anticipate an update on progress made in the year and a half since he announced deployment of the surge - albeit half of the forces requested by his battlefield commander.

On that count, President Obama delivered as expected, reporting success and announcing the withdrawal of surge forces over the next year. That 30-second bit of information could have capably been delivered from the White House press podium or in a brief televised update from the Oval Office (which this president -- unlike all recent predecessors -- oddly seems to avoid).
Instead, the president chose to use the East Room of the White House to offer a fairly simple campaign speech, not a war update or national security strategy. [FoxNews.com,6/22/11]

Fox Nation: "In Afghanistan Remarks, Obama Offers A Campaign Speech Not A War Update Or National Security Strategy." Fox Nation linked to the Fox News op-ed under the headline, "In Afghanistan Remarks, Obama Offers a Campaign Speech Not a War Update or National Security Strategy." From Fox Nation:

[Fox Nation, 6/22/11]

Attack: Obama Shouldn't Have Mentioned Jobs Or Clean Energy

Obama: Instead Of War, "We Must Invest In America's Greatest Resource - Our People." From President Obama's June 22 speech:

Above all, we are a nation whose strength abroad has been anchored in opportunity for our citizens here at home.  Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times.  Now, we must invest in America's greatest resource -- our people.  We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means.  We must rebuild our infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy.  And most of all, after a decade of passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that we shared at the beginning of this time of war.  For our nation draws strength from our differences, and when our union is strong no hill is too steep, no horizon is beyond our reach.

America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home. [WhiteHouse.gov, Remarks by the President on the Way Forward in Afghanistan, 6/22/11]

Power Line: "The Promotion Of 'Green Jobs' Doesn't Really Belong In This Speech." In a June 23 post on Power Line, blogger Scott Johnson wrote, "Speaking of unintended humor, the promotion of 'green jobs' really doesn't belong in this speech. It may be time to rewrite Samuel Johnson to say that 'green jobs' are the last refuge of a scoundrel." [Power Line, 6/23/11]

Fox Nation: "Obama Pushes Green Energy In Afghan Speech." A June 23 post on Fox Nation linked to the American Spectator blog under the headline, "Obama Pushes Green Energy in Afghan Speech." From Fox Nation:

[Fox Nation, 6/23/11]

Attack: Speech Was Obama's "Mission Accomplished" Moment

Ace Of Spades: "Obama's Mission Accomplished Speech." On his blog Ace of Spades, blogger Ace titled a short post on Obama's address "Obama's Mission Accomplished Speech" and went on to write, "We fought this war, but I made all the right decisions." It was posted two minutes after President Obama began speaking. [Ace of Spaces, 6/22/11]

Red State: "Mission Accomplished - Just [Don't] Ask How." A June 22 post on the conservative blog Red State had the subtitle, "Mission Accomplished - Just Don\'t [sic] Ask How." The post went on to state, "Whatever you do, though, don't forget tonight's declaration of success in a war whose purpose most Americans have long forgotten -- just don't ask how that success was achieved, how it's being defined, or how long it can be expected to last." [Red State, 6/22/11]

WSJ: "We Half Expected To See A 'Mission Accomplished' Banner Somewhere In The Background." A June 22 Wall Street Journal editorial stated:

President Obama delivered a remarkable speech last night, essentially unplugging the Afghanistan troop surge he proposed only 18 months ago and doing so before its goals have been achieved. We half expected to see a "mission accomplished" banner somewhere in the background. [Wall Street Journal, 6/22/11]

Fox & Friends Text: "Mission Accomplished?" The co-hosts of Fox News' Fox & Friends discussed Obama's speech several times during the June 23 edition of the show. During one segment, the following text aired on screen:

[Fox News, Fox & Friends, 6/23/11]

Nothing New Here: Right-Wing Media Consistently Attack Obama's Speeches

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama's 2009 Cairo Address. As Media Matters has noted, the right-wing media attacked President Obama's 2009 address in Cairo, Egypt on relations with the Muslim world.

For more information about the right-wing media's attack on Obama's Cairo speech, SEE HERE.

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama's Address On Libya. As Media Matters has noted, the right-wing media attacked Obama's address on military actions in Libya.

For more information about the right-wing media's attack on Obama's Libya speech, SEE HERE.

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama's 2011 State Of The Union Address. As Media Matters has noted, the right-wing media attacked Obama's 2011 State of the Union address.

For more information about the right-wing media's attack on Obama's 2011 State of the Union address,SEE HERE.

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama's 2010 State Of The Union Address. As Media Matters has noted, the right-wing media also attacked Obama's 2010 State of the Union address.

For more information about the right-wing media's attack on Obama's 2010 State of the Union address,SEE HERE.

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama's Memorial Address Honoring The Victims Of The January 2011, Tucson, AZ Shooting. As Media Matters has noted, the right-wing media attacked Obama's memorial speech following the January 2011 shooting in Tucson, AZ.

Ending The Afghan War Would Save Taxpayers 40,000 Times More Money Than Defunding NPR

By Zaid Jilani

Today, two deficit-cutting bills will be voted on in the House of Representatives. One bill, introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and fellow Republicans, would end all federal funding to National Public Radio (NPR). The other bill, sponsored by Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Walter Jones (R-NC) and being pushed largely by progressive Democrats, calls for setting a strict timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan that would mandate the end of combat operations in that country by the end of 2011.

Conservatives claim that defunding NPR would save taxpayers a great deal of money; former NPR employee Juan Williams even argued that NPR funding was taking away from “school breakfast programs [and] college scholarships.” Yet NPR receives only around 2 percent of its annual $161 million budget from federal grants, totaling approximately $3.2 million. Meanwhile, the FY2011 cost of the Afghan war has hit $113 billion.

Assuming that the costs of both the NPR funding and Afghan war would be the same for next year, that means that ending the Afghan war would save approximately 40,000 times more taxpayer dollars than defunding NPR’s grants from agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Additionally, as the National Priorities Project shows, ending the war could help free up money for countless domestic priorities, like hiring millions of teachers or funding health care for tens of millions of poor children. Here are just some of the alternatives that could be funded for the cost of one year of the Afghan war:

- Health Care For 55 Million Low Income Children

- 1.6 million Elementary School Teachers for One Year

- 1.9 million Firefighters for One Year

- 14.1 million Head Start Slots for Children for One Year

- 13.8 million Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year

- 1.6 million Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officers for One Year

- 19.3 million Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550

- 13.6 million Scholarships for University Students for One Year

Americans recognize these truths about the relative costs of the Afghan war versus NPR. That’s why polling shows that only a quarter of Americans want to see cuts to funding for public broadcasting, while the vast majority of Americans no longer support the Afghan war and want a clear exit from that country. If Republicans really want to “listen to the American people,” as they pledged to do last fall during their campaign, they would support ending the war in Afghanistan and really saving taxpayers money, not endorsing gimmicks to please the more extreme members of their base.

UPDATEDuring the floor debate on the Afghanistan issue, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) blasted his colleagues for attacking NPR but supporting the war. "The fiscal conservatives are going to be overwhelmingly in support of slashing NPR and go home and brag about how they're such great fiscal conservatives...At the same time, they won't consider for a minute cutting a real significant amount of money!" Watch it:

UPDATEThe House just voted 228-192 to cut off funding to NPR and 93-321against the resolution calling for an end to the war in Afghanistan this year. Numerous Republicans defected to vote against defunding NPR and to vote for ending the war in Afghanistan. No Democrats voted to defund NPR but more voted against ending the war in Afghanistan than voted for ending it.