WHY DID OBAMA DECLARE WAR ON FOX NEWS?

Since it's first broadcast on October 7, 1996, The Fox News Channel has been the target of liberal attacks. In a media landscape dominated by phony Dan Rather documents, condescending Katie Couric interviews and leg tingling MSNBC moments, Fox News has always stood apart. Former Republican Strategist Roger Ailes has helped push Fox News to the top of the cable news ratings mountain by offering time to conservative voices. The other networks mock conservatives and Fox News benefits in the ratings quest. The high watermark for Fox bashing came with the release of Robert Greenwald's 'documentary' "Outfoxed", which charged Fox News with being bias, promoting Bush Administration propaganda, helping to steal the 2000 election, cheer leading for war in Iraq and starting global warming. Well maybe not starting it, but certainly the film charges Fox News with promoting the “big oil” anti-environment agenda. Now the Obama Administration has taken liberal anti-Fox News insanity to a new level.

“First of all, I've got one television station entirely devoted to attacking my administration.” That's what President Obama told CNBC's John Harwood this summer. With growing opposition to Obama's government health care takeover, the administration needs an enemy. The Republican minority in congress is so small they pose no threat to Obama's agenda, so attacking them is pointless. That's the reason Fox News is under fire. Their reporting on Former Green Jobs Czar Van Jones, Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings and ACORN's illegal activity has damaged the Obama Administration. Fox's affective journalism has caused White House Communications Director Anita Dunn and White House Senior Political Advisor David Axelrod to recently assail the credibility of Fox News. First the White House slammed the credibility of Fox News, then they tried to limit Fox's access to a key government official. They alerted the White House Press Pool that “Pay Czar” Kenneth Feinberg would be doing several interviews with the networks. Then the Obama Administration specified that everyone was invited except Fox News. Thankfully the White House Press Pool pushed for Fox News to be included. This was a test case. The Obama Administration wanted to test the limitations of it's Fox News isolation strategy.

The Obama Administration knows it can't silence Fox News, America is still a country with freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Their strategy is to isolate Fox News from the rest of the mainstream liberal media. Stories that Fox News covers will eventually make their way into the national news cycle. Fox covers ACORN, Van Jones and the Tea Parties, which influences NBC, ABC, CBS and the New York Times to at minimum cover the controversies that Fox News is focusing on. Prominent liberal media figures have used the word "quarantine" to describe their intentions. They what to quarantine the Fox News organization and cut off it's influence. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said, “it's important to not have the CNN's and the others in the world basically be led in following Fox.” If Obama can successfully isolate Fox, then the traditional liberal media can continue business as usual. Business as usual means unchecked liberal bias.

For decades liberal journalists dominated the mainstream media, they crusaded against the Vietnam War, advocated for the “Great Society” programs and vilified the Reagan Administration. Now progressive politicians like Barack Obama have to contend with hard hitting coverage from Fox News, which keeps NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN on their toes and makes their coverage more “fair and balanced”.