Maddow cheerleads

Rachel Maddow, speaking after the president’s speech during MSNBC’s analysis, said something that puzzled me and really raises questions about whether she is anything more than a cheerleader for Obama.

I like Maddow, generally, but how she can think that this speech “neutralizes” critics is beyond me. The left certainly will not be pacified by this speech because the antiwar left knows that you can’t call an escalation a withdrawal (thanks to Bob Witanek for this line of thinking). The right, on the other hand, would criticize Obama for killing Osama bin Laden with his bare hands, their hatred for the president running so deep that it blinds them to reason.

And the independents? As Chris Matthews said (did I just write that?), they are weary of the war and want it to end.

The political analysis, of course, is the problem, whether it is Maddow cheerleading for the president or Fox making things up to make him look bad. Political analysis, however, is limited and empty. What we need is real policy analysis and real information.

We already have spent too many lives — on both sides — and money. We need to get out and get out quickly.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet