When the left panic

I read Krugman this morning and was appalled by the quotes from an interview with Obama that he posted. Was ready to join Dr Krugman in an outraged Greek chorus. Comparing the banksters bonuses with pro-ball players? Clueless! OMG, we're doomed! Our president just doesn't get it! Both times my power went out and ate the post. Think the wind gods were sparing me from embarrassment.

As it turns out, within the hour, Greg Sargent checked the full transcript, readily available from the White House. In context, the quotes weren't nearly so alarming. While it's true that Obama didn't call the banksters dirty, effin, bloodsuckers or anything satisfying like that, he didn't really excuse them either. And he was speaking to a group of business people. Very nervous business people. People on whom the recovery depends. Politically, it's seems a wise and pragmatic move to assuage some of their fears, no matter how emotionally unappealling it is to us on the left.

Meanwhile, HuffPo joins with Drudge and Krugman to sound the alarm that was amplified loudly on both sides of the internets and by now I expect the MSM has posted a slew of "ZOMG even the left hates Obama" stories. I hate to go all David Brooks but jeebus, if the left flies into a panic on every unsourced rumor in the MSM and doesn't even to bother to fact check any more before posting, how exactly is this advancing progressive goals?

I seem to recall Blogtopia was invented to push back against MSM hysteria and disinfo. Seems like lately, all too many big, and aspiring to be big, bloggers are racing to be the first one to push unfounded rumors and the ongoing outrage-a-thon on every little perceived slight and mis-step is making it difficult for me to tell the difference between lefties and the wingnuts anymore. Not to mention, pushing every trivial sideshow right along with the tradmed.

Meanwhile, the positive accomplishments of the Obama adminstration barely get mentioned in passing. I had a feeling that would happen once some bloggers started making money and/or began getting bobblehead gigs on the teevee. Outrage and scandal sell. Nuance and pragmatism doesn't. I'm sorry to apparently have been proven correct.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]