Van Jones? Where's the So-Called Press?

If you wanted more proof that the press is self-destructing, you need only look at their coverage of the Van Jone story.

"If it bleeds, it leads," was once the basic rule of journalism newsworthy hierarchy. The Van Jones story surely falls into a top10 list under that simple-minded reporting mantra.

It would appear, "If it spins, it wins," has become the new rule of the day....

From Byron York at the Washington Examiner:

From a Nexis search a few moments ago:

Total words about the Van Jones controversy in the New York Times: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy in the Washington Post: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on NBC Nightly News: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on ABC World News: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on CBS Evening News: 0.

If you were to receive all your news from any one of these outlets, or even all of them together, and you heard about some sort of controversy involving President Obama's Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, your response would be, "Huh?" If you heard that that adviser, Van Jones, had apologized for a number of remarks and positions in the recent past, your response would be, "What?" And if you were in the Obama White House monitoring the Jones situation, you would be hoping that the news organizations listed above continue to hold the line -- otherwise, Jones, who is quite well thought of in Obama circles, would be history.

Obama Celebrates Ramadan At White House

President Barack Obama hosted an iftar dinner Tuesday evening at the White House -- the special meal used to break the daily sunrise to sunset fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ambassadors, top administration officials and members of Congress joined him in saluting the contributions of Muslim Americans.

President Obama called the event a celebration of Ramadan.

Source.

Zogby: Obama Job Approval Down to 42%

President Barack Obama's job approval rating is down to 42%, with a decline in approval from Democrats the leading factor.

The latest Zogby Interactive poll of 4,518 likely voters conducted from August 28-31 found 48% disapprove and 42% approve of the job Obama is doing. The poll found 75% of Democrats approve of Obama's performance, a drop of 13 points among Democrats from an interactive poll done July 21-24 of this year. That same poll found 48% of all likely voters approving of Obama's job performance, and 49% disapproving.

Read it.

Conservatives Win Election in Japan; How Will the US Press Report?

Sunday's victory by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ends a half-century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and breaks a deadlock in parliament, ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats.

The political philosophy of the party is as follows:

The Democratic Party are against the current status quo and the governing establishment and finds that the bureaucracy of the Japanese government size is too large, inefficient, and saturated with cronies.

The Democratic Party wants to "overthrow the ancient regime locked in old thinking and vested interests, solve the problems at hand, and create a new, flexible, affluent society which values people's individuality and vitality."

The Democratic Party finds that a free market economic system is favorable for Japanese people's welfare. They represent "citizens, taxpayers and consumers," and see the government's role as limited to building the necessary system for self-reliant and independent individuals.

Financial markets are expected to welcome the end to a political deadlock that has stymied policies as Japan struggled with its worst recession since World War Two.

Rasmussen: Obama Strong Disapproval Highest Yet

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. That’s the highest level of Strong Disapproval yet recorded for this President and it gives Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10.

If Americans could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, 57% would throw out all the legislators and start over again. Just 25% would vote to keep the Congress.

Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. That matches the lowest total approval yet measured for Obama. Fifty-two percent (52%) now disapprove.