Jackasses of the Media

I saw this on Atrios, but it was on Wolf Blitzer's show:

"JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Wolf, the political community has gone predictably hysterical over Senator Barack Obama's presidential flirtation.
So, in the spirit of retched excess, let's take a look not at what he's saying, but at another crucially vital matter: what he is wearing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD (voice-over): The senator was in New Hampshire over the weekend, sporting what's getting to be the classic Obama look. Call it business casual, a jacket, a collared shirt, but no tie.
It is a look the senator seems to favor. And why not? It is dressy enough to suggest seriousness of purpose, but without the stuffiness of a tie, much less a suit. There is a comfort level here that reflects one of Obama's strongest political assets, a sense that he is comfortable in his own skin, that he knows who he is.
If you want a striking contrast, check out Senator John Kerry as he campaigned back in 2004. He often appeared without a tie, but clad in a blazer, the kind of casual look you see at country clubs and lawn parties in the Hamptons and other toned (ph) locations.
When President Bush wanted in casual mode, he skipped the jacket entirely. Third-generation Skull and Bones at Yale? Don't be silly. Nobody here but us Texas ranchers.
You can think of Bush's apparel as a kind of homage to Ronald Reagan. He may have spent much of his life in Hollywood, but the brush-cutting ranch hand was the image his followers loved, just as the Kennedy sea ferry look provided a striking contrast with, say, Richard Nixon, who apparently couldn't even set out on a beach walk without that "I wish I had spent more time at the office" look.
But, in the case of Obama, he may be walking around with a sartorial time bomb. Ask yourself, is there any other major public figure who dresses the way he does? Why, yes. It is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, unlike most of his predecessors, seems to have skipped through enough copies of "GQ" to find the jacket-and-no-tie look agreeable.
And maybe that's not the comparison a possible presidential contender really wants to evoke.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread. Or is that threads? -- Wolf."

Now here was a place where Mr. Blitzer could've made us proud. He could've said outright that Jeff Greenfield is an idiot. But instead he said thank you and wrapped up the show. Now I know people aren't going to watch this program and then turn around and start hating Obama, but let's be realistic here. For CNN to have a SENIOR analyst make a claim that Obama's attire is strikingly similar to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not only absurd, but then to compare it to W.'s outfit for clearing brush is just outright stupid. The final bit about his name is even more baseless and stupid. Come on, the guy has had the same name since he was born and WITH that name he became a respected member of the Democratic elite. Give the guy a fuckin' break. I'm not the biggest Obama fan in the world, but I do agree with folks that think he's got a view on the current political scene. He's young, smart, ethnically diverse and apparently he doesn't dress like George W. Bush. What are we complaining about again?