Politicked Off: This is What I'm Talking About
Now I'm not sure if Fox or the Daily Beast cut out the question but to put the answer in context, the interviewer asked: "When you and I spoke in January, you said — I observed that you hadn’t gotten much bad press. You said it’s coming. Media critics would say not only has it not come but that you've got such favorable press, either because of bias or because good box office, that it's hurting the country because you're not being sufficiently held accountable for your policies -- that."”
Obama responded, "It’s very hard for me to swallow that one. First of all, I’ve got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration. I mean, you know, that’s a pretty… big megaphone. And you’d be hard pressed if you watched the entire day to find a positive story about me on that front." (Note: Where the ellipsis is, the interviewer said, "I assume you’re talking about Fox."
Yes, the word "devoted" was probably a poor choice of words but I really don't see how Cavuto can say that Obama was trying to "dismiss" Fox News. If anything, he was the one actually pointing them out as an alternate voice, a channel that is criticizing and holding him accountable. Honestly, how can the President bring up Fox News and then be accused of ignoring them? Cavuto then seems to insinuate that Obama's said that his staff doesn't watch Fox News which is completely opposite of what Rahm Emmanuel said (from the News & Observer)
The anchor of "Special Report with Bret Baier" recently ran into Rahm Emanuel, chief of staff for President Barack Obama. Emanuel told Baier, a former WRAL reporter, he was doing a great job since replacing Brit Hume as anchor on the Fox News Channel program on Jan. 5.
Emanuel told Baier the White House senior staff watches his show every night.
"I said, 'Oh come on ...,'" Baier says. "And he said, 'Now sometimes we have the volume down, but we watch it every night.'"
Now maybe something else has come up in the two months since that show aired but I'm really not sure why Cavuto is acting like the Obama Administration has been so rude, dismissive, or unpresidential. This is exactly the kind of thing that, had Bush said it, the liberal media would have picked up on and Fox would have called them all soft, whiny, oversensitive loons.
The shoe is on the other foot but, unfortunately, the media is still just walking in place.
EDIT: Apparently the White House wouldn't send anyone from Treasury to do Cavuto's show and claimed that Cavuto was not a "financial show" (which seems more than a bit odd) so his anger has some context. I still think his reply was poorly constructed and didn't further his point but it appears that he does have a legitimate cause for concern.