CNN’s Fareed Zakaria made a very odd claim on Friday’s Eliot Spitzer show. He said that President Obama often calls him for “wisdom and advice.” We say odd because it calls into question any claim of journalistic impartiality.
Oh, but wait. It’s CNN we’re talking about, so that that’s really never been an issue, has it?
We’re pretty sure that someone screamed in Zakaria’s earpiece that he had said something stupid, because he’s as soon as the show ended he went into spin mode and claimed he said what he said but didn’t really mean what he said when he said it. Or words to that effect.
By Saturday night he had moved into spin overdrive by blogging:
Clarifications on my conversations with the president:
The characterization that I have been “advising” President Obama is inaccurate. Over the last few months I’ve had a couple of conversations with the president, off-the-record. At no point did President Obama ask me for advice on a specific policy or speech or proposal, nor did I volunteer it. I know that he has had similar meetings with other columnists.
Considering what a mess Obama has made of his presidency it seemed entirely reasonable that he has been getting advice and wisdom from a second tier analyst on a third tier cable news network.
But, seriously, folks, isn’t getting political wisdom and advice from CNN like getting chastity advice from Madonna?
