Over at Ace of Spades, they’ve put forth the idea that you have to read these news story like it’s a movie screenplay or a book, with Obama as the designated hero of the story.
In that respect, everything is looked at from his point of view. Nothing is ever about whether it’s the right thing to do, good public policy, or even sound political tactics. Instead, every story, every analysis, centers on what it means for our protagonist, Obama.
I’ve got to say, it’s remarkably spot-on as a way of viewing how these articles are framed. The world is falling to pieces and Obama’s foreign policy is a smoking ruin. Do we look at those policies to learn lessons about what worked and what didn’t? Do we offer any new strategies to help fix the issues and prevent them from happening again? Of course not... instead, we write about how this effects “our hero” and his vacation.