CNN Panelist: Obama Can Talk to Ahmadinejad But Not Chris Wallace

October 18th, 2009 12:46 PM

With each passing day, more and more media members are taking shots at the Obama administration's strategy of attacking Fox News.

On Sunday, one of the best observations yet came from Marisa Guthrie of Broadcasting & Cable magazine: "[Obama] can talk to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he can't talk to Chris Wallace."

Such was stated on CNN's "Reliable Sources" after host Howard Kurtz played a video of Rahm Emanuel saying just a few minutes earlier that Fox isn't a news organization because it has a perspective (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript):

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Marisa Guthrie, do you think Rahm has a point when he talks about CNN and others following Fox, and the suggestion here Fox kind of helping to set the news agenda for everyone else?

MARISA GUTHRIE, BROADCASTING & CABLE MAGAZINE: Well, I think you, you certainly saw some of that with the ACORN story. Fox was first with that, and...

KURTZ: And it was a legitimate story as it turns out.

GUTHRIE: And it was a legitimate story. So, but I think what's missing from this is that you know, here's, this is a President, where, and where this is really backfiring is this is a President that campaigned on a platform of unity. He has made a point of reaching across the aisle. He has said he wants to talk to the, the wider world. He has been celebrated for that intention. And he can't talk to Fox News. I mean, he can talk to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he can't talk to Chris Wallace. So, I think it really undermines his unity credibility.

Yah think?

Brava, Marisa. Brava!