Wow. Wow wow wow wow.
Please read this (short) post from Josh Marshall. I'll wait.
Now, the most amazing thing about this -- aside from the fact that the president reads the sports page religiously but doesn't bother with the other parts of the newspaper, profoundly disturbing as that is -- is just what Josh detects: That the president deliberately shields himself from viewpoints other than his own. Under the guise of protecting himself from "liberal media bias," he is protected from reading things he disagrees with.
As Josh points out, we're all guilty to varying degrees of gravitating towards sources with which we agree. The vital difference, though, is that many of us see that as a weakness and wish we were better versed in the opposition's point of view. I know I do. Knowing the arguments and rationales of the right equips me to debate them. Avoiding them prevents me from challenging my opinions, and my position suffers as a result.
It is utterly appalling to me that our president freely admits to deliberately insulating himself from dissent. How can this be reality? Please, somebody pinch me.
