Download Download (h/t Heather)

Maybe because I'm a "San Francisco elite," when I heard what Barack Obama said at a Marin County fundraiser about the difficulties inherent in reaching out to small town voters, I said, "And...?" Obviously, context is everything, and perhaps it was not as artfully phrased as it might have been. Are voters so fragile that having someone point out that there is antipathy and bitterness in many economically impoverished areas that makes it hard to connect to voters and encourage them to vote for you is somehow an elitist attitude? Are we so immature that we need candidates to pat us on our heads and say, "It's okay, little voter, there, there...don't let me bother your pretty little head with reality"? Really, which is more condescending?

But you wouldn't have known that by CNN's coverage on Lou Dobbs Tonight. Guest host Kitty Pilgrim spent the whole hour talking about how this could potentially devastate Obama's campaign, bringing on concerned analysts and reporters alike to discuss how this shows Obama's elitist attitude (my God, he declined a cup of coffee for a glass of orange juice...and he can't bowl! That snob!). And while they acknowledged Obama's response, they saw fit to focus on Clinton and McCain's pouncing on this opportunity to go after Obama. At first, I was incredulous over the whole thing and figured that the media just needed something to talk about. But then I looked at the calendar.

Friday afternoon data dump. What came out of the White House this Friday? Bush sanctioned torture.

That's right. While Kitty Pilgrim clutched her pearls for a full hour at the thought of poor voters in rural Pennsylvania being thought of as being bitter and distrustful of others because of their disaffection, she (and all the other talking heads and news shows) IGNORED the fact that our president has admitted that he committed a war crime. A crime for which other heads of state have found themselves in front of a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, but merited not even a yawn out of our media. Read what is less important to CNN than Barack Obama's characterization (NSFW).

Talk about disaffection. At this point, I am of the belief that we need to put the heads of these media companies on trial as well for their complicity. Take the AOL Hot Seat below the fold: