SOMEONE PLEASE TELL HOWARD FINEMAN: PRESS ARE NOT “UMPIRES” IN THIS PRIMARY RACE

The VERY self-serious Howard Fineman takes offense

We flipped on MSNBC last night and caught Howard Fineman whining to Keith Olbermann (the guy with the “Worst Person in the World” shtick) about running into Hillary Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson “in the spin room”.

According to Fineman, Wolfson referred to MSNBC as the “Obama channel”.

A very self-serious and defensive Howard Fineman then said:

“We are not the Obama Channel, we are reporters doing our job. If you don’t like how things are going, don’t blame the umpire—which is what people usually do when things aren’t going well.”

Someone needs to tell Howard Fineman that the role of the press is to report the primary race to the American public, and not to act as referees by making calls on the legality or legitimacy of plays by the candidates, or to otherwise attempt to affect the process.

We find Mr. Finemen’s statement—which exaggerates his own (and other reporter's) importance to the political process in general and this election in particular--to be emblematic of the very bias he indignantly denies. A little too loudly we might add.

Mr. Fineman, your job is to be a well informed spectator to this primary race so you can tell the American people, in factually neutral manner, what is going on and NOT to shape it, make line calls, or declare one candidate or the other out-of-bounds.

Granted, reporters are people too, and most are privately thrilled as the prospect of Barack Obama being the nominee. But as processionals, their job-one is to know the limits of what their role is and not cross the line.

Unfortunately, Howard Fineman’s comment—uttered to the prime example of MSNBC anti-Hillary Clinton bias, Keith Olbermann—is emblematic of the overblown sense of self importance to the process that some cable news “reporters” have taken on this election season. And MSNBC is the worst offender.

The universal perception that MSNBC is pandering to its younger, edgier demographic and is biased against Clinton and for Obama is referenced in Mark Lebovich’s April 13, 2008 article for the New York Times magazine, The Aria of Chris Matthews.

Which is perhaps why Mr. Fineman is so overly defensive on this subject.

Do we really need to point out to Mr. Fineman AGAIN (as did Mr. Mr. Lebovich) that when you have MSNBC anchors and personalities such as Chris Matthews gushing over political candidates on-the-air like a schoolboy with a silly crush (“this thrill going up my leg”), or comparing the candidate's words to “the New Testament” or accusing the other candidate of having “an arrogant sense of entitlement” it creates the WELL JUSTIFIED perception of bias on the part of MSNBC?

Keith Olbermann—who has 1 million nightly viewers and is viewed by MSNBC as the key that will unlock the door to all of those younger, edgier, left leaning viewers that the cable network is trying to woo—makes absolutely no attempt to disguise his utter contempt for Hillary Clinton—whom Olbermann slices and dices at 8:00 pm nightly with his cutting and cynical wit.

MSNBC's reputation for anti-Hillary, pro-Obama bias is well deserved.

Mr. Fineman, you are not an umpire. Please leave the field Mr. Fineman. Mr. Fineman!Security…….