Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press
Neil Munro of the Daily Caller listens to President Barack Obama as he responds to his interruption during an announcement, Friday, June 15, 2012, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington.
Sunday, June 17, 2012 | 2 a.m.
What do you think?
Send us a letter c/o Letters to the Editor, Las Vegas Sun, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074. Or send a letter via email: letters@lasvegassun.com. Or fax: (702) 383-7264.As President Barack Obama spoke Friday in the White House Rose Garden about his new immigration policy, a reporter from conservative website the Daily Caller interrupted him by shouting a question. The president stopped and told the reporter he wasn’t done speaking. That didn’t stop the reporter.
Obama returned to his speech and then made a point to directly address the reporter’s question as he spoke. The reporter interrupted again and appeared to try to argue with the president.
The incident became news Friday and opened a debate about whether reporter Neil Munro was out of line when he interrupted the president’s speech.
Munro and the Daily Caller defended his actions. Munro said he was trying to time his question to the end of the president’s speech and said Obama turned his back as he asked his question. But a review of the video shows otherwise — he interrupted him twice before the president finished. And when he first interrupted him, it was clear Obama wasn’t done.
Still, Tucker Carlson, the Daily Caller’s editor in chief, brushed aside criticism. He said he was “proud” of Munro. “A reporter’s job is to ask questions and get answers,” Carlson said in a statement. “Our job is to find out what the federal government is up to. Politicians often don’t want to tell us. A good reporter gets the story.”
It’s true that a reporter’s job is to ask questions and get the story, but what story was Munro trying to get? Politico.com reported that Munro asked, “Why’d you favor foreigners over Americans?” That’s a loaded question akin to “Have you stopped beating your wife?” It wasn’t designed to get an answer but to provoke an argument over a controversial topic.
Given the weight of the office, presidents have been accorded a measure of respect for generations, no matter their party. It’s fine to question and criticize the president, but this was over the line.
The incident seems to be symptomatic of what has been bubbling up in America — a wholesale disrespect for people of differing viewpoints. Studies and polls have shown that people are widely divided, and the division has become increasingly acrimonious.
Across the country, there is little real discussion or debate. Instead, people seem compelled to act like the shouting heads on cable TV, pointing fingers, name-calling and yelling past one another.
The nation has serious problems, but few seem to be willing to come together to find solutions. Politically, many people seem to be stuck on attack mode, criticizing everyone and anyone who disagrees with them.
For example, in the incident Friday, Carlson tried to dismiss ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer’s criticism of Munro as a “heckler” by saying she never rebuked her former colleague Sam Donaldson for “heckling President Reagan.”
Donaldson irritated politicians of both parties by persistently barking questions, but we don’t remember him ever interrupting a speech. Even if he did, that shouldn’t excuse someone else from doing it.
If this is what civic discussion has become, the nation is in a heap of trouble. It’s reminiscent of grade-school squabbling.
The constant back-biting and vilification of opponents may help some candidates win election, but when it comes to governing, whether in the White House or Congress, it doesn’t do anything to solve problems. Americans want to see solutions instead of the gotchas and obnoxious behavior that have come to mark politics.
The tone of the political conversation needs to change. Whether it’s in a hearing room in Washington or a conversation in a local coffee shop, a little respect would go a long way.
Sounds like you are writing about the opinions expressed in the LV Sun's Opinion webpages.
It is disrespectful. If he had stood up in Congress and done the same thing, he would have been escorted out and arrested.
This kind of behavior by a reporter in this circumstance is akin to the British tabloids.
I might expect to read his article in a paper at the checkout stand at the grocery store.
It makes the President look good, and the reporter look like bad, in my eyes, though others will disagree based on their political bent.
Another of the thousands of signs of the developing demise of the USA.
With all due respect Obama did not answer the question about all the jobs that the illegals will take when they get their work permit.
A work permit by law means you having a job - that is 800,000 jobs taken from citizens
------
Obama says "Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. Start Taxin'."
----
Really the Las Vegas Sun talking about giving Obama respect
Obama's campaign has a stated intention to "KILL" Romney; and Democrats are divisive and lies by omission.
Obama and Biden have stated that Romney and all conservatives are the ENEMY.
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
This is an indicator of the current behavioral trend here in America. It all starts with the foundational skillset and manners one accumulates over their lifetime. As an example, children are both taught and encouraged to use proper manners and decorum, both at school and at their homes. When they are out and about in society, these learned behaviors are reenforced by those around them.
As the editoral pointed out, "The incident seems to be symptomatic of what has been bubbling up in America -- a wholesale disrespect for people of differing viewpoints." This actually is manifesting preceptions people have about status, rank, or how important/valid another person is compared to themselves. It represents the level of RESPECT given out to another.
If you ever attend a school assembly of children, you will notice that there will always be those outliers who seemingly have no awareness or boundary between themselves and the speaker. Their hands are up when the presenter is still speaking, they begin to shout out, and become increasingly aggressive. The reporter who interrupted President Obama demonstrated such behaviors. It would seem that there is an alloted question and answer time for reporters after the President of the United States, or any speaker, for that matter, has given their speech to the masses, which is proper and reasonable.
Respect is fast becoming lost in our society. When people feel abused and can no longer tolerate any further abuse, they have the right of dissent, to speak out. The question is for this subject reporter: was it the right time to speak out?
Blessings and Peace,
Star
Oh, give me a break! All this "selective" outrage. I'm old enough to remember the treatment given Nixon while he was in office. Many of you cry babies probably weren't even born then. The president is not some Emperor nor is he a dictator. Oh, wait, I misspoke. Osama Obama has delusions of grandeur and thinks he is. That's one more reason to send him packing. BTW, I never voted for Nixon because I felt he was a "crook." But then, I feel that way about most politicians.
Mr. Sun, Peacelily, Star, et al.
Disrespectful? A reporter who is, at best, irrelevant?
How about the President of the United States, arguably the most important person the the world, with his minions and his sycophants, continually lying and making up the rules as he goes along? I, and many of my fellow citizens, feel completely disrespected.
Seems that your priorities about who can be disrespectful to whom are entirely wrong-headed.
Regards,
Purgatory
It truly makes me wonder where we are headed from here. We have youth that gleefully pull guns and shoot each other because they feel slighted, or 'dis' respected. They have no reasonable understanding of the consequences of their actions. Read any roster of article comments in the LV Sun (especially those which pertain to politics) and you see name calling and accusations of 'Well...your side did this.' The old norm of respecting others and remaining civil (while agreeing to disagree) has fallen by the wayside. In fact, while I whole heartedly respect the Sun's policy of trusted commentators (they make the rules, I live by them) I myself have no interest in becoming one because......frankly.......some commentors are very angry.......and my name can easily be traced to an address. I treat others as I wish to be treated, but if what I say offends someone, I have no interest in being shot or vandalized.
Back to the point, you cannot have reasonable discussion without mutual respect. Playground tactics should be left way behind in our youth. That policy has to start at the top. Our 'leaders' need to set the tone, otherwise we will continue a death spiral to a bottom I do not want to see.
It is rude and out of line to interrupt anyone giving a speech. If you don't like Obama, don't vote for him. You're a fool if you think he's in charge anyway. In the end Neil Munro is just a tick on a dog's rear end. He's the drunk guy talking very loudly during a wedding ceremony. End of story.
Star, you very eloquently state your point. Good comment.
And is being embraced by the romney campaign which shows in his bus driving 250 miles just to drive by and disrupt President Obama's supporters in Ohio. Sounds like people are still in elementary school. Sad place for our nation to be. No respect for others means you have no respect for yourself.
Comment removed by moderator. - -
Comment removed by moderator. - -
"...Tucker Carlson, the Daily Caller's editor in chief ... said he was "proud" of Munro. "A reporter's job is to ask questions and get answers," Carlson said in a statement. "Our job is to find out what the federal government is up to. Politicians often don't want to tell us. A good reporter gets the story."
SUN -- quite a hypocritical piece from you. Munro obviously did his job, and you're only one of the many who profited from it.
"This kind of behavior by a reporter in this circumstance is akin to the British tabloids."
peacelily -- more like the American Revolution, only a different tyrant
"As the editoral pointed out, "The incident seems to be symptomatic of what has been bubbling up in America -- a wholesale disrespect for people of differing viewpoints."
star -- no, this was a reporter exercising the First Amendment which his subject swore an oath to support, protect and defend.
"The president is not some Emperor nor is he a dictator."
lvfacts101 -- good post! And Nixon is a perfect example of how that office can be abused. And never forget it was two reporters who showed disrespect for the office, took the president and his co-conspirators down, and our republic is better for it.
"Seems that your priorities about who can be disrespectful to whom are entirely wrong-headed."
Purgatory -- another good post
"It is rude and out of line to interrupt anyone giving a speech."
duke -- it's called free speech, one of our cherished but eroding freedoms. Learn to deal with it better.
"The fact that society may find speech offensive is not a sufficient reason for suppressing it. Indeed, if it is the speaker's opinion that gives offense, that consequence is a reason for according it constitutional protection. For it is a central tenet of the First Amendment that the government must remain neutral in the marketplace of ideas." -- HUSTLER MAGAZINE AND LARRY C. FLYNT v. JERRY FALWELL, 485 U.S. 46, 55-6 (1988)
Even conservatives should understand that the office of the Presidency is what was disrespected. As KillerB points out this Bozo has every right under the 1st Amendment to be a lowlife and express his lack of manners whenever and wherever he sees fit.
That same 1st Amendment also allows me to express my disgust with such degenerate behavior. I want Obama out of the White House this November, but that's because I feel he has been detrimental to America, and I love America. And, to me, someone who loves America does not disrespect its duly elected leader.
And BYFUTURE, had the question been asked, "with all due respect," it might have been answered and we could be debating that answer. Instead, Tucker's puppet made an a-- out of himself and drug the rest of us conservatives with him.
Respect the office I agree with, respect Obama, not in my life. He had it when he took office; he has lost it on his own accord. Respecting politicians from any party affiliation simply can't occur. What used to be a job for the people is no longer for the people and for that reason alone, they don't deserve respect.
When they get back to basics and work for the people and do what's best for Americans and do so continuously, they'll earn it back. Until then, they're all worthless. What is sad is that most vote for the lesser of the two evils these days or party lines regardless of stupidity, this is what politics have become today and this is sad for America. There is no pride anymore.
KillerB - NO!!! This turkey was NOT exercising any first amendment right! This was not a news conference. This was the President of the United States talking to the People of the United States! There was to be a Q & A period for the press after he finished speaking, but idiot Munro insisted "I want answers! And I want them RIGHT NOW, this very second!!" By so doing he demonstrated extreme disrespect for the office of the President and even greater disrespect for "We the People of the United States..."
Respect? Maintaining composure is difficult when the guy up there is making it up as he goes and just, again, announced he's going to ignore federal law and do what he wants to. How do you respect someone who is behaving as if insane? How much respect has Mr. Obama demonstrated for SCOTUS? How much respect will he muster later this month? Will he correct his behavior to CONFORM TO FEDERAL LAW?
renorobert,
Ask yourself how many times you will allow yourself to be lied to and to be treated in a condescending manner before you say "I can't listen to any more of this." I am of the opinion that most reporters have been overly respectful to this President.
As I stated previously, there is only one person yesterday who disrespected his fellow citizens.
Purgatory
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
The LVSun is running a red herring here, detracting from the original issue. OB doesn't have the constitutional authority to issue this mandate. He has made congress irrelavent. Yet, the question by this reporter is legitament. Why are we giving amnesty to illegal aliens to allow them to take work from US citizens?
Also Mr Sun, where was the call for respect to the office of the President during the Bush years? Especially the maintream media with its name-calling, demonizing and harassing of the Bush presidency.
This newspaper has no moral standing in issuing any call for a "respect to the Office of the President."
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
First of all, the President acted within the powers granted to him by the Constitution. Simply put, the President has the right to issue amnesties, and the President has the ability to issue executive orders relating to the execution of laws passed by Congress. A lot of you are so upset, but yet you don't understand how the U.S. government works. And by the way, President Bush excersized the same powers.
Secondly, there is a huge breakdown in decorum. Both Bush and Obama have been treated horribly. Whether or not you agree with them, both men do not wake up every morning trying to ruin the country. They do what they believe is best, which you may or may not agree with. Interrupting the President shows contempt for the office, not the person.
Enough is enough. Some of you need to grow up, and maybe add something POSITIVE. As the now deceased Rodney King once said, "can we all just get along"?
Re Jon Zetzman. I tried the "Can't we all just get along" ploy on this blog; didn't work. Now I just give tit for tat. Yes there is a HUGE breakdown in decorum on this blog, which I attribute to a cynical ploy by moderator(s), to harvest non-stop invective between commentators, which equals more posts. Sometimes it works, and I'm as guilty as the next commentator.
As regards the gist of your original post; I agree. The President had every right to do what he did, and the right wing in this country is flabbergasted.
Rodney King: RIP. I believe the beating he sustained and his ongoing fight against drug addiction hastened his death. Regards.
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
To my fellow "OFF TOPIC" commentators. I don't get it, and I'm sure you all don't get it either. I comment on other blogs, and have never been CENSORED. PLEASE, moderator, explain, as I've never seen this amount of comments removed for the reason cited.
Comment removed by moderator. Comments are removed if they don't relate to the story to which the comments are attached. Questions? Call me. Tom Gorman managing editor 259 2310
"That same 1st Amendment also allows me to express my disgust with such degenerate behavior."
clarkcountycrimco -- no, it PROTECTS you. Constitutions limit governments, not the people who ratified them. Assuming from your handle you're a cop who actually swore one of those oaths, you're woefully uneducated on the basics.
"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials, and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to . . . fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections." -- West Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette - 319 U.S. 624, 638 (1943)
Respect doesn't equate to censorship. We don't agree with removals when the removal is done in contempt of expressing ones thoughts on the value of respect when said respect is lost due to Obama and what he's doing to America and Americans.
Even Obama knows what he did was wrong, from his own lips to your ears.
http://news.yahoo.com/shock-video-obama-...
Comment removed by moderator. Name Calling
SUN....
YES, Neil Munro was rude and out of line.
Typical republican bully tactic.
Rude republicans have disrespected our great
president from day one, because they lost to the
better man.
And to this day, PRESIDENT OBAMA is still the
better man.
The public has watched how heartless and desparate
the republican party has become.
This will backfire on them in November.
FOUR MORE YEARS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA.
The behavior of Neil Munro was intended to prevent Barack Obama from telling the public from "finding out what the Government is up to".
Munro is determined to prevent the President from telling the public what is going on. The Daily Caller is just another Political Action Committee parading around like a journalistic entity. What the public should know is that the Daily Caller is hiding it's political bias behind journalistic objectives and thus, is journalistic TRASH.
As an example, one of the feature stories today in the Daily Caller is: "Herman Cain: President Obama 'wants to rewrite the Bible according to Obama'
This headline is dedicated to inciting religious contempt. Jesus enunciated the words "turn the other cheek" whereas the Christian (Political) leadership in America does just the opposite, glorifying revenge and mistrust for no reason.
It is the Christian leaders who are rewriting the Bible to make God say what brings them the most money. American mainstream religion is a cult of personalities looking to maximize there incomes. It is another example of the Free Market economy where speaking the most attractive package of words generates the biggest income.
When I first learned John 14:2, it said "In my Father's House, there are many mansions..." .
Today I read versions which say "In my Father's house, there are many rooms..." This means that Heaven in the Christian World today is another Motel 6. Pay the man here to see the man up there and you get your own room. For eternity, you stare at the same pictures on the wall and for entertainment, pull open the drawer under the lamp and read the Bible inside. That is one hell of a boring eternity, but it is designed and re-designed by the American Christian Church for whatever brings them the most money.
The Bible is re-written all the time and each version is more infallible then the last - and for this the Daily Caller wants to blame Obama? I thought he was a Muslim. They waste their time reading the Quran, not re-writing the Bible.
Good luck in Heaven Dude, you'll need a lobotomy to stay calm.
KillerB: 5:43: Amen. Let's keep that in mind when SCOTUS acts to remove unconstitutional action by Congress and POTUS. We may need that quote again soon, real soon. Let's see the POTUS respect SCOTUS and the separation of powers and our inalienable rights as Americans, not illegals.
SunJon said:
"Today I read versions which say "In my Father's house, there are many rooms..." This means that Heaven in the Christian World today is another Motel 6. Pay the man here to see the man up there and you get your own room. For eternity, you stare at the same pictures on the wall and for entertainment, pull open the drawer under the lamp and read the Bible inside. That is one hell of a boring eternity, but it is designed and re-designed by the American Christian Church for whatever brings them the most money."
I say:
The major problem with Bible translations is the English language. It is a very simple language and very limited in many ways. Therefore you get all of these variations on the same theme. The story of Matthew 14 is one that has one basic theme:
That theme is that "If you love me (me being Jesus), show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for."
Herman Cain is part of the godless world, as are most of the right wing posters who post here.
It is imperative that real Christians who accept gays and women who have had abortions along with their doctors in their church as warmly as Carmine, RefNV, and the monkey who post here would be welcomed stay partnered with people like yourself who have valid criticisms of Christians in general.
Not all of us are idiots, just the majority of the right wingers that post here are. We CAN convert them to our cause one on one. Online is far too one dimensional.
@ KillerB...So are you saying that I am NOT allow me "to express my disgust with such degenerate behavior.."
If I'm allowed to express my view, please cite the law that takes away my right to do so.
And you know what they say about assumptions, especially those based on ignorance and illiteracy.
Mitt Romney has embraced "dog whistle" racists like Donald Trump. He said he needed to win, so it is OK. The Daily Caller planned the event to outmaneuver OBAMA on an issue that he was outmaneuvering Romney on.
The reporter, should be jailed for terrorism and placed in a new facility that would be built for: birthers, bigots, and right wing netteanuts like Tucker Carlson. Tucker must be forced to listen to Barney the dinosaur for 24/7 until he repents.
An independent panel comprised of Carmen Electra, Oprah, Cher, Bono, and Jon Ralston should be formed to examine the hate of talk radio and netnuts. Also, someone only should be allowed to own one radio station or TV station.
What's the old adage, You don't necessarily have to respect the man but you must respect the office. There is a deterioration of standards in the public arena that is of a growing concern. Disrespect now extends toward people in authority which includes public office, physicians, teachers and older adults. Sadly, we now have this to add to our ever growing list of societal ills. The classless display before the President was aimed more at distracting than anything loosely connected to journalism.
The question now becomes, does anyone really care what this ill-mannered person had to ask? I certainly could not get past the blatant lack of respect. Nor would I consider reading anything this "reporter" had to write.
@Jeff from Vegas: Pretty general post you made stating that right wing posters here are godless.
You must be held in high accord in your faith to have made such a general statement about people whom you know nothing about. Rev. Jones had a similiar attitude and that didn't turn out so good for his followers.
Chuck333:
There are about 6-7 people who post here ad nauseum about how much they hate Obama, hate liberals, hate unions, hate teachers, and lie incessantly, even when you point out their lies, they lie more and obfuscate. These are the only people I was referring to.
You are not one of them, sorry if I offended you.
Ronald Reagan stopped the journalist free for all at news conferences, and required all questions be submitted in advance so they could select which ones the President would address, and which journalist. He also saw the importance of selecting mainstream media journalists, including Sam Donaldson.
George W. Bush followed suit, plus banned journalists who asked questions on the fly or pursued more information regarding his answer if they were designed to trap him.
The foundations were laid by at least two Republican Presidents.
Neil Munro was a plant with a particular partisan agenda during the election cycle. I can't seriously consider him a "journalist", and I didn't get one bit of useful information from his antics, except that he lacks ethics, respect, and intelligence.
I think he would fit the Weekly World News very well.
Romney is backed by cannibals (indirectly). Rich cannibals spend money at casinos in Macao, that money goes from the casino owner to a super pac, and then backs the Romney campaign.
"How much respect has Mr. Obama demonstrated for SCOTUS? How much respect will he muster later this month? Will he correct his behavior to CONFORM TO FEDERAL LAW?"
When the president said Citizens United was a very bad decision, did he get it right? He sure as hell did. That wasn't disrepect, it was a fact. Look at the huge sums of money in secret donations being made. Do you know who will purchase your local politician in November?
Exactly what federal law should Obama conform to? Can you be specific? Usually when people say those things they are clueless as to what laws have been broken.
You people fail to realize by enacting laws such as the Patriot Act, we all lost a part of our respect and democracy.
Vernos: that would be federal immigration law and the U.S. constitution that the POTUS ignores.
let me guess, it's because he's black right lol
Rosienda,
What you said doesn't make sense. There are more people patrolling the border due to Obama and the funding he endorsed and he has deported far more illegals than Bush. How is that unconstitutional?