Ron Fournier

The AP’s Ron Fournier is at it again, and with the help of the main headline on Drudge. In a piece entitled “Analysis: Teleprompter telegraphs Obama caution”, Fournier makes it sound like Obama relied totally on a teleprompter during last night’s presser:

What kind of politician brings a teleprompter to a news conference?

A careful one.

President Barack Obama took no chances in his second prime-time news conference, reading a prepared statement in which he took both sides of the AIG bonus brouhaha and asked an anxious nation for its patience.

So Fournier leaves you with this feeling that the entire thing was staged, maybe even the actual Q&A section. He does clarify a little bit more later on:

The teleprompter was no help during the question-and-answer session (reporters don't signal their intentions), but Obama was no less careful during that give and take.

Obama’s opening remarks were really short, only taking about 10 minutes out of the hour long event. So Ron Fournier decides to focus only on that first ten minutes, and leave the quick skimming readers with the impression that’s how the whole thing went.

And since Obama had the teleprompter and played it safe, it left the wingnuts with nothing. Here’s how Drudge is pushing this story:

I would much rather have a President play it safe with a teleprompter and be boring, than a dangerous idiot who goes out there and says things like “bring ‘em on” when talking about the Iraq war, and those people listening and doing just that – at the cost of a lot of lives.

Ron Fournier, the Washington chief for the AP has published an "analysis" of Obama picking Biden. The headline alone tells it all:

Analysis: Biden pick shows lack of confidence

This is the kind of garbage the AP puts out, and also the kind Yahoo is keeping on top of their news page right now. It's amazing that people would consider this as some unbiased view given the history of Ron Fournier.

So does Fournier's article have any merit? Well to answer that we must be able to look into the future. Rumors have been out of McCain picking David Petraues as his running mate. Speaking in hyperbole, if McCain did that would that indicate the military is McCain's weakness? I doubt it, and you can be the right would be up in arms to even suggest it.

If Romney is picked, does that indicate McCain's weakness on economic issues? Again - no.

Let's also look at some of Fournier's past charms. Like when he wrote that Karl Rove needs to "keep up the fight", or how about when he was considered for a spot on team McCain?

This guy has proven a definite bias in the past towards the GOP and John McCain. How in the world can the AP publish an article by him as some unbiased view? Anything Fournier writes should conclude with "I'm John McCain and I approve this message".