I've lost count of how many weeks I'm behind on Watchers Council posts. This post goes back to Jan. 14. The US had a different President. Israel still seemed interested in defeating Hamas. The MSM had only just begun to openly brag about their devotion to Obama. It was that long ago. Since then the cost of Obama's inauguration has exposed the MSM's sheer unblinking hypocrisy. Similarly, the disgusting inauguration-Day spectacle of Obama supporters who jeered at President Bush threw the MSM's gall - per the Colossus Of Rhodey's post - into sharp relief:

ABC News, in its "What Would You Do?" segment, had some actors portray George Bush-infatuated, moronic Texan tourists on the loose in Paris. And they got precisely what I'm sure they wanted (just wait and see): Indeed. "Bush supporter" has to equal "clueless" and "boisterous," right. These actors went out of their way to be literally as obnoxious as possible. The "wife" was ridiculously rambunctious at every turn, and the "husband" began singing the "Star Spangled Banner" when their boat left its dock, and actually shouted "George Bush!"(why??) when posing for snapshots. Yeah, sure sounds like a "typical" American to me... [Eventually the message was] George Bush = Hitler! Perfect! See what I meant about ABC "getting what they wanted?"

Cast Lead - Several posts revolved around Operation Cast Lead, the most fertile breeding ground for faux liberal sophistication since the election. My post dealt with how major media outlets were enamored with Hamas's war crimes, JoshuaPundit unpacked what was missing from Israel-related journalism, and Soccer Dad discussed the eye roll-inducing excuses that NYT editors made for their bias: "moderate conservatives are pointing out our blatant bias and crazed anti-Israel liberals are demanding even more blatant bias: so we must be unbiased!" The post on Right Truth expressed Debbie's deep concern regarding the objectively anti-Israel consequences of foreign policy faux sophistication:

America said NO when Israel asked for her assistance. Make no mistake -- the day will come when the US will need Israel's support. Let's pray Israel will not remember this moment of rejection by the US. President George W. Bush had to choose -- Iraq or Israel -- and he chose Iraq. This did not have to be an either/or choice, in my opinion. Iran is already meddling in Iraq, they already have agents, arms, and spies inside Iraq. The Iraqis are dealing with that. Surely there was some way to help Israel. Prepare for the worst my friends. The enemy is here, on American soil. They are marching in our streets, threatening American citizens who speak out for Israel. Many times the police stand back, as they do in the UK, and allow the personal threats and violence. If this continues, our own streets in certain cities will no longer be safe for anyone but them. They use our own laws and freedoms inside the US against us, crying 'racism, hate'.

Economics - the Glittering Eye took apart misconceptions about how wealth is created, the Provocateur discussed fraud via loan modification, Cheat Seeking Missiles expressed worry about Obama's FDR-eqsue policies, and the Razor discussed the institutional pressures on medical practice. Luckily Obama's New Deal-style stimulus package - which will suppress medium term wealth creation and do nothing to end the incentives for fraud - will also nationalize medicine.

Multiculturalism - There was even a cluster of identity politics posts. Bookworm Room's post dealt with the lengths that people will go to take offense while Rhymes With Right took a swing at the nature of representation itself. Light reading all around.