According to Newsweek’s “Conventional Wisdom Watch,” Barack Obama never has a bad week. Sometimes a mixed week, but never a down one.
The longstanding and frequently annoying feature assigns up, down, or sideways arrows to newsmakers each week to indicate whether their political stock is up or down. Obama appears in practically every issue – from the June 2 edition, which also features Obama on the cover, to the current issue, Obama has failed to appear in “CWW” only once. And in all of his appearances, he has never been given a down arrow – the guy never has an off week, apparently.
Of course, people who read the news in places other than Newsweek may recall that Obama has had rough weeks. (Including this one.) But it doesn’t matter to Newsweek. When Obama broke his pledge to use public funding for his campaign, he got a sideways arrow: “Campaign-finance-reform booster scuttles it for cash. Obambi no more.” Even when acknowledging The One’s mistakes, Newsweek can’t quite bring itself to give him a downer — for example in the June 23 issue: “Johnson boo-boo shows he can screw up on his own.” That gets a sideways arrow, too. He got a sideways on 11 August: “McCain tomfoolery knocks him off message.” Poor dear! Somebody get him a warm towel!
Even June 9 – “Time to find a new church?” – has him up. On July 21 we read “Jesse’s ‘nuts’ crack was manna.” August 4 finds him up for hitting a three-point shot on a basketball court.
Newsweek’s “Conventional Wisdom Watch” cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the fallibility of Barack Obama. And for that, they are our Cheerleader of the Week. These pom-pons are for you.