Thought Crime on NPR!

NPR reporter and political editor Ken Rudin correctly pointed out the similarities between the Obama administration and the Nixon administration.

"It's not only aggressive, it's almost Nixonesque," Rudin said. "I mean, you think of what Nixon and Agnew did with their enemies list and their attacks on the media; certainly Vice President Agnew's constant denunciation of the media. Of course, then it was a conservative president denouncing a liberal media, and of course, a lot of good liberals said, 'Oh, that's ridiculous. That's an infringement on the freedom of press.' And now you see a lot of liberals almost kind of applauding what the White House is doing to Fox News, which I think is distressing."

That is totally accurate. It is right on the money and its not the first time someone used the comparison this week. The linked article reported that the leftwing NPR audience reacted very negatively to the truthful comparison. So, of course, you knew an apology would come forth.

"I made a boneheaded mistake yesterday," Rudin wrote on his NPR blog. "Comparing the tactics of the Nixon administration -- which bugged and intimidated and harrassed journalists -- to that of the Obama administration was foolish, facile, ridiculous and, ultimately, embarrassing to me. I should have known better and, in fact, I do know better. I was around during the Nixon years. I am fully cognizant of what they did and attempted to do."

Thought-crime on NPR, who would have thunk it?

The problem is that the original comparison was so accurate. Not only did the administration mount an attack on the FOX News Channel but it was a warning to the other channels that they had better not try to act independent. Truly it was a real attack on any and all media that would dare to question or challenge their administration in the future.

But its a thought-crime to say so.