You may have heard that President Obama gave a campaign speech in Cleveland today. When the 54-minute blame-fest finally ended, liberal commentator Jonathan Alter appeared on MSNBC and soundly panned the president’s speech.
Alter’s honesty about the “laundry-listy” address drove MSNBC’s Obama-loving audience into fits of anger, which they were none too shy about expressing on Twitter:
Jonathan Alter slams Obama speech as " Ineffective" & "too long winded" Did he watch same speech I did ?? Obama was THE PRESIDENT.
— Jim McCarthy Jr. (@jimmacpam) June 14, 2012
@ItsAlinaJo @jonathanalter I listened to that speech and it was great, he was speaking to the people in Cleveland Ohio not some rich fat cat
— T (@truthrose1) June 14, 2012
I see the twitterverse is taking @jonathanalter to task for his ridiculous criticisms of POTUS' #OH speech. Good for you guys.
— ChickaDee (@TheObamaphile) June 14, 2012
@jonathanalter Just because YOU can't listen to POTUS w/out your RoveDailyTalkingPointMemo™ doesn't mean everyone is brain free. You ≯ Us.
— bardgal (@bardgal) June 14, 2012
A “RoveDailyTalkingPointsMemo” on MSNBC? Hilarious! Let’s not forget, though: Jonathan Alter loves him some Obama. We mean loves him some Obama. Unfortunately for him, speaking plainly about the president’s speech appears to cancel that out in the minds of the angry left:
@ItsAlinaJo @jonathanalter Alter is a hater and Romney supporter like 99% of MSM nothing but lies out of white wing media
— T (@truthrose1) June 14, 2012
LOL at @jonathanalter spewing pathetic bs in attempts to sell his worthless book.
— Curtis (@cfreelakers24) June 14, 2012
That @jonathanAlter is whining about having to do his job, summarizing a speech that wasn't empty soundbites, is indicative of MSM today #p2
— April (@ReignOfApril) June 14, 2012
Hey Dylan when you leave msnbc could you take Jonathan Alter, Michael Steele, Ron Christie, Joe Scarborough, and Chuck Todd with you? THANKS
— Patti (@utbrp) June 14, 2012
memo to @jonathanalter — want short, sweet, catchy? Education. Energy. Innovation. Infrastructure. #hesaidthat
— Antifa(scist) Karoli (@Karoli) June 14, 2012
'@jonathanalter FYI, When People go to see POTUS, they do not stand in line hours to hear a 10 minute speech.They R #FiredUp for #4moreyears
— TES (@southerntalker) June 14, 2012
@jonathanalter What we are lacking Jonathan is not a President that doesn't talk in soundbites but a media that can't report without them.
— #BobbysDaughter?????? (@Mama4Obama1) June 14, 2012
People also weren’t shy about demanding that Alter and his colleagues at MSNBC adhere to the messaging its viewers have come to expect: cheerleading for the left and attacks on the right, with no exceptions.
@jonathanalter When are you going to talk about Mitt's lies, him returning to the same fail policies & the release of his tax return?
— Paula (@PaulaMcleod1) June 14, 2012
I got a better question for @jonathanalter. Do you understand how pissed off a lot of us are at the media for NOT properly vetting Romney?
— Malcolm P. Johnson (@admiralmpj) June 14, 2012
And yet, @jonathanalter offers no rebuttal to the #MittRomney lie fest or the juvenile behavior of his staff. Just bash Obama. What BS.
— Jan Neumann (@JNeumann54) June 14, 2012
Alter took to Twitter to defend himself, but he only succeeded in garnering more invective from his ideological allies:
Obama backers pissed at me for suing speech was too long, had no memorable lines.
— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) June 14, 2012
.@jonathanalter We're upset becuz u decided to take the Beltway Hack route choosing to focus on sound bytes instead of substance.
— PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) June 14, 2012
https://twitter.com/utaustinliberal/status/213360401998561280
@jonathanalter You got your memo from Rove/RNC. Your criticism that speech was "too long" was identical to that of John Boehner's press sec.
— aspirational12 (@aspirational12) June 14, 2012
Ah, yes — more accusations of an MSNBC commentator and Newsweek editor somehow being in cahoots with Karl Rove! Of course, there was more where that came from, as Alter tried once again to explain the intentions behind his comments (an explanation that fell on deaf, angry ears):
Just cheerleading BO doesn't help him. He needs a sharper, more cogent message with some memorable lines. I ain't walking my criticism back
— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) June 14, 2012
@jonathanalter PBO has outlined his plan for our nation but the MSM misconstrues his words. Your comments are duplicitous and unethical.
— i am james baldwin (@iamJamesBaldwin) June 14, 2012
@jonathanalter I'm a grow up and can do without the catchphrases. It was an adult speech spoken to receptive adults…imagine that.
— ?? (@Freefree0Bobbie) June 14, 2012
@jonathanalter The day he listens to your advice were doomed !
HE DOESN'T NEED YOUR HELP!— Wakanda4Ever??#NMP (@Heknowsmynam) June 14, 2012
And there you have it. Yet another example of the far left’s refusal to accept dissent, uncomfortable truths, honest criticisms, or any other violations of its orthodoxy.
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