The "news" was that Obama got his final nostril in the nose-counting that substitutes as debate when Maryland Democrat Senator Barbara Mikulski announced she would support the deal, giving Obama a veto-proof majority when Congress votes this month on whether to accept or reject this deal.
The press--and by "press," I mean the dominant news outlets--reported the story as a great victory for Obama. As noted in the NewsBuster piece linked below, news anchors were nothing if not giddy when reporting the story. And PBS NewsHour anchor Gwen Ifill descended notch lower with her snarky tweet following the announcement:
Not surprisingly, the Twittersphere erupted in protest, resulting in this condescending response from Ifill:
Later she tried to downplay the original tweet by claiming to be merely re-tweeting the State Department's talking points. But, as Aaron Goldstein notes in his blog at The American Spectator, "By saying 'Take that, Bibi,' she might as well have tweeted, 'F U Israel."
Fortunately, there's a residue of objectivity at NPR in the person of ombudsman Michael Getler who faulted Ifill for the tweet and scolded her for her poor judgment. "One would have to lean way over backwards to give her the benefit of the doubt that she was simply shedding light on the administration's view of portions of Netanyahu's arguments," Getler writes. "But to personalize it by saying, 'Take that, Bibi" is, in my book, inexcusable for an experienced journalist who is the co-anchor of a nightly news program watched by millions of people over the course of any week."
Personally, I would go further and suggest that Ifill has basically disqualified herself from any further reporting on the Iran deal. It's one thing to have partisan views; it's another to reveal them publicly. It would be interesting to hear what pundits Mark Shields and David Brooks, regulars on PBS NewsHour, have to say on this issue; Brooks, in particular, being Jewish, and also having a son currently serving in the Israeli armed forces. He's a gentleman and would never critique his colleague (the issue is moot since there's no chance of Judy Woodruff bringing it up, anyway). But how could Brooks not be at least privately appalled by Ifill's shameful tweet?
Sources
"Media Hand Obama 'Major Victory' as Most Oppose Iran Deal" (Kyle Drennan, MRC NewsBusters, September 2, 2015).
"PBS's Gwen Ifill Stands by 'Take That, Bibi' Tweet" (Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon, September 2, 2015).
"Take That, Gwen Ifill" (Aaron Goldstein, The Spectacle Blog, The American Spectator, 9/2/15).
"More Self-Inflicted Wounds" (PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler, September 2, 2015).
"Senator Bob Corker Rails Against the Iran Deal" (Lauren Fox, National Journal, July 23, 2015).
"We Can Thank Bob Corker for Ratifying Obama's Iran Deal" (Aaron Goldstein, The Spectacle Blog, The American Spectator, 9/2/15).
"Obama Doubles Down on Comparing GOP to Iranian Hardliners"(CNN)
