If you watched President Biden's press conference yesterday and watch cable TV this

[Atticus]

morning, you have to be amazed at the mischaracterizations and repeated GOP talking points.

The talking heads are asking with some alarm whether Joe blundered and "gave permission" to Putin to invade Ukraine by mentioning the possibility of a "minor incursion" and stating his frank assessment that, despite what it will cost him, Putin would likely cross the border.

I have heard no reference to the specific question, later in the presser, asking Joe if he intended to "give permission" to Putin to invade. He then explained that a "cyber" assault was one of the possibilities and the response could also be cyber.

For whatever reason, it seems to be "open season" on President Biden. While most of the biased comments are not direct attacks, the "just asking" approach used for years by right-wing media has now spread to the main stream.

I thought President Biden's remarks were refreshingly blunt and honest. For example, contrast his statement that, yes, there were things in his administration's covid response that could have been better or more timely, but this was because science was dealing with a brand new virus and it was a learning process. He acknowledged that, while covid would be defeated, it had not yet been and that the struggle was difficult.

Contrast that with Trump's repeated assurances that we should just not worry about covid, it would just magically disappear by Easter and that the warmth of summer would eradicate it.

Yes, the media absolutely should be reporting on the Biden administration's successes AND failures. I just wish there were fewer on-air personalities starting to sound like Tucker Carlson.