Another thing modern media does (though it is hardly a new thing) is to blur together all sorts of issues to sell a bigger meme. Sure enough, Bloomberg tonight with Sen. Manchin:

First, the title of the piece: Manchin Seeks End to Widespread Anti-Terror Surveillance

But… what the piece is really about is Manchin trying to figure out how to keep his WV senate seat in the hands of the Democratic Party. The content:

President Barack Obama should end the broad surveillance of telephone calls and Internet usage, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said.

“It bothers me, and I think it bothers you and every other American,” Manchin, of West Virginia, said in an interview on “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend on Bloomberg Television. “It should be stopped as far as the broad base that they’re doing. If there’s a profile and targeting that goes on, then fine.”

[…]

The Obama administration and congressional allies have defended the collection of phone data from Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) on all its customers’ calls and the gathering of data on foreign nationals from Internet companies.

“I’m wanting to do everything I can to fight the war on terror,” Manchin said. “There will not be another day in my life, my children or grandchildren’s life they won’t have to be vigilant against terrorists wanting to do us harm. But do you give up everything as an American?”

Ok, so what’s the problem? Well, look at what I redacted, in the ellipses. Right smack in the middle of the blowup over the internet spying, Bloomberg inserts these two paragraphs:

Manchin, 65, also indicated that Attorney General Eric Holder, who has been criticized for targeting news organizations, among other issues, should consider resigning.

“Whenever you feel that you have lost your effectiveness or may be losing your effectiveness to the detriment of the job that you do,” he said about Holder, “you have to evaluate that and make a decision. And I think we’re at the time now where decisions have to be made.”

Which has nothing to do with the NSA thing.

The meme some are trying to push is that the Obama administration is in a sinking morass of scandals. Strangely, it’s not just the wingnut outlets but other media outlets.

As near as I can tell, the news industry is just bored with Obama as he is, and the President can no longer drive TV ratings just by doing his job. So, in order to get eyes on their talking heads any little thing has to be blended into a larger “issue” of some “crisis”, in order to have a table of talkers to have an issue.

Because, discussing real issues is just too boring for the targeted (by advertisers) audience.

The Bloomberg article has Manchin go on about guns, etc. Then they finally get to the whole point of why Manchin is touching on the issues he does:

Manchin said the Democrats “have a shot” at keeping the West Virginia Senate seat being vacated by retiring Jay Rockefeller, though it “will be a challenge.”

[…]

“It will be a challenge to hold that seat,” he said. “I understand that. Our state demographics have changed.”