"Controversy 'Dead'" on the Facts, Says CNN Exec

"Just laying out both sides of the controversy," says Lou Dobbs, regarding the the Hawaiian birth of Obama.

The CNN president said he wants to let viewers "make up their own minds."

I'm not sure how this qualifies as "journalism." The "phenomenon ... won't go away" because clowns like Dobbs keep telling viewers there this is a legitimate subject of discussion. It's not. There's nothing wrong with letting viewer make up their own minds about subjective political controversies, but CNN is giving its audience mixed messages -- reports saying the case is closed, coupled with reports saying there are lingering questions.

A responsible outlet is supposed to report the truth, not present viewers with contradictory messages, leaving them to go elsewhere to sort out reality. This has nothing to do with a "partisan point of view," and everything to do with a major news outlet repeatedly lending credence to a bizarre conspiracy theory

OK, the title quote and first sentence are paraphrases, not quotes. But the block above is a quote from Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly.

This is why I have absolutely no use for TV news. Controversy shouldn't exist simply for the sake of ratings. Yet Dobbs and CNN President Jon Klein don't appear to care about that. Dobbs is no surprise... he has never allowed "facts" or "reality" or "evidence" to inform his grinding disgust and anger that there are brown people in this country. But for the CNN president to declare "The controversy is dead. Long Live the Controversy!" strikes me as symptomatic of the insanity of the ratings game and commercial news.

So the facts are in. Obama is a native-born US citizen. But some say...

And the Beast Goes On.