During his rally in Philadelphia earlier today, President Obama took a few minutes to give the press hell for the way they've covered this campaign.
Can I just say, it's about damn time someone high-profile did? It's been ridiculous. But when it comes from the President, it carries weight. More weight than if I said the same thing 10,000 times.
In another section of the speech not in the clip above, he said that in his travels around the world, other foreign leaders don't even see this as close, so why does the media insist on making it look that way?
He did not hold back with his scathing criticism, warning them to quit giving up and treating it like a reality show.
The transcript is below, but I recommend watching him say it, just for the sheer joy of seeing him finally let loose with his annoyance at the media.
"Look, I'm not running this time. But I sure do get frustrated with the way this campaign is covered. I'm just telling the truth. Guys in the back, I'm just telling you the truth about how I feel about this."
"Do you mind if I just vent for a second?"
"You know, you don't grade the presidency on a curve. This is serious business. And when we see folks talking about transparency. You want to debate transparency?"
"You've got one candidate in this race who's released decades worth of her tax returns. The other candidate refuses to release any at all."
"You want to debate foundations and charities? One candidate's family foundation has saved countless lives around the world. The other candidate's foundation took money other people gave to his charity and then bought a six-foot tall painting of himself. I mean, you know, he had the taste not to go for the ten-foot version, but -- "
"You want to debate who's more fit to be our president? One candidate who's traveled to more countries than any Secretary of State ever has, has more qualifications than pretty much anyone who's ever run for this job, and the other who isn't fit in any way, shape or form to represent this country abroad and be its Commander in Chief."
"So, somehow as things go on because we've become so partisan, our standards for what's normal have changed. And Donald Trump says stuff every day that used to be considered as disqualifying for being president."
"And yet because he says it over and over again, the press just gives up and then you say, well, yeah, you know, okay. They did stuff -- I was opposed to the war in Iraq. Well, actually, he wasn't, but they just accept it."
"So, the bottom line is, is that we cannot afford to suddenly treat this like a reality show. We can't afford to act as if there's some equivalence here. "
"To be president you have to do your homework and know what you're talking about and you've got to apply steady judgment even when things don't go your way. And you've got to make the tough calls even when they're not popular. Even when they take years to pay off. "
"You have to be able to handle criticism without taking it personally. Just brush it off. Done. And that's something I learned. And that's what Hillary learned as a Senator and Secretary of State and as a First Lady."
