Conservatives have slammed a White House video promoting Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as propaganda but Fox News' Brit Hume thinks they should just relax.
Chris Wallace worried Sunday that the video was in danger of resembling a "state run media."
The Weekly Standard's Steve Hayes just sees it as effort to control the message. "There's initial roll-out of Elena Kagan was to make her look like a real person. That was the sort of catch phrase. And they want her to appear as she empathizes with everyday Americans," said Hayes. "That's how they want to sell her. I think this is why they did this."
Juan Williams was even more cynical. "You know what concerns me is this media management. Obviously spin control coming out of the White House, it grows in every administration. But the idea that you put out your own media now and control images -- that gets awful close to Pravda," worried Williams.
One of Fox News' most conservatives pundits found himself in the odd position of defending the Obama administration. "Oh, come on. Let them try it. I mean, it's the White House website. People who go there recognize that this is coming from the White House," argued Hume.
"They had every right to do it and there's no harm," said Hume.
(NICOLE:) Let me see if I have this straight: Fox News, by all accounts a propaganda arm of the Bush White House, is bothered by a PR video on the WH website? The White House isn't pretending this is a "news" item like pretty much every story on Fox News Network for the entire eight years of Bush's presidency. Anyone who sees the video on the site is clear that it's coming from the White House. Could we say the same thing about Fox News? Geez, the cognitive dissonance with these guys must be overwhelming.
