The Little Red Book.

It is not my job to defend Rupert Murdock or who ever owns Fox News these days. He or they can well afford the lawyers and/or the spin-doctors needed. But, a couple of things struck me recently.

First was an attack by one Anita Dunn, a senior White House aide, who boasted of how Barack Obama's presidential campaign managed to "absolutely control" the press during the 2008 election.

This top campaign strategist has shot to attention recently as Obama's main attack dog against Fox News, the conservative-leaning cable network,and was speaking at a conference in the Dominican Republic in January.

And now I quote verbatim:-

"Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control," she said.

"One of the reasons we did so many of the David Plouffe [Mr Obama's campaign manager] videos was not just for our supporters, but also because it was a way for us to get our message out without having to actually talk to reporters.
"We just put that out there and made them write what Plouffe had said as opposed to Plouffe doing an interview with a reporter. So it was very much we controlled it as opposed to the press controlled it."

And this was from a “lady” who has also described Mao Tse Tung as one of her "favourite political philosophers". And that, now long-gone, philosopher once favored a gun in order to bring about social change.

Karl Rove, former President George W. Bush's former chief political strategist said on "Fox News Sunday" that the White House was dominated by "Chicago-style politics" and that Mr Obama was afraid of tough questions.

He compared Mr Obama to President Richard Nixon, who famously kept an "enemies list" that included reporters. "This is a White House engaging in its own version of the media enemies list. And it's unhelpful for the country and undignified for the president of the United States to so do."

The White House has intensified its attacks on Fox after Miss Dunn's opening broadside last weekend. David Axelrod, a senior Obama adviser, even urged other news outlets to shun Fox, telling ABC News that Fox was about opinion and was therefore not a news organisation.

"And the bigger thing is that other news organisations, like yours, ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way."

Has anybody in this White House ever heard of the First Amendment? Well, I’m sure that some have but I’m also sure that they wish it didn’t exist.

Hands up all those who believe a news outlet exists that does not have a bias?

It seems I have a smart readership because not one hand went up and that makes me try even harder.

Name ‘em. New York Times, Washington Post, and on, and on, in that genre. Or watch CNN or MSNBC; Can anyone forget Chris Matthews’ tingly leg or Keith Olberman’s prostration and deny that outlet’s bias?

I would be remiss if I ignored Katie Couric and I have tried, trust me.

So maybe, the Obama aides have it right. All you have to do is grasp your little “Red Book”, gaze with adoration at a teleprompter and mouth the words, “Yes We Can”.

Well I can’t and won’t and neither will this country much longer.

Because we are greater than this.