There has been a lot of stories recently, chronicling the long fall of the White House press corps from arbiter of public opinion to simpering catamites. The odd aspect of these stories is that they are coming from nominally left-wing media types writing for overtly left-wing media institutions.

I put it down to the progressives learning--as usual--what has been obvious to everyone else for a very long time. It seems to have dawned on them only very recently that they may have gone a little overboard in schlepping their puff-pieces and ignoring solidly researched information on who Obama was before he stepped into the national arena.

Too late. Nobody listens to you anymore, except Washington Tikritis whose financial and career fates depend on a perpetuation of the regime.

For as long as there has been a White House, a healthy tension has existed between the president, who seeks to convince the citizenry with calibrated messages and images, and the middlemen of the Fourth Estate, who traditionally convey, interpret, rebut, deride, and otherwise filter those messages and images. Every so often, the president takes his revenge, as Obama did on Friday, mocking skeptical reporters who have been questioning the positive impact of health-care reform. "Can you imagine if some of these reporters were working on a farm and you planted some seeds and they came out next day and they looked—Nothing’s happened! There’s no crop! We’re gonna starve! Oh, no! It’s a disaster!" Obama told a town meeting in Maine. “It’s been a week, folks. So before we find out if people like health-care reform, we should wait to see what happens when we actually put it into place. Just a thought.”

Until relatively recently, middlemen like Plante had the upper hand, and the media filter was robust—notwithstanding persistent and clever attempts by various White House communications gurus to bypass the journalistic kibitzing. But these days, as Plante acknowledges, the filter is fraying.

And the MSM’s relevance is up for grabs.

Still in denial I see.

What is so fascinating about this is that even as reality sticks its nose into the Progressive tent, they still have no idea is a bloody camel! Obama sidesteps the press corps to talk directly to the people, and they don't give a damn about what he has to say. In my earlier post, I pointed out that public opinion on health care hasn't budged a point since it passed, underscoring how thorough the polarization of the electorate has been. Obama has been insulting me and my 'ilk' since he first stepped into the primaries, and he has only escalated his rhetoric.

Anyone who has dared to voice an objection has been subject to a thorough course of verbal abuse, usually with a liberal application (pun intended) of their favorite spanking-switch--racism.

What possible chance does he have to get a hearing from Americans so ill-treated?

I personally turn the channel whenever I see him. Although some won't believe me, this isn't because I'm petty, but rather because I just don't like being lied, lectured and condescended to, and I know for a fact I am far, far from alone. The Obama regime has seemingly accomplished the impossible--they have reached over the media to directly alienate the electorate. This is a whole new level of the politics of division game.

As the political sages recommend, when your opponent is determined to destroy himself, its best to get out of the way. On the other hand, there is something important for conservatives and libertarians and moderate Democrats to learn from this slow motion train wreck--treat those who disagree with you with respect, so that the door at least remains open for a future opportunity at persuasion and common cause.