Bob Franken

Who knew Steve Jobs had so much in common with Sarah Palin? Or Michelle Bachmann or the others shouting from their Tea cups.

All of them despise the media for daring to shed harsh light on their crusades as they crush anyone in their way who might want to erect a few barriers of truth to confront their steamrollers.

I'm Steve Jobs and I approve this message. Kinda, sorta, not really

These hated troublemakers are the ones who insist on asking the tough questions and reporting the embarrassing answers and/or deceptions from those politicians and entrepreneurs who have gotten used to spreading their messages with no resistance whatsoever.

As the cliche goes, if the reflection is ugly, they want to break the mirror. In Jobs‘ case, when his corporate hands are caught in the IPhone 4 “Death Position”, blocking the antenna which causes the embarrassing loss of cellphone reception, he bitterly hurls attacks at the journalist pests, saying “…when you see someone get successful, you just want to tear it down”.

It’s really tough on a guy when his bullying and PR manipulation suddenly isn’t enough. Just ask Palin, who at all costs avoids all but sycophantic news situations these days and stays largely behind the bunkers with her Fox Friendlies, where she can “refudiate” the “Lamebrain Media”.

Rep. Michelle Bachmann, another one rising on the Right’s risers sings an even harsher tune for her choir entitled the “Treason Media”. And let’s not forget those Senate candidates Sharron Angle (T-Nevada) and Rand Paul (T-Kentucky) who are ducking further contact with anyone who might cause them to trip over their own oversimplifications.

The idea that the voter has a need to understand what the empty slogans and marketing ploys mean is anathema to the likes of Palin, Angle, Bachmann and Paul.

That obviously includes Steve Jobs who has made it clear that inconvenient reporting is just not his Cupertino.

Let’s not forget every president from Barack Obama on back as well as every other pampered star in show biz, sports and the corporate world. They too come to resent the audacious riff raff who dare to challenge them. They’re just not used to such things, surrounded, as they are with groupies and drones buzzing around them.

They’re cannot tolerate nay-sayers, only aye-sayers. The problem is the path of least resistance inevitably is a path to sloppiness and even corruption which are then overgrown with coverup. Any effort to clear it away is a threat.

This is dangerous. Look no further than inside-the-beltway and out.

If anything we in media are too often too pliant or intimidated, anxious to look away when a “go along, get along” approach means less hassle from an administration or conglomerate that is more than willing to bully.

What we leave in the wake of our timidity is a vacuum, and hustlers who view it as a convenient opportunity to make big bucks or further their ambitions by filling the space with garbage.

As Americans we have a responsibility to be an informed electorate whether we’re choosing candidates or products. The manufacturers and/or promoters of both have a responsibility to make sure what we’re buying is not packaged in fraud. That’s where an effective press comes in, whatever its form, to quench a thirst for complete information. Otherwise, all we’ll have to drink is Apple Tea.

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