My Interview with Congressman Rogers

I live in the 8th Congressional district and yesterday I actually had the opportunity to speak for a few minutes with my Congressman, Mike Rogers! He was even willing to go on-the-record with me about some current events. The interview is as follows:

AP2: Good afternoon Congressman Rogers, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me. As a blogger I appreciate the opportunity.

CMR: It is my pleasure!

AP2: Congressman, you have traveled extensively in Iraq, and have had innumerable in-depth discussions with military, intelligence and civilian officials. What is your opinion of Barack Obama's trip to Iraq?

CMR: What bothers me most me most is he has changed his position, he has padded his plane with reporters and he is not listening to the on-the-ground commanders. He clearly disregarded the commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. It has become obvious that this is not an unbiased fact finding tour but a campaign opportunity. And it is offensive for the soldiers on the ground, who did not sign up to be a backdrop on an Obama campaign stop.

AP2: Barack Obama seems to be formulating policy as he goes along. He was against the surge. However now that the surge has been successful he has backtracked.

CMR: Barack Obama's campaign positions are always formulated to maximize votes. Yes, he opposed the surge, now he is calling it an "Improved Security Situation." First he's for timetables, and then he isn't. He calls for unilateral military action in Pakistan then backtracks. He vowed to meet with various heads of terror states including Ahmenidjad of Iran—"without preconditions" and then he had to back track. He said what he thinks and then his handlers get a hold of him and he back tracks. He is the most "handled" presidential candidate I have ever seen.

AP2: That includes the media! A case pinpoint would be the New York Times refusal to print an editorial by John McCain in response to a piece by Barack Obama published in the paper last week.

CMR: Oh absolutely! That was incredibly blatant, a complete repudiation of a fair and unbiased media. I recently saw a figure that media coverage for Obama is 65% to 35% coverage for John McCain.

AP2: Its funny, but I had this very same discussion with a liberal relative of mine recently. I did some research and a 2005 study by a UCLA Political Scientist found of the 20 major media outlets studied, 18 scored left of center. Also, surveys from 1978 to 2005 show that journalists are far more likely to say they are liberal than conservative and are far more liberal than the public at large.

CMR: Well it obvious in this campaign. All three network anchors went with Obama to Iraq. So many of his fundamental policies are not being covered. His polices are in direct opposition to what Americans want, low energy costs, and the retreat of terrorists. The evidence clearly points to the liberal media picking a candidate for the voters. It is a terrible disservice not only to the voters but also to our country.

However, the polls are tight, so I believe that Americans are seeing through it. Americans do not want on the job training at their expense and the security of our country.

AP2: Thank you Congressman Rogers, once again, I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.

CMR: Thank you, Joan.

This article is crossposted on RightMichigan