Head of State

Obama Takes on Media on The View

Says it generated “phony controversy” over Sherrod.

Well, Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn’t crack him: President Obama’s appearance on The View was mostly a friendly affair, but he did take the opportunity to blame the media for last week’s Shirley Sherrod affair. He said that the “24/7 media cycle doesn’t get to the facts first,” and that it ginned up the “phony controversy.” He did at least note that “people in my administration” were too quick to play along. Obama’s appearance was the first for a sitting president on The View. He also refused to address the Mel Gibson controversy, saying he’d rather talk about Afghanistan, and said he did not know much about Snooki from Jersey Shore.