What is your bias?

Over the course of 40 years worth of studies, Gallup Polls has determined that we are all biased, particularly when it comes to politics.  For example, after every election year, poll results overwhelmingly show that the party that lost an election always has a dim outlook for the future while the party that won the election always feels that everything is looking up.  In addition, when a politician is accused of an indiscretion, the opposing party is always shocked and appalled, while the party in power always sees it as a minor misstep.  The only true way to know a serious scandal is if all parties isolate themselves from the accused.

In this context, let’s look at the three “scandals” that hit the Obama administration over the last month.  First of all, consider the use of the word “scandal”.  By definition, scandal refers to the violation of morality or propriety.  Conversely, the accusation of a scandal that is not proven to be true is, in itself, a violation of morality and propriety by the accuser.  It is in this environment that Newt Gingrich recently cautioned Republicans to go easy in order to avoid possible political overreach.  According to Gingrich, the Lewinsky scandal of 1998 was overreach, ultimately resulting in sympathy for Democrats and disdain for Republicans.  As it stands, Obama’s current approval rating sits at a comfortable 53 percent.  

Let’s take a quick look at each of the big 3 and consider some of the facts:

 1.  Justice Department spying of Associated Press - After Republicans opened the door to wiretapping and other questionable means of fighting the war against terrorism, Republicans also demanded that the White House monitor and stop security leaks to the AP.  Now we find that the Obama administration is slammed for doing exactly what his critics suggested.

           2.  Benghazi attack  – The question here is exactly what the accusation is.  Is there a problem with the perceived cover up, or a problem with the lack of response to the attack, or both?  Since the accusation is not clear, it appears that conservatives are just groping and hoping for something to stick.  Although we all agree that this is a tragedy, and mistakes were made, it is hard for a fair minded person to define the whole event a scandal.  As it stands, Hilary Clinton and Susan Rice have already taken most of the heat for their involvement, which makes it look like a witch hunt aimed at female Democrats.  I assume this is not the impression Republicans were trying to make but it is there.

 

       3.  IRS targeting of Conservative groups – Yes, the IRS has admitted to targeting of conservative groups, making it difficult for them to get 501c4 tax exempt status, but additional scrutiny of political groups is exactly what the IRS was supposed to do.  This is because a group engaged in politics is disqualified from tax exempt status.  This burden of scrutiny was given to the IRS in January 2010 after the conservative group Citizens United was given leeway by the Supreme Court, modifying the tax law to allow 501c4 status to entities engaged in politics “as long as politics is not their primary activity” – a poorly defined criteria.  After this ruling, congressional members asked the IRS to carefully scrutinize new applications.  Of course, without clear criteria, the IRS was able to act as they saw fit, creating the obvious indiscretions.  Interestingly, Obama demanded the resignation of IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller despite the fact that he only served the position for 8 months.  Congress still cannot tie the actions of the IRS to the White House, but they continue to try.  

You may argue that the summaries above are somewhat forgiving of a tyrannical administration that is slowly violating our civil rights.  Perhaps that is my bias, but I invite you to check your own bias.  Did you vote for or against Obama?  How or where did you hear the news?  Did the source of the news suggest that you should be outraged?  Did the source suggest this should be the end of Obama?  Even Newt Gingrich understands that these overblown suggestions are produced by political entertainers who are in the business of firing up their conservative audiences, sometimes successfully, but evidently not so much this time.  The public outrage that was suggested only seems to exist in the mind of the commentators.  With that, we have a duty to check the facts.  In today's information age, fact checking has become easier than ever before.

It is undeniable that each of us sees the world from a certain degree of bias.  This bias depends greatly on our life experiences – for example, how we were raised, or the opinions of our parents and friends, or the media outlet that we listen to.  Although most of us would like to believe that we are fair minded and unbiased, we will be much more intellectually honest if we all admit that we are prejudiced.  Furthermore, we need to recognize that others around us are the same way, but not necessarily on the same side.  Until we check the facts, we really don't know anything except our bias.

Tony F.   2013