The WSJ newsroom continues its slow descent. Or, Obama knows too much!

I don't know if because Murdoch's the boss now, or because of staff cut backs, or because reporters and editors just don't care any more, but it's sad to watch the once proud and powerful news team reduced to being Politico-wannabe's, typing up absurd articles that, on their face, make no sense, and are made even worse by lazy execution.

That's another way of saying, this A1 article makes my head hurt:

A President as Micromanager: How Much Detail Is Enough?

Obama's bogged down in the details, suggest the Journal's Neil King and Jonathan Weisman, who even claim the president's intellectual curiosity is what's driving down his polling numbers. (I kid you not.)

Set aside the absurd premise of the article (don't Americans just hate it when the POTUS is familiar with the facts? See Dan Froomkin for more), and let's just look at the execution; the Journalism 101 involved.

First, if you're going to build an entire piece based on the sweeping generalization that Obama is getting lost in "the weeds," as Weisman says on an accompanying WSJ.com video interview, than the Journal ought to have tons of evidence to back it up. It ought be blindingly obvious that Obama is just up to his chin in useless facts in a way that no previous president was, right?

Wrong. The Journal provided exactly one fact to establish definitively that Obama is a micromanager. The smoking gun? Obama asks pointed questions during his morning meeting with economic advisers. (Busted!)

Next, the headline's use of "Micromanager" conjures up the image of not just somebody who's knee-deep in details, but someone who's unnecessarily meddling in the process; a president who's obsessively controlling. For that, the Journal produces zero anecdotes to back up its claim.  

Note that Weisman and King also claim matter-of-factly that, "Many presidents have directed policy from on high, shunning the details of most issues." Really? Like whom? Did Wilson shun details? Truman? Bush Sr.? Clinton? Bush Jr.? I'd sure be interested in knowing which presidents basically ignored details and instead sort of acted as symbolic heads of state, which is what the Journal clearly suggests has been the White House norm for years. 

And lastly, the duo took a swipe at Jimmy Carter:

A president's management style can set the tone for an administration. Jimmy Carter was a famed micromanager, often at odds with his own advisers, and he caught a lot of Beltway criticism for his focus on policy details.

Proof? Quotes? Anecdotes to back up that sweeping critique of Carter? The Journal can't be bothered. Just like it can't be bothered to substantiate it's loopy premise about how it's totally weird that the president is curious and well-informed and (gasp!) hands-on.