Today on “Your World with Neil Cavuto”, the show’s host spent several minutes whining about the scant attention he feels he is getting from Barack Obama and his administration. Cavuto performed a set piece that complained that Obama had made himself available to other networks and programs, but not his.

“Now, I have to be honest, he’s been everywhere else today to talk about health care today, seemingly with anyone with a pulse today. Just not here. Just not with me.”

You can almost hear him choking back the tears. He attempted to insert some comedy by way of jokes about Obama appearing with SpongeBob SquarePants before sitting down with Fox News. However, the humor was exceedingly distasteful as it appeared to cast Obama as something that SpongeBob stepped in and tried to wipe off of his shoe (seriously). And if this prepared lament was not enough, he brought it up repeatedly throughout the remainder of the show while interviewing other guests. The core of his concern was stated thusly:

“Why do you hate us so much, Mr. President? Because we challenge you or because we won’t worship you? Or both?”

This is nothing new for Cavuto. He frequently takes to mocking Obama and other Democrats because he feels neglected. He has recently been attacking the administration for not making the various issue “czars” available for Fox-applied abuse. In the course of these complaints he ridicules both the position and the person holding it. He boldly expresses his disapproval of Obama’s affinity for czars and that there are any czars appointed in the first place. Perhaps he should be informed that George Bush had at least a dozen czars of his own. (And can we please retire the title “czar” in favor of something like Manager or Auditor?)

If Cavuto thinks that derision and insults will lure subjects into his lair, he is going to be sorely disappointed. In fact, it is that very behavior that is likely responsible for the cold shoulder he is presently experiencing. Here is what Obama had to say on the subject in an interview today with John Harwood of CNBC:

“I’ve got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration…That’s a pretty big megaphone. You’d be hard pressed if you watched the entire day to find a positive story about me on that front.”

If Obama didn’t have a reason to snub Fox before (which he did), Cavuto has certainly given him one. It is probably not a good idea to callously offend people that you want to interview. And if there is one thing we can learn
from this, it is that avoiding Fox News is really pissing off Fox News. This is one of the most effective actions that any Democrat or progressive can take in the battle to reform the media and to punish propaganda mills like Fox.

Let them whine. Let them display silly little countdown clocks (as Chris Wallace did during last year’s campaign). Let them escalate their rudeness and incivility. That will only make it all the more apparent that they are a deliberately hostile harbor into which we ought not sail. Simply put…

Stay the HELL off of Fox News!

Update 6/17/2009: Cavuto spent the first eight minutes of his program today whining that Obama would not cave in to his ego. That’s about 18% of his airtime.