Campaign ’08:It’s the Press Stupid - And Vice Versa
Posted April 23, 2008 on 10:38 am | In the category Politics, Press, Election 2008 | by JeffLast week’s debacle that barely passed for a debate on ABC is one more piece of evidence that we are stuck with a press and media that are committed to the avoidance of intelligent discussion of serious issues. The ingredients that are inexorably moving this election into a kind of fantasy-land of mind-numbing trivialities are all in place: lazy reporters playing off candidates’ criticisms of their opponents; the media’s willingness – no, eagerness - to pump up meaningless side issues like lapel pins and nutty ministers; endless hours of so-called analysts on cable TV pimping for their own candidates; an over-reliance on vapid man-in-the-street interviews and apparently an almost total unwillingness to explore serious issues in depth.
Senator Clinton’s campaign has mismanaged itself into a Rovian corner from which it is reduced to calling her opponent schoolyard names, hinting at character flaws in Obama (then denying she did any such thing) and feeding the lazy but hungry press with tiny little issues that they can then blow up into earth-shattering issues. That the Clinton campaign is deficient in honesty and seriousness is of course no surprise – it informed their earlier incarnation and for the most part people do not change. The Obama campaign has been caught in the position of having to defend the Senator on trivial issues, has not done a good job at it, and has become increasingly and obviously frustrated which simply feeds the beast.
But the really discouraging part of the situation is the complicity of the press in directing the interest of the voters towards meaningless issues while helping them avoid doing the hard work of thinking about real issues. This is old news but given the state of the country we need more and better not the same old crap. Now it is on to Indiana, another state where flag pins, nutty ministers, bin Laden and the over-rated threat of Iran can be used to pump up the volume and drown out serous discussion of serious issues.
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This is a bigger problem then the press falling down on the job with the primary race. One good example of the bigger problem comes from the NYTimes article this weekend about the ‘experts’ TV news broadcasts get on their show. How many msm outlets picked this story up? Only the Times. These things should outrage people. ABC’s ‘debate’ should outrage people. The 3-4 days of Obama bashing on Fox ‘news’ (more then normal it seemed to me) before the Penn. primary should outrage people. In the hurry to get the Middle class to vote against their financial interests (Republican) the Whitehouse talking points get spewed as news. Somethings really have no logical opposing opinion, but MSM would want you to believe there are logical arguments against things like Universal Health Care, Social Security, and the Bill of Rights.
Guess I’m just fed up…
Comment by Tom — April 23, 2008 #
Tom raises some excellent questions. I am not sure just why Americans do not blow up their TV’s on a fairly regular basis. But I am sure that we will not have serious discussions about any of those issues as long as Clinton is in the race. By showing bin Laden in an ad she is trying to prove that Obama is “weak”, eetc. etc. this from a woman who accused Obama of Rovian tactics! And, yeah, the NY Times piece was great journalism - and is largely being ignored by the media - especially those networks that brought all those bought generals on their shows to expound the merits of the Iraq fiasco and avoid risking their huge contractor fees. I guess that is a form of the new patriotism. Bet they all wore flag lapel pins.
Comment by Jeff — April 24, 2008 #