Reply #128: Interplay of corporate agendas and "lazy journalism"

[Tom Rinaldo]

Even without remarking on Clark's surprisingly populist agenda, corporate interests had less "hooks into" Clark than they do with most other Democrats. Clark never had to depend on raising money from special interests to get anywhere in his life. They had no track record to determine how pliable Clark might be in different situations, since he hasn't held any public office. That doesn't mean that they were sure Clark would be more dangerous to their interests than some other perfectly respectable liberal Democrat might be, for example. It does mean that Clark was a relatively free agent, and an unknown, and business in general hates unknown quantities. They can plan for any specific disaster, but they are control freaks at heart. Clark's relative independence scares them in my opinion.

As for "lazy journalism", it is one part of the "dumbing of America" that I really really hate. Look at what has happened to news coverage over the last decade. More and more it is an extension of media entertainment divisions. Everything is increasingly by formula, with tried and true plot lines that are played on endlessly, the way "hit songs" are recycled forever. Coverage of politics has increasingly devolved into Sports coverage. It's like the way the Olympics are covered. Before a single muscle has been flexed, the media already knows who they will focus on. They pump up the competition between a battle scarred veteran holding onto glory vs. the up and coming young Turk, for example (that's one of their favorite plot lines). They pre can Bio spots on both, and then they go on endlessly about their competition as if they were the only two athletes in the world competing in that one event.

The media tried out two simple story lines for the Primaries, in progression, which actually is twice as many as usual so maybe I shouldn't complain (NOT). Dean Dean Dean was the first, and guess what the second one was? Yup, "the competition between a battle scarred veteran holding onto glory vs. the up and coming young Turk", in other words, Kerry vs. Edwards. What, was anyone else running?