U.S. Media Trivializes Campaign 2008

[Joanne98]

Every four years, during U.S. presidential elections, the same thing happens, except it’s always a little bit different.

Some clever political operative injects “oppo” into the campaign – some little “scandal” that supposedly speaks to the “character” of a candidate – and the press corps obsesses on this marginal issue nearly to the exclusion of all substantive matters.

This all-consuming event distorts the campaign, turning the targeted candidate into a laughingstock or someone who isn’t quite American enough. Pundits pile on with criticism that the guy should have reacted faster or slower or answered this way or that.

Millions of voters become convinced, amid this intense negativity, that they simply can’t vote for this loser and the outcome of the election changes.

Then, in the election aftermath, the American press corps goes through a period of self-reflection; some excellence-in-journalism group issues a scathing report about the superficiality of the news coverage; political journalists vow that in the next election they won’t get suckered again.

Then, the process – which dates back at least to 1988 and Lee Atwater’s savaging of Michael Dukakis – begins anew, albeit always with some slightly new twist.

All this might be quite funny if one doesn’t consider the consequences for the Republic. When historians try to figure out how the most powerful nation on earth managed to end up under the control of someone as unfit as George W. Bush for eight years, they will have to take note of this media phenomenon.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3672/us_media_trivializes_campaign_2008/

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Joanne.

[Beam Me Up]

2. The question isn't how did the US get under GWB's control, the question is

under whose control is GWB -- because they're the ones who put him in office (not us) and have kept him there for low these many tragic years (again, not us). Yeah -- why not trivialize the election process? Its not like we have any control over how our elections are depicted by the media to us or how our votes are actually tabulated -- any more than we have any control over how the SCOTUS is going to rule on a disputed electoral outcome.