Righty Pundits, Bloggers Forget Media Love Affairs With John McCain
The right is in a tizzy because it senses media bias in favor of Barack Obama during the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee's overseas trip.
The righties forget that reporters and opinion-makers have fallen in love serially with presumptive GOP nominee John McCain - - in 2000, on the Straight Talk Express campaign bus, around the 2008 New Hampshire primary when his current campaign was revived, and on Daily Show appearances too numerous to count.
Reporters and media types are fickle, like voters. And there was no way that they wouldn't flock with Obama on the foreign tour that McCain dared him to take.
D'OH!
But these are trends, ephemeral events in a long campaign, but how easy it is to forget the positive treatment that McCain has enjoyed, and will surely get again - - if his supporters don't complain so often and so loudly that they'll drive potential media suitors away.
And, of course, for McCain there's Fox 'News,' and conservative talk radio that overwhelmingly prefers him to Obama despite little complaints here and there about McCain's lack of ideological perfection.
5 comments:
Some reporters were left behind to cover John McCain because the rest of the Washington press corps ascended to heaven in the Barack Obama Rapture. Is it true that Jesus Christ descended from Heaven, accompanied by the Washington press corps and the spirits of all the saints of God (both from the pre-incarnation period and after) who died prior to the Barack Obama Rapture?
You're about 24 hours late with that lame-o effort.
You folks need to git yerselves some new talkin' funny points.
You must be kidding.
If you are honest with yourself you would admit the nature of the bias towards Obama.
Jave some reporters been enamored with McCain in the past? Absolutely.
However, the slant to this coronation by the press towards Obama has never been seen before.
To Real Debate; A couple of thoughts.
The Clinton campaign complained about this, too, and after the famous Saturday Night Live skit that parodied the media, coverage did swing. So I do think there are cycles in this, and it is a long campaign.
Regrettably, if one is on the older side of these equations, the fresher face has some aedvantages, especially in this the era of television, and that began with Kennedy vs. Nixon.
That's the way it is, As a person qualifying for senior status these days, I can say that you just have to accept this reality.
Remember, too: news is what's new, and different. Obama and his trip overseas was news because of where he went, when and why. foreign leaders and people had curiosity about him and his new celebrity, and all that combines to produce good media.
And you have to credit the Obama people: their scheduling and advance work was excellent, by any objective standard.
They knew how to play to Obama's strengths, much the way that McCain's Straight Talk Express bus functions for him.
I predict that there will be a reversal. Reporters, and I know this from personal experience, bend over backwards to avoid being perceived as partisan or playing favorites, so I expect some intentionally tougher coverage now that Obama is back.
And plenty of coverage of what McCain is doing and saying.
Mr. Rowen:
I think you are right about reversal in coverage in the presidential race.
But McCain supporters should be careful for what they wish for...their certainly was not a lot of mainstream press coverage about McCain thinking there is a Iraq/Pakistan border, or defining what a surge is, or saying Obama wants to lose a war...
Post a Comment