Sometimes, I'm embarrassed to admit that I am part of the media. Like this morning. We in the media are always complaining that the candidates avoid talking about important issues and instead choose to snipe at each other and exchange ridiculous charges about character. Then, when we get a chance to ask them really substantive questions, like at last night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, what do we do? We ask them nothing but stupid questions that have nothing to do with important issues.
People often blame the media for being part of the problem. And we are.
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6 comments:
That debate was excruciating to watch. It was the journalistic equivalent of a snuff film.
Actually it was the first debate to question the candidates about their backgrounds (in particular Obama). Given that their stances are almost identical and the fact that anyone that understands politics knows that character matters, this debate was refreshing. Not a surprise that Brant and you found it hard to watch, Obama was actually questioned on just who he really is.
Gosh, I guess we'll just have to wait until one of them is elected president before we find out what they plan to do about the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. After all, what's really important now is who's wearing a flag pin or which one is secretly a member of the Weather Underground.
Character matters? If character really mattered we would not have elected a president with a sense of political entitlement and an appalling lack of judgment.
Letting the media do you thinking for you doesn't translate into understanding politics.
Character does matter, and the candidates have been hammered by the national media for the past six weeks over all their flaws and gaffes. Both Clinton and Obama have attempted to explain themselves (i.e. Clinton mis-remembered her Bosnia visit and Obama denounced the Rev. Wright in his Philly speech).
So this debate was an opportunity to learn where they stand on the issues that, ya know, actually affect me and you. Unfortunately, the questioning by Charlie and George made ABC News - not the candidates - the center of attention. The media isn't supposed to become the story.
The reason I found it highly irritating was that the moderators, instead of digging deeper into the candidates' potential policies on issues such as the war in Iraq, the country's economic mess or the families losing their homes in the subprime mortgage crisis, spent most of their time beating the same horses that already had been beaten beyond death by every media outlet in the country. Honestly, I don't care about the words of Obama's preacher, the old scandals of Bill and Hillary or the skeletons rattling around in McCain's closet. I want to know what each of them plans to do for you and me next January.
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