Media Reality Check

 I think too often, Republicans are trying to have it both ways. The entire Palin rollout was badly botched by the McCain campaign. They knew (or at the very least, should have known) she was a neophyte in terms of dealing with the national press. Yet they allowed her to go straight to the networks (Gibson and Couric) without any interim stops with "friendly" media like talk radio to get her sea legs first. To then complain that the questions weren't fair --as if asking a VP candidate what newspaper she reads or what SCOTUS decisions she disagrees with is unfair -- is just whining and voters know it.  If you spoon feed the media (and voters) compelling footage of a candidate imploding on TV, you can't really complain that the media is exploiting it .

I didn't hear any Republicans complaining about the lack of media coverage in the two weeks after the Palin announcement.  But the campaign bungled her intro to the press by giving her first interview to People Magazine.  Bad idea. This was a big "F You" to the MSM and motivated them to go straight to Alaska and start digging. Meanwhile, the McCain campaign proceeds to put Palin in front of Gibson and Couric with seemingly no prep or even letting her feet get wet with talk radio, friendly bloggers, etc, well that's just political professional malpractice in my view. 

There was a moment in time in early September when the Repubs could have taken the momentum and ran with it to election day. The Dems were panicking. But the McCain campaign blew it and it really had very little to do with media bias in my opinion. It was really just lousy management skills. To that end, how many more people saw the Couric disaster on youtube or the SNL version than on CBS? Millions I'm guessing. That's the campaign's fault, not the MSM. They put Palin in the position to create a huge viral hit. 

We might get away with it, but every day it looks more and more like we won't. Hopefully, an important lesson will have been learned.

But what makes it more interesting this time is that both tickets have members who are mirror images of the other. And yet the double standard couldn't be more obvious. What makes this different is that the media can't arbitrarily decide that a quality possessed by the Democratic ticket is simply more relevant. Both sides possess many of the same qualities in equal measure. For McCain-Palin, either experience or inexperience is a liability, no matter how you cut it. And for Obama-Biden, both inexperience and experience are huge plusses... at the same time.

This is not a "mirror image".  You'd have to flip one ticket to make this a "mirror" image campaign, otherwise, this critique is not legitimate.   This is like looking into the cup of a spoon and thinking you'll see a true reflection.   Your premise is based on the assumption that the President and Vice President are weighted equally in considering a ticket.  Both sides do not possess many of the same qualities in equal measure.

Obama-Biden is youth and change and a 21st century candidate, with a steady hand with experience and knowledge that fits the Obama persona pretty well. 

McCain-Palin is experience and knowledge and leadership, with a fresh new face that invokes change and outsider, reform thoughts that try to echo McCain's record.

However, Obama has been vetted, tested and on trial for close to two years during the gauntlet of this campaign.  He is talking about change from the opposing party's eight-year rule. 

 Palin is still going through the vetting process and people still are trying to know more about her.  She is invoking reform but against her own party. 

Obama is running a Democratic change against a Republican administration.  Palin is talking about outsiders vs. insiders.  However, Obama won millions of votes in democratic/Democratic primaries and went through public scrutiny on his way to earning his spot at the top of the ticket.  Palin was chosen by McCain as a discretionary pick.

So it's too easy to dismiss Obama's "inexperience" as equivalent to Palin's, but the fact that Obama has gone through two years of public vetting and addressing every issue under the sun and still stands strong gives him experience in a way that Palin can't touch.  The public doesn't buy this false equivalence, especially because Palin didn't "earn" her way to the ticket.

Obama has been on the national and international stage for two years now with the burden of possibly being the next president--Palin comes from an obscure state that had no bearing on American or international news unless ANWR came up.  Obama went through a very rough time starting out trying to assert his fitness for presidency.  Palin is trying to do the same but only two months before the election.  She's on a different trajectory completely than Obama.

Biden and McCain are both saddled with being part of DC politics for decades.  However, McCain is at the top of his ticket and is dictating the policies of the administration he presents to the public.  Biden is not. 

Simply put:  Obama has earned the right to be considered worthy for president as he won the nomination from one of our two major parties, has weathered over 50 primary contests, 20+ debates, won 18+ million votes and many states, has been tested on all types of matters varying from international relations, economics, health care...to personal matters.  Biden has run for President 3 times and is a respected national and international figure.  McCain earns this same right not just by winning the nomination and going through the process, but much like Biden has run for President before and has gone through the scrutiny and has years of experience in the Senate as well. 

Palin has not earned the right to be considered worthy for president and likely won't in 31 days.  She was hand-picked, and did not "earn" it.  She could earn it if she went through the kind of gauntlet Obama did, either running for President or by going through months and months of debates and interviews, etc.  She hasn't yet.

The media is right to question.  And McCain is wrong to have either shielded a competent candidate from the media for so long, or to have picked someone that needed to be shielded. 

"I just wondering out loud what it would take to get some real-time accountability from the media ..."

Its going to take a news org that reports on "them".  Follows them around, takes pictures of them, investigates their finances,  etc, etc.  And it can be done Patrick. It'd take $$.  It must be done.  When some sleazy left wing network reporter sees a video of himself visiting a local bathhouse, participating in a daisy chain and that is plastered all over some  internet website, well, then they'll realize that the old adage about "those living in glass houses" is something to consider.  And some of those around them will also consider this. 

There's a plenty of dirt to be dug up and reported on these scoundrels.  And, Patrick, this would be legit news reporting.  These media people are public figures. And they've set themselves up for this.  They need to be taken down a notch.  They're self-righteous, arrogant and out of control.   That's the way I see it, anywho.  DD

First of all, McCain did manage one correct comment lately when he noted the NYT is in the tank for Obama.  That's the first time in my memory our national candidate actually made a comment like that.  He (or whoever our next Presidential candidate is) should extend that to the other members of the media who are wallowing in the same tank:  WaPo, NBC, CBS, ABC for starters.

The rubber meets the road when a new Republican is elected President (McCain or someone after him).  First, pull the White House Press Credentials of the NYT and give them to the National Enquirer.  Second, toss NBC and David Gregory out onto PA Ave.  Third, shut down the daily press briefings in DC and have members of the Administration, including the President, hold briefings with selected reporters on a single subject and go in some depth on that subject.  Fourth, hold regional press conferences on a semi-weekly basis with the President addressing the Press Corps outside DC.  No DC Press Corps invited or allowed to ask questions.

Another positive step would be, assuming McCain is elected, appoint Rudy as his Press Secretary.

All I need to do is go out the next right website and read good thorough articles like this and I feel much better.  I can't believe that anyone would vote for a 46 year old guy who has limited political experience.  He is what Ray Shamley(spelling) said of Teddy Kennedy when he ran against him for Senate back in the early 80's.  His campaign materials consisted of posters that had Kennedy's picture and the word invented printed on them where Shamley who was an inventor had the inventor description plastered all over his literature.  This is Obama, he's an invented.  Invented by the leftist elite media like the alphabet networks, CNN and BS-NBC.  You have to understand the more the media paints the picture that the election is over the more is depresses turnout for Republicans.  Because a lot of Republicans these days are stupid for not staying true to their conservative principles.  We have lost our way.  George W. Bush has been a colossal failure.  Taking us into war in Iraq sealed the downfall of our party and contributed to our losing congress in 2006.  Please do not defend Bush as he has sent us into a tailspin.  I live in Central Pa. and a year from now I might decide to run for Congress myself as a real Jude Wanniski type of economic Republican.  I'm 50 years old and retired on Social Security Disability.  First of all I would not and I repeat not take any pay whatsoever only expenses.  I made a decision to go on SSD and will never go back on that.  I have degenerative Arthritis and the pain levels are so severe I wonder where I'd be without meds.  This leads me to say that healthcare is a must for all.  My goal is to be a different type of Republican where I won't get tied up in the issues like Gay Marriage, Abortion, Flag Amendments and English only legislation.  These issues are driving voters from the Republican party.  I would want to focus on jobs, jobs and more jobs.  I would love to resurrect the enterprise zones idea from Jack Kemp.  I would want to write legislation that would lower tax rates for small businesses.  The Republican party needs to change or we will suffer as the minority party for the next 50 years.  We need to reach out to minorities especially Hispanics.  We're not doing that right now.  I guarantee you if you want to be a successful legislator you need to write legislation creating jobs by lowering taxes and giving incentives to employ in areas where unemployment is high.  If we don't we will perish as a party.  That's my rant for the day.  Just keep these articles coming because it's going to be easy to get depressed in the next few weeks without them.  Thanks for what you do, you keep me focused and keep me from giving up so easily.

The MouthPeace Strikes Again...

And other good one, and it puts the Clintons on the side of good, namely that Bill Clinton was stonewalled on Fannie and Freddie too...good appeal to independent voters at the end, which will have to be McCain's end game.  Convince America that Democrats in Congress are dangerous too and that he is the only thing between the moderates and left wing domination.

What you see at the end will have to be McCain's closing argument, and it will be worth at least 2-3 points, so we need to get within 3 points for that argument to carry us across.

McCain has to start referring to "time-bomb" mortgages handed out by Fannie and Freddie.  They have to be the focus not "predatory lenders" fannie and freddie enabled it all.

Goes to show you how powerful the ACORN lobby is when not even Bill Clinton can talk sense to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5z9lD4C2Io