Enough of all that? Nope.
July 22, 2008
I wonder if you think McCain is being treated unfairly by the media? I tend to think he is, in fact, being treated unfairly. His situation, however, cannot be compared - in a straightforward way - to what Hillary Clinton experienced in the primary. True - as Sen. Obama won again and again, Sen. Clinton was increasingly ignored; however, Sen. Clinton was more adept at getting media attention. The issue was not the attention - but what kind of attention the media was paying to Sen. Clinton. I happen to think the bulk of that attention was negative.
McCain just seems boring - he is not making news all that well. Except for supposedly using Novak to report that he may announce his VP sooner rather than later - McCain has not been able to overcome Obama’s news making power. McCain needs to make news - but, then, beware; in the words of the Pussycat Dolls: be careful what you ask for….
Just an observation.
I do not support Sen. McCain.
Anyway, this post = a distraction. I am writing my first draft of an academic purpose statement for Ph.D applications. This process is both fun and terribly frightening helpful.
Posted by Tony 
Posted in Bi/Partisan Politics, Current Events, Posts by Tony
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
How has McCain been treated unfairly?
McCain has received a free ride from the media for years, and that hasn’t changed at all this year.
McCain could announce that he supported EVERY single piece of the Republican platform, and the media would still call McCain a maverick. And they would refuse to identify him as the conservative that he is.
What are some examples of how McCain has been treated unfairly?
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 am
Hey, David - thanks for responding and for your question. I understand, as a Clinton supporter, that there is not a direct relationship between polls and reality - but something like 49% of voters believe the media has invested in an Obama win. I felt the same way in the primary.
Another sources says this: ‘For each of the weeks between June 9 and July 13, Obama had a much more significant media presence. The Project for Excellence in Journalism evaluates more than 300 political stories each week to measure whether each candidate is talked about in more than 25 percent of the stories. Every week, Obama played an important role in more than two-thirds of the stories. Sure, there are some weeks Obama’s going to make more news, said Tom Rosenstiel, the project’s director. But every week? ‘
But I agree with you, Dave. McCain, too, has benefited from an uncritical media. However, I think something is off when most of the major reporters are covering Obama’s trip and one - only one- shows up plane side at a recent McCain stop.
But again, some of this is McCain’s fault - he does not know how to make news.
And you’re right - McCain is hardly a maverick - maybe the media should make the same observation about Obama - something like - ‘Obama goes back on word when politically convenient’? There are dangers on both sides in this thing.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 am
Just to note, CBS covered up McCain’s gaffe on the Anbar Awakening and the surge through video editing. Pretty suspicious - wonder who pulled the strings on that one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDIAsS9VXiM
I think that’s an example of Obama being treated unfairly (have Obama’s statements ever been edited? hopefully not… he should redeem a “free pass” from CBS sometime)