Look, it's yet another ongoing series at The Reaction -- of which there will no doubt be many parts throughout the current campaign for the White House. It's called:
Yet another example of
the media's abominable coverage of the presidential race
The first installment (with a slightly different name for the series), on breathless reporting of Obama's trips to the gym last week, is here.
**********
(Update: You know what they say about great minds. Creature has also posted on the media's pro-McCain bias -- see here.)
This installment has to do with the media's ongoing narrative -- and it's been ongoing for years and years -- that buys into, and propagates, the myth of McCain as an expert on foreign policy and national security issues. He's been touting his military background, experience, and alleged expertise throughout his political career, well before his '00 and '08 presidential runs but especially now, and his admirers in the media -- and there are many of them (and many more who simply like him and give him the benefit of the doubt) -- have been happy to help.
And yet the current campaign has witnessed a steady stream of gaffes from this alleged expert: mixing up Sunni and Shiite, referring to the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia, mentioning the non-existent Iraq-Pakistan border, etc. Critics have understandably guffawed in response, but, for the most part, the media have either written them off as symptoms of being old or ignored them altogether. Over at Slate, Fred Kaplan explains what's wrong with this:
If Obama had blurted even one of those inanities (especially the one about the Iraq-Pakistan border), the media and the McCain campaign would have been all over him like red ants on a wounded puppy.
McCain caught almost no hell for his statements -- they were barely noted in the mainstream press -- most likely because they didn't fit the campaign's "narrative." McCain is "experienced" in national-security matters; therefore, if he says something that's dumb or factually wrong, it's a gaffe or he's tired. Obama is "inexperienced," so if he were to go off the rails, it would be a sign of his clear unsuitability for the job of commander in chief.
It may be time to reassess this narrative's premise -- or to abandon it altogether and simply examine the evidence before us.
I'd prefer abandonment over reassessment, but I'd settle for either. The media need to be shaken up. But who is about to do that? The media themselves? While they've shown signs of moving away from the narrative, it would be far too optimistic to expect them to dismiss it entirely. More McCain gaffes of this sort, however, could finally force them to reevaluate their long-standing love affair with the Arizona senator.
And there is a deeper problem: "Quite apart from the gaffes, in formal prepared speeches, McCain has proposed certain actions and policies that raise serious questions about his suitability for the highest office," including calling for Russia to be expelled from the G8 and proposing the creation of a so-called League of Democracy. What's more, McCain has in recent years morphed into a blend of Cold Warrior and neoconservative. Perhaps worse than Bush, he is now one of the chief warmongers, and not just with respect to Iraq.
The narrative that excuses his gaffes also avoids any real, sustained confrontation with his actual policy positions. And so while Obama is under the microscope, where any slip-up would derail his campaign, McCain carries on making mistakes -- and proposing bad and perhaps disastrous policies -- beyond the media glare. The flip side to all this is that while Obama is getting most of the attention, and most of the media coverage, especially recently on his global tour, McCain is being ignored, or at least relegated to second-candidate status. McCain may want more attention, but being ignored, that is, not having his gaffes and inane policy positions prominently exposed, might just be the best thing for him.
So far, Obama has weathered the scrutiny extremely well. Still, it is time for a new narrative. How about one based on the truth?
No comments:
Post a Comment