I live in Washington, DC. I work in the media and entertainment industries. I chum around with people that are obsessed with politics. And many are just floored that the presidential election seems to be so tight with a neck and neck race between McCain and Obama shaping up. Just look at the most recent polls. I, on the other hand, am not surprised at all with the most recent poll findings and snapshot of voter intentions.
Many of my friends don’t get it. And that is because they are as disconnected to the real world as am I. I am sad to say. The real world is broad and evenly split between liberals and conservatives and each state is local and has its own needs and its own tastes and its own set of deliverables that it is looking for in a President. The silent majority plays it pretty straight. It is the guts of our country and populace. The fight will be hand to hand combat in a few key states. The fight won’t be what the media elite want. It will be decided by organizations in the field that can turn out the vote and can activate the most undecided voters to vote for a particular candidate. Same as it ever was in a presidential election in the modern era. One little state voting for one candidate can make all of the difference in a Presidential race and those states tend NOT to be media capitals of the industry.
Many people want change. Many like the status quo. Many want a real election and debate and would not offer up a clear path to the White House to any candidate without real scrutiny and work. They are contrarians.
I have no deep party affiliations and you will never really know who I will vote for. I tend to financially support many candidates because I believe in the process and as I get to know candidates, sometimes I come to really believe in them personally. But I also believe that you never talk about “God, sex and politics” in a public forum.
One thing I am coming around to though is this: The general populace does not like mainstream media. If mainstream media supports a candidate, it can actually work out to have a reverse effect. Hence the more the mainstream media appoints Obama to be President, the less likely he is to be voted in. The more they make Obama look like the President today, the more they make McCain look like the attacker brand, the true agent of change. It is very ironic, isn’t it?
If my friends in the mainstream media really want Obama to win they should lay off because right now I see the MSM hurting their own candidate by fawning over him. America wants a fair race and doesn’t trust politicians and doesn’t trust media as well. The mainstream media must allow the process to play out. Let the organization with the best process and the candidate with the best message win out naturally. They need to trust Americans to make the right choice on their own.
Ted, I love love love this post.
You completely summed up my opinions on this.
In my (former) home country I worked for Canwest (One of 3 Privately owned free-to-air TV Networks which also owned the majority of commercial radio stations). Editorial staff had a close affiliation with the left, it’s just the way it is. So coming up to every election they would run a smear campaign against their own party (supporting the opposition right-wing party) basically declaring the right as the presumptive winners of the next election.
But about 2 months out from the election they would take a huge swing at the opposition, usually releasing leaked tape recordings or the like (condemning the right-wing opposition).
The current left-wing government has been in power since ’99 and I don’t see them leaving office anytime soon.
Odd that American media outlets have never managed to pick up on this (There seems to be a similar effect in the UK also).
Is the Fox “News” channel MSM? Fox is a round the clock right wing machine that churns out pro-McCain/anti-Obama propoganda. They had a big hand in inventing and promoting the idea that Obama is being annointed by the “liberal” media, which the “liberal” media chanted back. “Liberal” media outlets such as CNN and the New York Times (labled by all knowing Fox)would be better described as increasingly ineffective and irrelevant than liberal). Is Rush Limbaugh and his imitators MSM? They are extreme conservatives who echo and feed Fox and rule the radio media. Facts are becoming an endangered species across all media originating in the US and internet disinformation campaigns are rampant. All people of all political points of view should follow “let the buyer beware” philosophy before buying into any new fad “news”. Researching for facts about our complicated and ever changing world is much much more difficult than simply turning to websites, newspapers, tv and radio and skimming the headlines for the latest opinions and gossip, but with the challenges we ALL face as Americans and members of the whole human family we have a responsibility to do so. Hey-just one mans biased opinion…
Oh man- Question. if the media wants obama so much why do they keep questioning his every word while John mcCain skates on everything. Intersting how your underlying beliefs drive your commentary.
Yep, I’m soo sick of watching cnn, time magazine, the new york post and other left wing liberal media annoint obama the next president. I’d love to see him get grilled by O’Reily or someone ask him some difficult questions – just ONCE!
Everyone is screaming for CHANGE! News flash, if you vote Obama, McCain , or not at all, you will get CHANGE! Bush is done. The question is what change means, as the word CHANGE is not a noun, it’s not a thing, it’s an action. Actions have consequences. Make sure you know what your changing to.