Ted's Take

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.