It was bad enough that MSNBC had the Associated Press Story front-paged yesterday. (It's now on the politics page there). But today in its usual Johhny-come-lately fashion, the Roanoke Times (Print Edition) gives us the same story on page one, above the fold, as if it is front page news. What has my dander up, you ask? The headline reads "Hanoi Hilton Jailer Says He'd Vote for McCain." Take a look. The jailer is not a US citizen and cannot vote in our elections. But never mind. There was a McCain-adoring press point to score.If we could know the genealogy of this story, we'd probably learn it originated in a McCain press release. And yet the fawning, McCain-adoring media think this is news, front page news even.
Keep in mind that the very same Roanoke Times, which now thinks that one irrelevant person's opinion should drive US political decisions, failed to front-page Obama's many wins. When he won the bulk of primaries on the same day, next-day coverage back-paged this real news.
After another set of primaries, with Obama winning most of them, including our own in Virginia, the good old RT ran with a photo of Bill Clinton at Virginia Tech on the front page. You'd have thought that Hillary, rather than Obama, won. And just to cover itself, while NOT covering the news, the RT placed a story again on the back pages, where few would notice. Finally, when Obama sealed the nomination, the RT treated him as front-page news in his own right. But not so much.
Since the primary season ended, however, we get little about Obama, except as through the lense of McCain with McCain and GOP framing of Obama. But we get much about McCain; and of course, the gratuitous stories about the "rift" between Hillary supporters and Obama, which actually was (to the extent that it was true) birthed and fed by the media themselves. Case in point, the vicious-tongued Chris Matthews of MSNBC, who was once, long ago, a Democrat and now sounds more like the FOX wolves).
Polls show that overwhelmingly, these same voters will support Obama, but there's conflict to be sewn (again). In the sexist and racist coverage of the recent primary, multiple media, especially televised "news" pushed every conceivable button to drive Clinton and Obama supporters apart. The media giveth and the media taketh away. It's as if the media salivate, "Now that Hillary's campaign is dismantled it's on to destroy Barack Obama." Hillary did help destroy her own campaign to a point. But I would be negligent not including the media role in its generally anti-Democrats coverage.
By contrast, the McCain adoring society that is the so-called media fails at nearly every turn to deliver what is known about leadership. There is absolutely nothing about civilian leadership that transfers from McCain's experience at "Hanoi Hilton" some forty years ago. On the other hand, McCain has failed at grasping how the Bush agenda has harmed America. He supported Bush 95% of the time last year and about 100% of the time this year. Bush and McCain are wrong for America.
Additionally, McCain has failed on many variables related to leading this country: Judgment, Sound Decision Making, Integrity (e.g., his place among the infamous Keeting Five; his lobbyist-rich campaign staff; his conflict of interest in his own tax cut for the rich scheme; his violation of campaign finance laws; and his repeated claims to sponsor or support so-called "Maverick" legislation while underhandedly subverting the same legislation,even gutting it).
McCain's temperament is also an issue. Before he became the nominee, even other Republicans weighed in on their fear of his temper. But notice the whitewash of the subject by WAPO in 1999 here. More recently, this spring WAPO weighed in again on the subject of McCain's temper here. More comprehensive than the 1999 piece, this article does include some of the more troubling material about McCain's anger management, or lack thereof. Note Thad Cochran's comment that the thought of McCain in the Oval Office "sends a cold chill down my spine." "Notice, however, that there's a long section attempting to dismiss the subject here too ("Everyone has a Temper"). John McCain has a hair-trigger temper, jokes about bombing Iran, and generally intimidates those who get in his way. And yet the media try to pump up his supposed "softer side."
McCain clearly does not even grasp what this country is supposed to be about, as evidenced by his statement that he'd kick moveon.org our of the country. This puts Mccain far to the right of George W. Bush. Moveon.org is 3 million Democrats who supported Bill Clinton against impeachment, as did at least 60% of Americans; Al Gore for president; and opposed the war, which was based on administration fraud). And John McCain comes down against the truth-tellers and for the dissemblers--no straight talk there.
Time and again, McCain has jumped on the neo-McCarthyism bandwagon in clear illustration that he'd be an autocrat, not a transformational leader of our republic. His frequent suggestions that supporting an end to the war is appeasement would be laughable if it weren't so tragic. Where are the media?
Meanwhile, I keep waiting for the so-called liberal media to stop fanning the Freeper-driven viral emails attacking Obama. For the most part, no such luck. Finally, though, WAPO addressed this subject yesterday here.
Did the RT elect to cover that story? Nah.
Also yesterday, the RT carried two letters singing McCain's praises and none doing so for Obama. Tell us how you really feel, RT. It will pass along letters full of deceptions about Obama (or ones ripe with spin of inaccurate pro-McCain nonsense). Enough is enough.
Please join me in writing to:
MSNBC:
Steve.Capus@nbc.com
Letters@msnbc.com
The Roanoke Times
letters@roanoke.com
Also, sign on to Media Matters and become part of the solution. Media Matters has a whole sector dedicated to fighting the mess at MSNBC here.
The whole story is absolute garbage and is not worth the paper it's printed on, or even the electrons that portray it. But pro-McCain? Hardly. I'll give McCain the Viet Cong vote.
So, one must conclude, it's (very) thinly disguised promo. And in the context that "McC can do (almost) no wrong," as the media want us to believe, it is just not negative.
Did you notice the recent spray painting of cars in Orlando, with racist remarks, and the care taken to attack both Obama and McCain, while pretending to praise Hillary? I am reasonably certain this has been done in an effort to divide Clinton supporters from Obama, and the attack on McCain is a red herring.
But the rest of Mccamy's article is so well documented, I highly recommend it. Over the recent months, Taylor has also carefully documented how the press, especially papers like WAPO, have nursed, and even given rise to, many of the tensions between Clinton and Obama camps.
Take a look and judge for yourself. There are several really good journalists at DU (McCamy Taylor, Nance Greggs Rants, Madfloridian, Dave Swanson. Later, I'll review these and some others. DU is a bit of a rocky ride sometimes. And kinda like a family brawl once in a while. But I stick mostly to the journals like those above (and the news and video updates).