The media picks the winners

By Weekly Archive On Feb 13, 2008

Super
Tuesday’s over, and there’s no absolute winner among either Democrats
or Republicans.

Nonetheless,
even though no one candidate has yet locked up their party’s
nomination, we might as well cancel the rest of the primaries or
caucuses. The media’s already decided that this year’s standard
bearers will be John McCain and Barack Obama.

Yes,
somewhere along the line, the role of the media has changed from
reporting on the primaries to deciding the primaries. They pick their
favorites, they give them preferential treatment, they tear down
their opponents, and they anoint their winning candidates even before
voters have a chance to go to the polls.

Step
one occurs early in the primary process, when network executives
decide which candidates get covered and which ones don’t. Among
Republicans, too bad for Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul, Tommy Thompson, Sam
Brownback and Duncan Hunter. Once the media suits decided they
weren’t serious candidates, they got no media attention, which, of
course, resulted in their never being taken seriously as candidates.

Among
Democrats, the same thing happened to Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel,
Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson — even though Biden, Dodd
and Richardson had more experience to offer, and more concrete ideas,
than either Clinton or Obama. Too bad. The media decided ahead of
time that their ideas weren’t worth being heard, and so they weren’t.

Step
two occurs once the field narrows, when members of the media fall in
love with their favorite candidates and start slobbering all over
them. Is there any doubt, for example, that everybody in the national
press corps is in love with John McCain? If you believe what you hear
and read in the media (always a dangerous proposition), McCain can do
no wrong and Romney can do no right.

No
doubt, McCain’s an attractive candidate. After interviewing him on
the Straight Talk Express in 2000, I became somewhat of a McCainiac
myself. He’s accessible, funny, and irreverent: all the qualities
reporters like in a candidate, which is why he gets a free ride from
his friends in the media, compared to Mitt Romney. Everybody knows
about Romney’s flip-flops, yet McCain has changed positions on tax
cuts, immigration, the Confederate flag, repeal of Roe v. Wade, and
the role of evangelicals in politics. Read about any of those in the
press? Of course not.

Barack
Obama gets the same worshipful treatment. We hear constantly about
how "liberal" Hillary Clinton is: too liberal, in fact, to
get elected. Yet Obama’s liberal credentials leave Clinton in the
dust. Unlike Clinton, for example, Obama favors granting driver’s
licenses to illegal immigrants. As reported by The Washington Times
alone, he also supports the decriminalization of marijuana. And the
National Journal named him 2007’s Most Liberal Senator. Who’s the
real liberal here?

That
same gentle treatment extends to the candidate’s spouse. Appearing on
ABC’s "Good Morning America," Michelle Obama was asked if
she could see herself working to support Sen. Clinton, if she ended
up getting the nomination. Her response: "I’d have to think
about that. I’d have to think about policies, her approach, her
tone."

Obama
went on to add: "You know, everyone in this party is going to
work hard for whoever the nominee is," but the operative phrase
remained her initial reaction: "I’d have to think about that."
Imagine if Clinton spouse Bill had expressed the same hesitation
about working to support Barack Obama. It would have led every
newscast. It would have made the front page of every newspaper. But
nary a peep was heard about Michelle Obama’s having, "to think
about it."

Now,
I believe Michelle Obama was only telling the truth: She’s not crazy
about Hillary Clinton, and she wouldn’t be in any hurry to run out
and campaign for any Hillary-led ticket. And I personally agree with
Barack Obama on driver’s licenses and decriminalization of pot. My
point is: as one who could very likely become the Democratic Party
nominee, Barack Obama and his wife deserve the same scrutiny — now
— that the media gives to every word, comment, or burp that escapes
the lips of Hillary Clinton and her husband. No more, no less.

All
I’m asking is that, for the rest of the campaign, the media treat
every candidate equally bad. That’s their job. And there’s a big
difference between their job and ours. To bend a phrase: "They
report. We decide."

Bill
Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a
new book, "How
the Republicans Stole Religion."
You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at billpressshow.com.
His email address is: bill@billpress.com. His Web site is:
www.billpress.com.