I don't do politics.
Wel, I do do politics, and Dawn brings up a point near and dear to my heart: the “horserace” mentality of our media’s election coverage. I cannot stand the coverage of these conventions. “What he needs to do to sway the base” and “she needs to get across party unity”… it’s all just a way for the networks to have something to day. How can you listen to a candidate or other politician make an impassioned 45 minute speech and then immediately begin commenting on how effective or ineffective it was? You just heard it. They’re still clapping. You might have some comment on the ideas that were presented, but you cannot possibly have an informed opinion of the effect on the party or the race. A speech doesn’t need commentary, it is commentary.
And Dawn brings up something else I recently read about: the false “tight” race we’re seeing in the media. An article I read a week or so ago on the Huffington Post discusses how there are several kinds of organizations who do polling, and only the news media polls show anything like a close race. It’s no secret if you’ve read this blog that I’m a democrat, but my problem here is not that Obama’s lead isn’t being well-publicized. My problem is the media forcing the perception that there is a close race when there’s not, just as they force the perception that all stories have two sides and both of those sides have merit. Of course some arguments have merit on both sides, but not all, and reporting the 1% opinion along with the 99% opinion as though they hold the same weight is just poor journalism. This article really goes into the motives behind this “tight race” mentality in the media. A very interesting read.
That doesn’t mean I don’t vote. It just means that since I don’t trust any politicians any more than your average used car salesman, I don’t listen to the sales pitches in disguise as speeches written by teams of speechwriters designed to sway your opinion to one side or the other.
I’m of the opinion we need people governing the country in ways that benefit the people who live in it and if possible, the people who live in all countries for that matter.
Shame they only offer us choices of people who are good at fundraising and winning elections when we get our ballots.
I see politics as an outsider.
This particular race is interesting so far because both sides seem to believe they are the clear winner and the other side is really screwing up.
Seems to be a large gap between most people’s perceptions and reality (which shows both candidates running pretty close together last I checked). I find that both fascinating, and worrysome at the same time.
I’ll get out and I’ll vote, and I’ll keep my decision to myself since we have a secret ballot in this country. I’m glad that my vote is no one’s business but my own.
