It’s Their Fault

I’d probably work a bit longer on it, but you’ll get the gist…

I’d love to see Katie Couric analyze this one.

Tonight you will be hearing about our candidate’s many strengths, our party’s vision for America, and our plan to win this election. You’ll also be hearing some attacks: on the failure of the incumbent presidency, our opponent’s weaknesses, and the shortcomings of the other party. Today, I’m going to talk to you about something different, but equally if not more important.

Every one of you is touched by the my subject today, as you watch this speech on a TV network or when you read about it tomorrow morning. I’m talking about the media, once the bastion of our democracy, the Fourth Estate - and now something else altogether.

I’m going to read some questions asked of our candidates for the highest office in the land during the debates of the past few months:

“Raise your hand if you believe there is such a thing as a global war on terror.”

“Would you pledge to the American people that Iran would not build a nuclear bomb on your watch?”

They were also asked to explain pointless gaffes, meaningless associations; they were quizzed about flag pins, and asked to raise their hands in response to questions about killing Osama Bin Laden.

Now, looking at these questions, when you wonder why campaigns are run with such ignorance of real issues, with so much concentration on minutia, you can’t be surprised. These are the only points the media discusses. They mold their inquiries into presidential candidates to be as shallow as possible, to create moments they can air afterwards, and to create easy-to-remember sound bytes for their figureheads.

No president I want leading my country would be willing to seriously consider these questions, which demand a much more of a complex understanding of the World and the issues at hand than to be rewarded by a yes or no or show of hands. No American should be told by the media through their preoccupations that flag pins have more to do with selecting a president than policy.

There was a long-ago dream of journalism embodied by Edward R. Murrow that the press should relentlessly chase the truth and rise above canned messages. They should deliver not what those in power want you to hear, but what you need to hear. They should portray the election of the leader of the free World not as a horse race but as an open and honest discussion of the relative merits of each candidate.

Instead, the media tells the American people that the brazenness of attacks matters as much as the meat of policy. Instead, the media recycles talking points from both sides no matter how unfair or untrue they are. Instead, the media worries about “exoticness” as if this country hasn’t been defined by its very ability to rise above such petty differences. Because of this very brand of intellectual laziness, the media has allowed the most unqualified president in our nation’s history to be elected - twice.

The inevitable conclusion that I have come to is that the people who talk to you over the papers and airwaves today are not journalists at all. They are entertainers, strivers, and - perhaps most tellingly—employees of large corporations that have more than vested interests in the closeness of and the results of the elections they cover. It is to the point that these days I would trust a politician to tell me the truth more so than a reporter – if that doesn’t tell you something about where the American press is today I don’t know what will.

I may be the first politician to say this but thank goodness for blogs: at least they dig hard for the truth despite the fact that it is often portrayed in a partisan way. Maybe the mainstream media should stop blaming the inattention of the American people for its recent failings in the face of such new media, and start looking at how much the product they are delivering has deteriorated.

So what can we do about it?

Today, I want to ask you to take action against the mainstream press that disrespects every one of you by delivering watered down trivia, highlighting superficial controversies, and distracting you all from the substance - and the significance - of this race for the presidency.

Right now, this is what they think you want.

I know better. I know you desire and deserve more, and you can get more by writing the news outlets you follow, by turning off the TV when reporters aren’t doing their jobs, and by rewarding tough, independent, objective journalism if and when you find it. Just as I have the hope that together we can rise up and make this country a better place; I have the hope that we can rise up and make our calls for a more responsible media heard and obeyed.

Because let me be very clear. There is only one candidate in this election who has a realistic and fair vision for improving this country. There is only one candidate committed to effective, reasonable bipartisan governance. There is only one candidate who was taken real steps towards learning about this country’s problems and how to tackle them, and who has put together a plan that will rise above the partisan differences that the media has had such a strong hand in promoting.

All of you reporters out there, jotting your notes, getting ready to make your instant commentary on this speech, should be ashamed of yourselves for treating the campaign like this is not the case.