The good news for John McCain? He’s now receiving as much attention from the national media as his Democratic rival. The bad news? It’s overwhelmingly negative.
Just 14 percent of the stories about John McCain from the conventions through the final presidential debate were positive in tone, according to a study released today, while nearly 60 percent were negative—the least favorable coverage of any of the 4 candidates on the ticket.
This is not a shock to anyone not either currently in a coma or working for the news media. The real question is what outlets like The Politico intend to do about it. It’s all well and good to point out just how in the bag for one candidate you are, but it means nothing at all without some meaningful corrective action.
I also found this quote interesting.
“In many ways, the arc of the media narrative during this phase of the 2008 general election might best be described as a drama in which John McCain acted and Barack Obama reacted.”
I’d describe it a little bit differently. Here’s how I’ve seen the campaign work, at laest in the last few months: 1) John McCain brings up an issue; 2) The MSM scoffs at it or accuses him of racism/negative campaigning/fearmongering without examining the substance of the issue; 3) Barack Obama points to the MSM and says “Yeah! What those guys said!”.
Why on Earth would Obama want to do anything different given that he’s getting great downfield blocking and expends no effort to get it? We saw in his stunning admission to Joe Wurzelbacher what happens when he runs off-script and starts acting. Even then, the MSM leaped into action to dig into Wurzelbacher’s life as if he were the candidate and not just some guy who asked Obama a question.
The MSM does have a chance to make amends. Obama’s obvious socialism, his ridiculous proposal to cut the taxes of 95 percent of all Americans, his associations with people who are unabashed in their hatred for this country, and his long history with a group that is trying its damndest to destroy our electoral system are all subjects that remain largely unexplored by the national media. It’s not too late to put a few reporters on these stories. It’s not too late for the MSM to reclaim their raggedy reputations.
Tags: Barack Obama, Joe Wurzelbacher, John McCain, Media Bias, Racism, Socialism, Taxes
Don’t you think it is still a shock to McCain though?