Paying for the microphone
I only mentioned it obliquely, but about a week ago the corporate media amused itself by willfully misinterpreting some of Barack Obama’s statements about Iraq — at the behest of the McCain campaign as it tried to establish the traditional “flip-flopper” narrative about a Democratic presidential candidate. Â Scolded for this, the press responded by taunting Obama, saying it was his fault he couldn’t stop them from lying:
Two days ago, Senator Barack Obama said he had not been clear enough in explaining his Iraq policy. Today, there was a different rationale.
The confusion was not his fault, Mr. Obama said, but rather the media’s for seizing on three words he uttered in Fargo, N.D., when he suggested he would be open to “refine my policies†on Iraq.
“I was surprised by how finely calibrated every single word was measured,†he said, speaking to reporters as he flew here from Montana.
. . . Aides later conceded that Mr. Obama knows the office he seeks – the Oval Office – comes with a job description of calibrating and measuring every single word.
This tilted playing field, where Obama’s words get twisted and the press blames him for it, even as they give a pass to McCain’s gaffes, is going to be an ongoing factor in the fall campaign. Â But what’s a candidate to do when reporters essentially rub their double standard in his face?
Obviously, holding another press conference isn’t going to do much good.  So Obama’s gone a different route — offering a lengthy, exclusive interview to CNN yesterday, publishing an op-ed on Iraq in the New York Times the same day, and now announcing a major speech on the subject for tomorrow.
It’s all an effort to avoid having his positions run through the journalistic meatgrinder before they get to the public, stating his policies so clearly and loudly in so many forums that it drowns out the chatter of reporters and Republicans trying to obscure them.
I’m sure Obama will have to do this any number of times between now and November. Â But it’s good that his campaign already understands that if Barack wants to get his message out clearly, he’ll have to do it himself.
Stumble it!
Tags: 2008 US presidential election, media, Obama
July 14th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Let’s run this again:
Mr. Bush knew that the office he sought – the Oval Office – came with a job description of obfuscating, misrepresenting and mispronouncing every single word.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
To use Bushes own words……..Did I say That?…….I might of said that……..I never said that……..Did I say that?…….all in the same speech on the same subject. The correct statement is YES he said that.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:55 am
You have to wonder about the marching orders that these reporters have been receiving from their editors for the last three Presidential election cycles. This goes beyond mere institutional bias.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Bokonon,
Do you think these orders are issued after the nominees for both parties are determined? Now that you mention it, I wonder if the Main Stream Media played any concerted role in determining who the Democratic nominee would be.
September 8th, 2008 at 10:01 am
[...] will not only have to pay for his own microphone, but use it more forcefully and skillfully (or at least do so more consistently) than he has the [...]