Who will the media choose to be President?
It has been a while since I have found the time to write. I have been working on a few other projects outside of this blog, and therefore have been unable to write for months. I have decided however, that writing on this blog is an important outlet for me. This proved especially true today, when I found myself watching the Republican and Democratic debates on YouTube. I needed to blow off a little steam… and this blog popped into my head.
The media has decided that the so-called front runners should receive the majority of the questions, and should also be given greater opportunity to respond to comments made by others. The presidential election of 2008 is over a year away, and yet the media has taken it upon themselves to tell me that there are only three legitimate candidates per party that I should pay attention to. The Joe Bidens and Ron Pauls of the world are nothing but a distraction to the American public it seems. This is not only implied in the debates, but it is also articulated by every political analyst on every television network, as well as in newspapers.
The problem with this is simple - it’s anti-democratic. We are being given a lineup of candidates that have been screened by the media and than paraded out in front of us for selection, while those remaining become simple background noise; a distraction to the ‘true’ race. Given that media outlets are in the hands of a handful of corporate entities, we must assume that they are not acting in our interest. The American electoral process has been replaced by a corporate system; the voter is now the dollar, and success is measured by the bottom line.
I know what many think regarding this argument I am making. Most assume that the polling data, or perhaps the fundraising numbers define these candidates as frontrunner’s, and therefore the media is not at fault. The fact is however, that polling data nearly 10 months before the primaries is not relevant to the race, and that much of the polling data is unreliable given the amount of people who do not yet know about each candidate. Labeling certain candidates as frontrunner’s escalates that candidates voice, and therefore increases the appeal of that candidate to the American public.
Lets just hope that the electorate are able to see through this corporately manufactured smoke screen (made in China I am sure) and focus on each candidate as an individual, and as a policy maker. It will be difficult given the influence the media has over the American people.
A quick run-down of the 2008 presidential race.
It’s helpful every now and again to look ahead to important events. I figured I would provide a breakdown of the 2008 presidential race, given its growing influence in national politics. According to the New York Times this is how things look as of today:
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DEMOCRATS
OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
* Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware
* Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
* Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut
* John Edwards, former senator from North Carolina
* Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio
* Senator Barack Obama of Illinois
* Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa
ESTABLISHING EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES
* Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico
WIDELY MENTIONED
* Al Gore, former vice president; from Tennessee
* Gen. Wesley Clark, retired NATO commander; from Arkansas
OFFICIALLY NOT RUNNING
* Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
* Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana
* Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin
* Mark Warner, former governor of Virginia
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REPUBLICANS
OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
* Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas
* Representative Duncan Hunter of California
* Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts
ESTABLISHING EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES
* Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas
* Senator John McCain of Arizona
* Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York
* Tommy G. Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin
* James S. Gilmore III, former governor of Virginia
* Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado
* Representative Ron Paul of Texas
WIDELY MENTIONED
* Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
* Gov. George E. Pataki of New York
* Newt Gingrich, former House speaker from Georgia
OFFICIALLY NOT RUNNING
* Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee
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This race, both the primary’s and the national election is no doubt ‘wide open’ when compared to recent presidential races. There are several candidates on both sides of the aisle representing a variety of different views and opinions. I think that this race will prove to be one of the most interesting in a long time… and possibly one of the most important.