Thread: 2008: The Media's Election?

So I found this op-ed about how the media has ruined the electoral process in America. What do you guys think?

Rant Back! The Media’s 2008 Presidential Election « The WATCHWORD

Obama especially would have been finished by this point if it weren't for the media. But Americans are too dumb to see past the propaganda and think for themselves.

I think the media has a huge role, who can say otherwise. I think we have seen the media contribute to the rise and fall of several candidates.

Firstly, I will attempt to explain a theory I have. Not too hard to follow. America likes a winner. The media very early on supplants a favorite. This year our favorites were Hillary and Giuliani.

I think sports in our society can be a bit of a mirror on this psychology. If you see someone wearing a Niners jersey, you know they are either a real fan or stuck in the 80's. People want to be part of something, they want to feel good, and they want to win. This is why Reagan is so popular. He was a fairly liberal governor, and perhaps a poor president. He made people feel good though.

I think early on most people dismissed Obama, they thought Clinton had it so they did not look at Obama, he's picking up steam because people are now starting believe he can win, he is making people feel good. He has that Kennedy appeal of a hopeful future.

McCain was written off by the media pretty early, he was ignored initially. I clearly remember in August, pundits talking about whether or not he should throw in the towel. McCain has brand recognition going for him though. People do not want to admit this on these boards for some reason. Lots of people DO like Bush. Lot's of people think we should stay in Iraq and guess what? Lots of people want to win. I compare McCain to Nixon. He's running on a victory platform.

Ron Paul. He's just never going to get coverage in the media. As it turns out he's just as viable as Rudy. Ron Paul is to blunt, he does not engage in feel good politics so his message does not resonate on main stream America. The media has always marketed him as non-viable and that has a huge impact as well.

Mitt Romney. Early on the media just had to tell us how Mormon he was. I think it actually had a positive effect because it got his name out there.

Hillary. The New England Patriots of the elections. No doubt that Bill Clinton was popular and made people feel good. He was so popular that the country might elect his wife just to relive the Clinton years. Again lots of people on this board want to deny that many Americans really do feel this way.

Rudy is the media darling who blew it!! While the rest of the crowd were drawing headlines for campaign stops, the only news we got from poor Rudy was bad news. The perception too many Americans became that Rudy was simply out of it. We pull for a winner, remember? This perhaps false perception forced voters to write him off in the won state Rudy said was a lock.

It's very important to present yourself to the media as a winner. Had McCain not had the brand awareness thing, he'd be done. Then you have Ron Paul who continues to defy the media. One thing people need to remember is how wrong the media was in 2004. Remember it, they were polling a landslide for Kerry. Sometimes the people behave in contrast to the media.