McCain & the Media

John Aravosis at Americablog writes:

I'm sorry to say but you slow down in your 70s. You start confusing things, forgetting things. Just because the media thinks he's a nice man doesn't mean old age isn't kicking in. This isn't the first time he's confused an issue recently. He's getting old.

I've been thinking about this. McCain is constantly flip-flopping on issues, getting confused about what he believes, mixing up Sunnis and Shiites, and straight-up lying about things he once said or did. Yet the press rarely if ever calls him on it.

Now why would the press do this? After all, McCain is running for the most important job on each. You'd expect a vigorous press to ensure that he is honest, intelligent, and mentally stable. The guy is 71 years old, so they should also make sure that he's not going senile. (And if you think I'm being unfair here, go watch some video clips of McCain on the campaign trail in 2000 and compare that to clips of him today. He's not the same guy.)

There are a few explanations. The first is that the press fell in love with McCain sometime during the 1990s, and St. McCain can do no wrong. So no matter what he says or does, it doesn't matter because he is an honorable, experienced straight talking maverick war hero. Anything that conflicts with that image must be a mistake, or a momentary lapse, or a misunderstanding. I've read plenty of op-eds by columnists explaining that McCain's total cave-ins on torture, taxes, and the deficit are mere political posturing. He doesn't really mean it.

It may also be that McCain is a Republican, and the press loves them some Republicans. A Democrat can't get away with anything, even something fabricated out of thin air by political opponents (think Gore 2000 and Kerry 2004). But a Republican is Strong and Wise and Must Be Respected because they are Men of the People. Anyone who has followed politics for the past 20 years knows what I'm talking about. Liberal bloggers even have a saying -- It's Okay If You're A Republican (IOKIYAR). This explains why GOP congressman Darrell Issa could call 9/11 a mere "plane crash" and receive almost no flak for it. And let's not forget GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt calling war veteran John Murtha a coward. Somehow she's still in office today. There are countless other examples.

But I think one of the most acute reasons is this: for the past eight years, the press has made it their job to cover up for President George W. Bush's moronic mistatements, lies, Bushisms, incoherent ramblings, and total ignorance of policy. Here we have one of the dumbest people on Earth as president, and the press has made it their job to make him sound smarter and stronger and more honest than he really is. If Bush says something that sounds wrong, ill-informed, or just plain stupid, the press will mercifully report what he "meant" to say. That's why Fahrenheit 9/11 was such a shock to so many people -- they got to see Bush unfiltered, and it was disturbing. So when the press covers Bush's heir apparent, John Sidney McCain III, they continue their habit of covering up his lack of intelligence and truthfulness. It's just the way they've been doing things for the past eight years, why should they change now?

I guess you could call it the "soft bigotry of low expectations". But whatever it is, it's not good for the country. In a just world McCain wouldn't get more than 30% of the vote. He is mentally and physically unfit for the job.