Progressive World Review

David Brooks column Friday argues that Barack Obama having once been a candidate of high ideals and principles has, in the end, descended into nothing more than just commonplace politics or as he puts it, “How Obama Fell to Earth.”  Brooks makes many points, some of which may even be valid but this post isn’t about Obama, it’s about the all too familiar themes the pundits and the media use to examine our leaders and would be leaders, and the excuses they use to defend their actions.  So in that light, I want to focus on one of Brook’s points in particular.

Then there are the cultural issues. Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News are taking a lot of heat for spending so much time asking about Jeremiah Wright and the “bitter” comments. But the fact is that voters want a president who basically shares their values and life experiences. Fairly or not, they look at symbols like Michael Dukakis in a tank, John Kerry’s windsurfing or John Edwards’s haircut as clues about shared values. (emphasis added)

Is this really true?  Are voters more concerned with haircuts and helmets than they are with the issues that actually affect their lives?  Too Sense provides the answer to that question in last Thursday’s post,

… Keep in mind those aren’t just “pressing” issues, in the sense that they are affecting all of our lives…those are the issue the voters have identified as important to them, according to Gallup’s poll in March, the top four issues being the Economy, Iraq, healthcare, and fuel prices. Soon to be joined by food prices, I’m sure. Has anyone seen how much it costs to buy cereal lately? Pretty soon they’re going to be selling Captain Crunch on the corner in vials. (emphasis original)

Not only has Gallup exposed the lie that it’s the shallow and stupid voters demanding endless coverage of all this personality based gossip, the fact that Obama has been gaining ground in Pennsylvania after more than a weeks coverage of his “bitter” remarks, demonstrates conclusively that voters are capable of putting this stuff into its proper perspective.  And what is Brooks talking about when he refers to voters wanting a president who shares their “life[‘s] experiences?”  What life experiences does Brooks think working Americans share with the likes of Bush, Cheney or McCain?

Brooks certainly isn’t alone here; if he was the only one spouting off these unsupported and condescending remarks about everyday Americans it wouldn’t be worth commenting on.  But the fact is, the vast majority of the media’s coverage of elections is either this same king of gossip, better suited to People Magazine, or they’re falling all over themselves trying to predict what voters are going to do before they do it.  Either of which have no use or place in our nation’s political discourse.

–Paul Wilden

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