It is a sign of how far the mainstream media has shifted
away from the substance of contemporary political debates to the “style” when
commentators for The Washington Post
bemoan this very phenomenon.[1]
That is, a commentator for one of America’s most well known news outlets is
essentially saying, “we don’t focus on political substance as much as we
should.”
And indeed, they don’t. After the vice presidential debate,
one of the most talked about aspects was “Joe Biden’s smirk” (WTF!?).[2]
Yes, his smirk, a smirk that apparently sent chills down the spins of Romney
partisans as much as it warmed the hearts of the Democratic Party faithful.
Perhaps the focus on Mr. Biden’s smirk or Paul Ryan’s constant
eye-popping moments wouldn’t be so outrageous if the commentary following the
debate focused more on the actual substance of what was said.
All in all, however, it seemed as though both mainstream and
online news outlets were content with exploring the expressions of the
different candidates and how these could shape the future of the presidential
election.
Here’s a wakeup call to these news outlets: policy matters!
Policy matters so much that the Romney ticket’s aversion to spelling out its
own tax-cutting policy specifics should send up a huge red flag for anyone in
the country who is thinking about voting. It should also be the topic of
discussion among every decent news outlet in America.
To say you’re going to cut marginal tax rates by 20 percent while
significantly reducing our country’s debt is a mighty bold claim. It is even
bolder when there is no plan describing how this mighty feat will be
accomplished. It should be the responsibility of every news outlet across the
country to dig deeper for these answers.
But for everyone but the Romney partisans, it’s clear how
this economic miracle will be pulled off, by further eroding the economic position
of America’s middle class, a class of American’s that Romney apparently thinks
are largely government subsidized freeloaders.[3]
Thus, in their aversion to substance, the mainstream news
outlets in particular are assisting a presidential candidate who not only holds
egregious policy positions, he also holds almost half of America as outside of
his sphere of concern.
Here’s to a brave new world, indeed.
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