21 April 2008
Umbrage is the Theme
As Michael Kinsley said today on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show, the theme of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign is umbrage. The Obama failing that Tim Russert chose to take offense from was his not covering his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance (or National Anthem). Mr. Russert did not thereby lose his eligibility to host a network interview program. After all, news programs like his exist in symbiosis with the vicious primary candidate selection process.
That process doesn’t satisfy the real need of the Democratic Party: to nominate a candidate who can be most effective in November. Instead it and news programs like Meet the Press review the abilities of political hopefuls to pander to particular segments of the population, in this case those that already lean toward the Party’s policies. Mr. Russert’s taking umbrage at Mr. Obama’s standing with arms at his sides does a good job of offering a forum for pandering. That’s what he’s supposed to do, just like Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos did last week when focusing Obama’s debate with Hillary Clinton on the absence of a flag on his lapel.
It’s unreasonable to expect the media to correct the shortcomings of the Democratic nomination process. They are very effective in taking advantage of those shortcomings to generate viewership revenues. It is up to those of us who are concerned about how our country is governed (and that should be all of us) to insist that our system of selecting potential office holders reveals their real competencies and policy objectives rather than merely represent their appearances.
As Michael Kinsley said today on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show, the theme of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign is umbrage. The Obama failing that Tim Russert chose to take offense from was his not covering his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance (or National Anthem). Mr. Russert did not thereby lose his eligibility to host a network interview program. After all, news programs like his exist in symbiosis with the vicious primary candidate selection process.
That process doesn’t satisfy the real need of the Democratic Party: to nominate a candidate who can be most effective in November. Instead it and news programs like Meet the Press review the abilities of political hopefuls to pander to particular segments of the population, in this case those that already lean toward the Party’s policies. Mr. Russert’s taking umbrage at Mr. Obama’s standing with arms at his sides does a good job of offering a forum for pandering. That’s what he’s supposed to do, just like Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos did last week when focusing Obama’s debate with Hillary Clinton on the absence of a flag on his lapel.
It’s unreasonable to expect the media to correct the shortcomings of the Democratic nomination process. They are very effective in taking advantage of those shortcomings to generate viewership revenues. It is up to those of us who are concerned about how our country is governed (and that should be all of us) to insist that our system of selecting potential office holders reveals their real competencies and policy objectives rather than merely represent their appearances.
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