A Little Tip From The Tabloids
There are a few rumors circulating that the POTUS might not be in the best of mental health. I don’t know about the man himself, but I’ve had my doubts about a couple of the commentors who have been hitting some of my early postings on Dubya lately.
I was getting a little bit worried that I might be paranoid, myself, lately. After all, I just spent the last week watching the Democratic Convention, and some of the comments others made had me wondering if they were watching a different convention than I was. I have to say that it was a relief to find out that I’m not crazy. They were watching a different convention than I had tuned in to.
See, ever since the ‘94 election, I’ve made a habit of watching the conventions (yes, I watch both) on C-SPAN. I do this because I like to see and hear everything that goes on at the convention, while the networks like to pick what they consider to be the highlights. It’s a habit, I guess – I like to get the whole story, analyze for myself, and make my own decisions.
When you allow somebody else to pick the highlights, nasty things happen. A good example is what John Stewart pointed out about the networks’ (and the cable news channels’) coverage of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s speech at the convention this past week. Sharpton delivered an impassioned, powerful speech that got the delegates out of their seats, cheering and roaring for over twenty minutes. I had a chance to see the entire speech, and I have to say that I felt it was a classic – a firm rebuttal of Bush’s condescending speech delivered to the Urban League just a little over a week ago. Sharpton did not mince words and he was not subtle – he had a point to make, and he made certain that everybody know what it was.
Six minutes into Sharpton’s twenty-three minute speech (delivered completely without notes or teleprompter), all major channels covering the event cut away to their analysts who promptly began analyzing Sharpton’s speech. That would be the speech he had just delivered one quarter of and which was still going on in the background. Some analysts went straight to the talking points – he’s bashing Bush, he’s not saying anything new, he’s not exciting anybody (as the crowd in the background leaps to their feet in thunderous applause for the fourth time), and the Democrats won’t win. Others simply pointed at Sharpton and laughed, talking about how ridiculous it was to watch somebody getting so worked up on stage.
I walked away from watching the speech feeling that I had just seen one of the most powerful political speeches that will ever be delivered in my lifetime – a speech delivered by somebody who truly understands the meaning of civil rights and the struggles faced to receive them, and somebody who will not be talked down to by a President seeking to rob votes from the Democratic party.
People who watched other networks, however, walked away with the idea that Sharpton was an insane blowhard who just wanted to call the President names.
Similarly, Kerry’s speech on Friday night was a thing of wonder. Loose and human, far from the wooden charicature people have had burned into their mind, Kerry stood up on that stage and showed himself to be a strong contender with strength of will, a keen intellect, and an boundless passion for public service. At the six-minute mark, Kerry had already worked himself into a sweat – and he wasn’t even close to finished. By the end of the speech, I felt like all of the other Democrats in the hall. I knew – this man can win, and he deserves to win.
The next morning, CNN asked people to tell them what they thought of Kerry’s speech.
“Wooden,” they called him, referring to his “passionless” speech. They blasted him for “offering nothing new,” “bashing Bush,” and “not having any clear ideas for the future.”
It was at this point that I realized the truth. When you have pundits sitting around a table to break in on major speeches and begin delivering interpretations, when you have producers deciding what the “highlights” are, when you have commentators like Bill O’Reilly providing their “no-spin” reports, and when you’re constantly cutting to the Republican “Rapid Response Team,” you have just been spun. And you don’t know what the news is, any more. You just know what the nice folks in their new suits tell you.
Still not sure?