The Election & The Media

I have been thinking about our next president quite a bit since the election, as I'm sure that many have, and I have a few things to say about the campaign(s) as well as a few related subjects. Obama wasn't who I voted for but I'm willing to reserve judgement on him until I see some results with him at the helm. As a side note, he has precious little experience in foreign affairs, in economic affiars, and he has no executive experience of any kind. He makes Sarah Palin look like a seasoned pro at being a chief executive. It is interesting, don't you think, given all the criticism that Palin got for being the governor of a state with such a low population or only being the governor for a few years? Palin was the subject of such focus from the media that was so busy making fun of her and burying her with ridicule that they didn't have the time to point out that Barack Obama had much more severe shortcomings in the same areas than she did - and he was running in the #1 slot. This brings me to my first point.

The media was(and is) in love, as a whole, with the thought of having Obama as president. Having a black man in the oval office was a story that was just too good to pass up and they found themselves just fawning all over him while at the same time portraying McCain as a cranky old guy who didn't know how to use a computer. The positive coverage was very one-sided. Nothing seemed to stick to Obama, nothing was ever really a problem. No matter what the controversy, it just seemed to go away.

Racism. Yes, it still occurs, as much as it pains me to admit it, but not always in the ways that people think. It has been estimated that between 94%-97% of voting black americans voted for Obama. Hmmmm....so, voting black americans all independently studied the issues, looked at the candidates and 97% of them came to the conclusion that the best man for the job was the same race as themselves? Put another way, would 97% of all caucasians voting for McCain have aroused any suspicions from the media? On the other hand, perhaps having a black man in office will restore some of the trust in the federal goverment that has been absent in the black community.

John McCain. A war hero that deserved better from the media. He served 5 1/2 years in the Hanoi Hilton, which, incidentaly, is longer than Obama has served in the Senate. McCain has been a U.S. Senator for 22 years. He is a recipient of the Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star. He has a much longer track record in service to his country than Obama. Obama's track record is in service to the democratic party.

I hope that Barack Obama turns out to be a good or(I hope) a great president. He could do a lot of good. I just wish that both candidates had been treated by the media with as much respect as he was.