Posted by
Andrews on Saturday, March 15, 2008 3:29:49 PM
I was writing about Obama's handling of the Wright affair and the media's handling of it, and it struck me again that control of the media may actually be the left's biggest problem.
I know it sounds counter-intuitive, that having the sycophantic support of all of the traditional media outlets would harm a political movement's interests, but it does.
Think for a moment about this Wright issue. If the press chose to bury it, and were there no alternative media to keep it alive, Obama could chose to sweep it under the rug, not deal with it at all, and, with the collusion of the MSM, this story would go away. Obama would then proceed to waltz to the nomination and enter the general election, confident he is destined for the presidency.
However, in hiding the story, or at least playing it down, the press actually is doing Obama no favors. Just because the press has failed to cover a story does not mean it has gone away. The facts are still there, the public would be just a troubled by them as ever, the story simply has not been brought to the attention of the public.
So, come general election time, that is precisely what his opponent will do. The press cannot refuse to cover the Republican candidate, no matter what their bias, so McCain will have every chance to bring up Wright and ask what it means that Obama associated with the man for two decades. Suddenly, the story that went away is front and center, and rather than losing the primary for Obama, it is now losing the general election for all Democrats.
Thus, by trying to help, the friendly press actually ends up hurting their favored party and favored candidates. Rather than allowing the primaries to get ugly, bringing up scandals when they can be settled inside the party, and weeding out those candidates who will lose the general election, the press gives Democrats a kid glove treatment, allows them to cover up problems, and permits losing candidates to secure the nomination.
It may actually be better for the left were they facing a confrontational press, rather than the friendly one they have now.
ADDENDUM
I know this idea is hardly original to me, but the Wright incident just provided a perfect example. If the MSM decide to turn the whole Wright denunciation into "unnews" (to coin a Newspeak word), it will set up a perfect issue for McCain to exploit should Obama secure the nomination.