Posted by
Andrews on Monday, July 28, 2008 3:21:50 PM
I have recently read a few columns suggesting McCain needs to take what little time in the spotlight he gets during the convention and use it to highlight media bias. But I think that would be a mistake. Outside of paid ads, McCain will have very limited neutral or positive media time, and he should use it to build himself up, not attack Obama or the media. An attack would play into the image of McCain as cranky and angry. He needs to play the Reagan card and be positive and optimistic, to steal Obama's "change" thunder a little bit. And if he does it with some specifics, he will not only steal Obama's thunder, but show up how hollow Obama's platitudes are.
Even if McCain never mentions media bias, it is hardly going to go unnoticed. After the Obama love-in over the past few days, even left wing sites are beginning to question if the press isn't just a bit obsequious when it comes to the messiah from Chicago. And if the left is noticing, that may actually give permission for a few comedians to start broaching the subject. Of course, they will be pilloried by cranky Obama fanatics, but that actually works in McCain's favor. The humorless supporters of Obama just serve to make their candidate look worse, and coming down hard on comedians does nothing to improve their image.
But the main source of coverage about media bias will be the biased media itself. If one thing is true today it is that the media is both self-absorbed and self-obsessed. They believe that nothing is more important than news, and nothing is important unless the news covers it, and, as a corollary, they imagine there is no more interesting topic than how the news is covered. Think of how often you have heard the media navel-gazing and asking whether they cover something too much or not enough. And with Obama their new favorite topic, it is inevitable that they will begin more and more frequently to "address charges" that they are biased in favor of Obama.
Of course, they will certainly find that their coverage is fair and impartial, but that won't matter. People will have heard that even the press is asking whether they might be biased, and the people will draw their own conclusions. The press' self-serving exoneration will be meaningless, what will matter in the end is what people see, and they will see what is clearly there, a press which is simply in love with Obama.
So no need for McCain to even mention the topic, the press will raise and dismiss the charges themselves. He should instead take the high road, stick to concrete, positive proposals, mixed with big, upbeat messages. Leave the criticism of the press to the press itself, and leave the generalities to Obama. Be positive, present a big picture, but fill in the details, and he will have no problem taking Obama.
POSTSCRIPT
I have mentioned it several times before, but I feel I need to mention it one last time. Press coverage gives the impression Obama is enjoying mass appeal, but the numbers tell a different story. Obama is not even enjoying the full support of his own party, much less the independents or cross-over voters. He is a niche candidate with good PR. Basically, he is a photogenic mixed-race McGovern or Carter. He has a solid left voting record, limited experience, and, when he does present a concrete proposal, it is inevitably
more of the same from the far left wing of the Democrat Party.
Worse for him, his base contains a large percentage of college age voters, who, though they puff up poll numbers and provide volunteers, and maybe even some money, very rarely vote in significant numbers, so his poll numbers may actually be still too optimistic as well.