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Is anyone else sick of spin?
By Lauren | April 23, 2008
And they’re off! … Since the Presidential primary season started lo these many weary months ago, I’ve amused myself now and then with the image of the various candidates, all decked out in business suits and expensive shoes, lumbering and puffing around a racetrack as the national press runs a steady commentary on who’s in front, who’s lagging behind, and who seems to be stumbling with a key demographic group. Over time, however, the joke has worn thin and I’ve grown increasingly concerned about how this election is being reported.
This is the first time in many, many years that the primary season has lagged on so long without a clear frontrunner emerging (or already in place) on each side. In some ways, it’s a great situation – voters in states like Pennsylvania and Indiana are probably thrilled to have a meaningful say in who the next Democratic nominee will be, and for their sakes I almost wish the Republican contest hadn’t yet come to a presumptive close so they could weigh in on that one, too. Note that I said “almost” – and here’s why.
This election offers the press an almost unprecedented opportunity to educate voters on what the candidates actually believe. With so many months to study the candidates’ backgrounds, analyze their position papers, review their voting records and ask pointed questions, the press should have had ample opportunity to make sure that American voters really understand who these would-be Presidents are, what they believe, how they’ve voted in the past, and how they’re likely to behave if elevated to the Oval Office.
Instead, we’ve been treated to an onslaught of horse race reporting: who’s first, who’s second, who stumbled over an unfortunate statement or past association, whose spouse is better-dressed or better-behaved, and so forth. If the winner of this election was just going to stand in a circle of flashing cameras bedecked in a horseshoe of roses (now there’s an image for you), I wouldn’t care. But at a time when the vast majority of Americans on both sides of the political aisle think things really aren’t going anywhere near as well as they should, voters need to know the real facts about the candidates, and not just the spin.
Despite what readers might surmise from some of my posts, I have tremendous admiration for the press. Their freedom is essential to ours, and there have been countless times in American history when political and corporate corruption have been successfully challenged by courageous reporters. It’s precisely because I believe our nation depends so much on journalists’ intelligent, thoughtful and ethical exercise of their freedoms and privileges that I am so disappointed now. We’re counting on you, folks, and I know you can do better.
Tomorrow morning we’ll wake up to a cascade of stories about today’s primary in Pennsylvania. I would challenge the press to talk less about who’s running in which position, and more about how all the remaining candidates’ positions and opinions are likely to shape the future of our country. The Presidency isn’t the Kentucky Derby. It’s not about how a candidate runs from day to day, but how the elected President is likely to serve.
Topics: Business Ethics, corporate responsibility |
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I agree. I think the media’s major problem is that so many candidates have dropped out. Now the media wants to keep people interested enough to vote (since so many people don’t even care), but at the same time, they’ve run out of material. Clinton and Obama’s policies are so close in essence that there’s not much more in the last 15 months that hasn’t been discussed. I think the smart thing would be to just not make the race the absolute center of everything.