Shame on McCain

Sorry I missed posting yesterday. But I do want to take up the question of biased media coverage of the presidential campaign.

It has long been a staple of popular wisdom that the main stream media has "liberal" bias." This is true and false. Let me explain. I believe very strongly that if we were to poll the writers and broadcasters of the MSM, a clear majority would personally favor the election of Barrack Obama. This is a bias. Liberals would say this bias is present becuse the MSM is better informed on the issues and naturally comes to the conclusion that Obama is better candidate on issues and personally than John McCain. Conservatives would contend this bias comes from the backgrounds of their education and the favoritism which these liberals receive from their older liberal colleagues. So we say the MSM has a liberal PERSONAL bias.

But the real question is: Does this bias show up in the reporting and anlysis of these likely to be liberal media figures? My answer is "no." Why? Because of the attacks and the general impression that the MSM is liberal, that same media overcompensates in a conservative direction to show their objectivity. A survey has been released that shows that Obama gets overwhelming negative coverage. This has been very apparent in the last few days. Hours have been spent by the networks and reams devoted by the newspapers to the issue of Obama NOT visiting a military hospital in Germany. I believe all fair minded people would agree this has little to do with who would make a good president.

But here is how it works. The Republicans put out an TV commercial with the suggestion that Obama does not care about these wounded troops and shows his poor priorities. It is an extension of McCain's suggestion that Obama is not patriotic---'he(Obama) would lose a war to win an election.' Since the commercial is so extreme the MSM runs it again and again even though the McCain campaign pays to air the ad only a few times. The TV networks then ask a Republican and a Democrat to comment on the commercial. The Democrat says it is 'dishonorable'. The Republican says it is justtified and true.

All commentators of the MSM, even most conservative ones, get up their courage and timidly say the commercial is dishonest--making statements and juxaposing images dishonestly. And they are right. But their comments are strictly secondary to the commercial itself and the fighting between the Republican and Democrat surrogates. And McCain gets hundreds of thousands dollars of free 'air' time.

Aristotle once said 'The equality of unequals is inequality.' In the case of this McCain commercial and a couple of other of his, Aristotle was right. This 'wounded soldier' commercial is not just Republican Vs. Democrat. Not just McCain vs. Obama. It is honor vs. dishonor. And McCain should be ashamed.