How is it that we let the media have so much say in what we think?
Ever since last Sunday, when the Iowa caucus took place, there’s been something about Howard Dean “losing control”. I’d never heard of this guy until late summer or early fall. It turns out that he is a doctor, the former governor of Vermont and he’s running for President. I’ve been to his online website several times and was interested in learning more about him.
When I first read the headlines about his speech in Iowa, I expected I’d see a cursing, ranting Dean in video clips. He would be insulting the voters and the other candidates. It must be something horrible, I thought, for the media to be saying that he might have sunk his campaign.
So imagine my surprise when I finally see the clips from the speech … and I wonder what on earth the media is talking about.
I saw a very upbeat Howard Dean speaking loudly to his supporters. He was smiling, not angry, and his voice was hoarse and maybe he shouted. So what? It was noisy in the room. I could hear his supporters cheering and yelling in the background. Anyway, there was no cursing nor name-calling. All he did was say he wasn’t going to give up, not in Iowa or South Carolina or this state or that state.
So what is the big hairy deal?
The media’s been making much out of all of this. Dean’s been backpedaling all over the place since the talk show comedians have been poking fun at him. It’s like once David Letterman or Jay Leno turn on ya, your career is over. If anything makes him look bad, it’s that – saying things like he’ll tone it down from now on. Why should he? For the media?
I think he is reacting because the numbers are beginning to show more support for John Kerry (who won the Iowa caucus). It sure looks like people are being swayed by the media and it makes me feel disgusted. What sheep! baaa-baaa, tell us who to vote for, baaa-baaa!
This is not the first time the media has come down on someone like a duck on a junebug. Senator Edmund Muskie had to drop out of the presidential race in 1972 because of some dirty trick the Nixon campaign played on him. He was defending his wife during a press conference and broke down in tears. The media made such a big deal out of it, Muskie was forced to quit his campaign. I think the implication was that Muskie was a “crybaby” and who wants someone like that for president?
I can think of a whole lot of other examples where the media influenced people’s opinions but I think I’d just be saying the same thing over and over. The sad thing about all this is that it seems to me that voters aren’t thinking with their brains. When a trend is established, it’s like no one thinks to break free. Oh, I might as well vote for him/her since it seems like that’s what everyone else is doing.
What a way for a candidate to win an election. :P
Today’s article about what happened, written by someone I finally agree with is here:
I say … and you think … ?