Since Dean Talked About Breaking Media Up

[liberalmike27]

They have gone into overdrive trying to trash him. The rhetoric was amazingly blatant before capturing Saddam today, but My mouth was hanging open in slack-jawed amazement today, as they reached new lows.

I've been aware for some time that they steer public opinion. Clearly, it isn't really a question of whether Dean is electable. The true issue is, the media doesn't want him elected any more than they want to continue covering the campaigns of Kucinich, Braun, and Sharpton. You see, they have carefully kept the issues these cats talk about off of the tube, going to great lengths to keep debate centered on matters that only concern the middle class, and the very rich. Kucinich, with his slap in Koppels face, spoils that for them, and Dean is threatening to do what is really needed, splitting them up, so we can actually have 10 news stations, not 10 shows, with the same right-wing bias, and news.

Clearly, it isn't them commenting on Deans chances, they are purposefully trying to destroy his chances, and make their commentary become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Who among you think Koppel was being fair asking for a display of hands in the debate from his competition on his electibility? The media doesn't comment, they steer. They want Bush, and a Democrat who will act just like Bush, as their just-in-case-Bush-loses candidate. Clearly Lieberman has been that, but we just aren't biting in large enough numbers.

Don't be steered away from Dean by their BS. There is no way they can possibly know how well Dean can do. He's simply the first to have organized his campaign in this way. We all know the power of the computer, don't we.

[Kahuna]

1. I don't see their trashing of him anything compared...

to what they did to Clark. However, I was hoping that they would use Dean as Al Gore's whipping surrogate (so that they could stop trashing Clark), now that Gore has endorsed him. :7

I'm not really seeing that yet. It's quite a quandry for them. Clark or Gore-Dean? Gore-Dean or Clark? Drat!

[AP]

2. They treat him like the de facto nominee, but they also criticize him now,

which they didn't do before.

A good example was a recent Mara Liasson story on NPR in which she was totally dismissive of every other candidate. Smack in the middle of the report, she played two quotes of Dean saying (1) that he never said SH was threat, and (2) saying that SH was a threat. There was a dramatic pause, as if the story were over, but then Liasson went right back to explaining how the other candidates were losers and acting like Dean's nomination were inevitable.

I see it as the media being totaly emboldened. They're not going to prop up Dean any more with praise that they think might help him win the GE (which became a risk after Labor and CBC congresspeople started endorsing him DESPITE his weaknesses on their issues). However, the media clearly thinks they can tear Dean down, and tear the others down and STILL get Dean the nomination. Liasson's story is evidence of this attitude.

[AP]

3. Incidentally, beware of this media strategy if Dean doesn't get nominated:

I GUARANTEE you that, if Dean doesn't get nominated, the media will desperately to try to use it to create a schism within the Democratic Party.