How do you think the mainstream media is treating Dean?

[Cascadian]

Poll question: How do you think the mainstream media is treating Dean?

I am wondering how people feel how Howard Dean is being treated by the mainstream media? It seems to me in my opinion that they are setting him up to fail. I do not see an angry man as they want to portray him. I see a man with bountiful energy and charisma and yet I just cannot stand how the media has been treating him. Totally biased and cheap shots abound! That's just my opinion! Your turn!


John

[youngred]

1. you're missing some options

like well, and better than the other candidates

[Eric J in MN]

2. According to another thread, tonight Peggy Noonan said

According to another thread, tonight Peggy Noonan said, "Dean reminds women of ex-husbands they got a restraining order against" and Howard Fineman said "Dean is dangerous, like a wounded animal.

You call that being treated well?

[Cascadian]

3. This is what drives me crazy!

They all are trying to give this image of what Howard Dean isn't. That speech in Iowa was the best thing and the most encouraging thing to come out of a presidential candidate. I loved it when he howled. He was getting everybody "jacked up!" about the coming days. Dean has not lost anything. The way the press acted in Iowa, you would have thought that Kerry won the election. Total media insanity!


John

[Bucky]

13. Um, actually Kerry did just win an election

His praise was well earned. It was a classic come from behind victory. Dean had been pretty far up in the polls and he lost a lot of support over that last two weeks. Sure the attacks did some of the work, but Dean, in the end, presented himself as a big fat target for negative ads. And frankly, it was just a smidgen of a fraction of what Karl Rove would do to Dean. If Dean's support crumples this bad under moderate attacks, he won't be a good nominee.

I'm sorry that's the way it is. Dean's starting to really endear himself to me. But he's really making it easy on the oppo.

[Shanty Oilish]

4. Noonan

Usually I find her innocuous but this really irritates me. She should get informed about Dean's excellent progressive record in the domestic violence front. To make such a comment is a very mean-spirited poke in the eye.

[Cascadian]

7. It's all spin.

The media does the same damn thing that Rove does. Spin, spin, spin!



John

[Desertrose]

5. guess that depends on your view of Dean,

now doesn't it??

:shrug:

The video of him screaming out states names at the top of his lungs is not exactly a presidential image, you gotta admit that.

And once he becomes a candidate, that , for right or wrong, is how he is judged 24/7. Sucks but that is the way it is.
he may have played to his supporters but not to the rest of the voters...JMHO

Peace
DR

[Cascadian]

9. I wasn't phased by Dean's calling of the states

Like I said, he was just getting the crowd excited.


John

[youngred]

11. and then to list in succession

the states of all of his dem opponents?

[youngred]

8. OK

how about up until last night's theatrics?

I seem to remember column after column of Newsprint, cover after cover of magazine, hour after hour of TV and Radio and huge amounts of bandwidth all giving Dean very large amounts of very VERY good media coverage.

Only after Dean's caucus failure and excessive passion has the media begun to turn.

But do remember you're talking about Noonan and Fineman there...two appalingly conservative pundits

[Bucky]

10. But not all criticism is proof of media bias.They're sposed to be critical

I watched CNN with Wolf, Zahn, and Aaron whathisface tonight. There were a couple of comments made about the Democrats and Joe Klein said something critical about Dean. I don't remember the exact words he chose, but it was clearly in reference to Dean's overly energetic performance at his speech Monday night.

At first Klein tried to play it off, pointing out that Dean was just trying to pump up his troops after they took a hard loss. When Zahn pressed him a bit, he conceded that it was unseemly -- not Klein's exact words, but the implication was that Dean was not quite dignified in that moment.

Now is that slamming Dean? Well subjectively, I guess you could say that. But I saw Dean's display last night too. His intent clearly was to rally the supporters and yet the whole thing seemed pretty weird to me, not on an even keel. It was raw emotion, which is what got the Doctor where he is today, but it also lacked the ethos that most people are looking for in a leader.

Klein's assessment was negative, but not unfair. Dean looked unpresidential and silly. I still like him and if he's nominated I'll gladly vote for him. But you have to understand that a lot of people don't want someone quite so exciteable sitting with their finger on the big red button. If Dean were running for Chief Warlord of the Mongol hordes that pure display of passion and zeal would be a winning ticket. We'd storm that wall and show them Manchus what-for under his command, no doubt. But Dean's running for president and people for good reasons like their presidents just a little boring sometimes.

[Anwen]

6. Awful. Just awful.

I mean, Kerry and Edwards should have been the main story today with their suprising upset. But instead, all I saw were pundits mocking, laughing, scorning, ridiculing, belittling and demonizing Dean's post-caucus speech. SHEESH! Dean was right and the media just needs to "Get a life!"

[ThirdWheelLegend]

12. No vote... the huge disparity in media coverage for Dean helped

Helped Dean immensely. He was polling within a point or two of Kucinich before the media exposure for Dean erupted. Name recognition is a huge part of the process for uninformed and undecided voters.

Sure the media can try knocking him down, they had a hand in building him up.

:shrug:

TWL