Journalists Are Not Asking the Right Questions
Mike Hashimoto, in The Dallas Morning News Opinion blog, excitedly passes on "the most insightful piece of political commentary I've seen in weeks, if not ever." What could it possibly be? Edward Wasserman's contention that journalists are not asking the right questions regarding political campaigns. Journalists endlessly speculate on voters' perceptions of race (Obama), gender (Clinton) and religion (Huckabee, Romney) when they should focus on the issues.
Why Hashimoto thinks this observation is novel is unexplained. Thomas Dewey was mocked for looking like the little groom on top of wedding cakes. Richard Nixon lost his debate with JFK because of his five o'clock shadow. JFK himself had to battle religious discrimination. Bush beat Gore because Bush was portrayed as a regular guy and Gore the class nerd. Elections have always been more American Idol than College Bowl. 2008 is no different. In 2008, gender, race and religion are the easy, superficial hooks that fill papers and air time and draw eyeballs. That's why the media focuses on them.
Ironically, Hashimoto falls right in line, giving us yet another analysis of gender, race and religion instead of the issues the matter. That's because Hashimoto knows he is a journalist and a journalist's job is to sell papers. Quit your day job, Hash, and become a fulltime blogger, and you'll have the time to do what you say journalists should be doing, instead of just whining that they aren't.
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