Tag Archives: politics

Feb 18

Reinforcing what you already think

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Well said, Mr. Evanier. I’ve thought and said something similar myself, but nowhere near as elegantly:

I’m increasingly aware that a key selling point for that kind of programming [cable TV pundits] — and for talk radio and certain websites — is reinforcement. It’s like: Give us your business and we’ll endorse every political prejudice you have and shield you from facts that conflict, plus we’ll give you more reasons to hate the people you hate, even if we have to make them up. I don’t want that and if you don’t, good for you. There are way too many people out there, Liberal or Conservative, who do.

That being said, I don’t necessarily agree with his assessments of individual broadcasters; for me, but not for Evanier, Olbermann did drift too far into partisan reinforcement.

May 04

Opposing views

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This quote, according to Howard Kurtz, was from President Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night:

If you’re somebody who only reads the editorial page of the New York Times, try glancing at the page of the Wall Street Journal once in a while. If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post Web site. It may make your blood boil; your mind may not be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship. It is essential for our democracy.

Spot on. I have thought this, and tried to say it, many times, but I think this is the best phrasing of it I’ve seen.

Dec 15

‘I would undoubtedly make a huge mess’

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Tom Bodett, whom you may know from his Motel 6 commercials and whom I love as a panelist on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!”, has a gracious offer for Gov. Blagojevich:

… I would like to be the answer to your Senate appointment problems. I have a clean history — politically speaking. While I have absolutely no governing skills or experience, certainly that presents no obstacle to office in the Land of Lincoln. I also would undoubtedly make a huge mess of things, so the good people of Illinois would not have to go through any troubling change ….

Sep 28

A white shirt in the distance

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My sister-in-law went to see Barack Obama:

I didn’t really see Obama — I glimpsed a distant white shirt (as one fellow near me said, “You know how he always wears his shirt with his sleeves rolled up”). But I know why he wears that shirt; if he’d worn his dark suit jacket, I wouldn’t have been able to make him out at all. I could hear him though, and the crowd was congenial.

Sep 26

Preaching to the choir

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It’s the nature of presidential politics: unless there’s some major catastrophe, you’re always going to think that the candidate you were already supporting won the debate. Already, I’ve seen friends of mine from both sides cheerfully celebrating the fact that their candidate kicked the other candidate’s rear end.

I’m the same way; the candidate I already favored seemed to me to do the best job, which probably has more to do with my perception of him than any objective analysis.

The real question, of course, is whom the undecideds think won the debate, and did enough undecideds watch the debate to have any real impact?

I do have to admit that I turned away after the first hour. I mean, the fate of the free world is one thing, but I just had to watch “The Soup.”

Aug 21

Your source for all things political

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I don’t often get too political here, because I don’t want to do anything that would compromise my day job, but that doesn’t mean I can’t link to astute political commentary from my nephew:

The Little Guy looked at the picture: “One has white hair, and one has brown hair, and he has….” he had trouble describing Obama’s hair. He commented: “I bet he wears a top hat a lot.”

Feb 04

Frustration

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It’s frustrating sometimes to be a journalist. I have always tried not to wear my political heart on my sleeve because it would compromise things that I cover. And yet this time, as a voter, I really wish I could talk about for whom I am voting, and why. I can’t, but I wish I could.

(Actually, I should say for whom I have already voted. I’m at the courthouse so often that it only makes sense for me to early vote.)