[quote=eavesdropper]
Allan, I don’t have an issue with people like O’Donnell or Palin or Bachmann running for office, or even with the media affording them exposure. What I do object to is journalists treating them with kid gloves, and the manner in which they present them as serious, qualified candidates who are on the same level as their opponents. As far as I’m concerned, when I see journalists and media outlets justifying a candidate’s refusal to answer legitimate campaign-related questions, or going along with their Twitter-only communication policy, or not calling a candidate out on an obvious falsehood, or smoothing over a candidate’s lack of knowledge in matters relating to foreign policy and the U.S. economy, or explaining away statements that are just plain batshit in nature, they’re acting as the candidate’s public relations representative, not as journalists responsible for reporting the news.
[/quote]
Eaves: Let me turn this a little on its head, if I may.
You make a very valid point, but can we go a step further?
During the Obama Presidential campaign, he railed fervently against torture and the erosion of American civil liberties, specifically Gitmo and the two Patriot Acts. He also promised to close Gitmo and repeal the Patriot Acts. Clearly none of this has happened and, actually, we’ve seen a marked increase in various “sub rosa” activities, none of which bode well for privacy and civil liberties.
Shouldn’t this merit FAR more attention in the media than it does? It isn’t incorrect or inappropriate to point out that the MSM got positively dewy and moist over Obama during the campaign and much of that luster still remains. There really haven’t been hard questions on those programs and policies that continue to exert a very deleterious effect on American rights and liberties and it does beg the question: Why?
So, yes, your point about McDonnell et al is well taken, but what about the MSM and their nearly complete incuriosity about issues carrying far more weight than whether or not O’Donnell was a witch?