So what did happen in the news this last week? The first thing that comes to mind is the Clinton interview with Fox’s O’Reilly who promised to be fair and balanced. Although I did not get to hear the entire interview I did catch enough to know that it was a kid glove treatment if ever there was one. The next day Bill was defending the way the interview went so I am sure I am not the only one to think that he was soft on her. I know why, but really, why? One of her campaign promise points is that she is tough enough to do what it takes, so why would Bill feel like he had to back off the tough questions that we have all wanted to ask.
Oh sure, he said that he asked them and listening to the bit I heard he did ask some tough questions such as the why the promises to make New York better while in office actually made things worse, but he never pressed her to get an answer. In fact he asked some questions and went on to the next topic before she even had to come up with her take of events. She was actually pleased with the way things went if that tells you anything.
Of course Fox had to make sure this was a success as did Bill O’Reilly. They have scared off many politicians with their so called fair and balanced reporting which makes it hard to compete for news stories let alone those all important interviews. But if you alter your style to match that of all the others then what use are you? You have lost the thing that makes you unique among a world of cookie cutter platforms.
The other big story continues to be Obama and his ties to his minister. I wrote about this before when the story was about Romney and his religion in “Does religion matter in our politicians?”. I still think that the beliefs and standards of an individual do matter and that it helps define who the person is.
So should Obama be held responsible for the views and opinions of his minister? Of course not. He should be held responsible for his own views and opinions. When the story first broke my thoughts went to another story of a political figure at the local level. I was just a youngster of 17 or so but I was well enough aware that the mayor of our town (who also happened to be the vice principal of the local high school) would increase his attendance at church profoundly during election time. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the upcoming election I probably wouldn’t have known that he went to our church. That is why my first thoughts about Obama is that he was going to church mostly for political clout and his choice of church reflected his true desire. Whether it is true or not, I cannot say, but it does make me wonder.
As far as that is concerned, you don’t hear much about the Clintons and their choice of church. I have seen the occasional story of them attending but it usually seemed like they were more in search of attention than being spiritually fed. I don’t mean to make unrighteous judgments and hope that I am not but the appearances that comes across for the actions of most politicians is totally self centered and self serving. Hopefully with all of this exposure, some of it might just rub off.
So what is the one thing that I did take away from the interviews I have seen this last week, from Clinton’s talk with O’Reilly to Obama’s chat on meet the press to McCain’s press conferences? That none of the candidates are anywhere close to being ready to run a nation. None of them seem to have a very good grasp on domestic issues, economics of supply and demand, foreign affairs, or true cause and effect relationships. They represent exactly what we have seen coming out of congress for the past many decades. This means that we will continue to see short term knee jerk poll driven reactions to actual or created crises without regard to the true welfare for the future of our nation.
If there is one thing that politicians have learned it is that you can bend perceptions to their needs. They have used repetition and innuendo to create the illusion myths that we stumble on today. Cold hard facts are irrelevant if they can convince you to ‘feel’ that their vision is the way things are. They can and have changed the definition of words to meet their needs. (Has anyone seen a recession lately?) They have ended the contest before it is over and they have extended the contest beyond its end, just by playing word games with us.
So I will remain skeptical and continue to question the stories and their sources as they come. It often makes me wonder where some of the media’s stories come from and the timing for when they get reported especially when you know that the subject matter was known long before it was publicized. Always be looking for the truth of the matter because in the end it is the truth that matters.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
No comments:
Post a Comment