Monday, November 03, 2003
The thing that is funny about the moment in the sun that Dick Gephardt is presently enjoying is that the media, although aware it is happening, apparently doesn't know why. I know why: it is because if there is no challenge to Dean, then there is no horse race to report on. I suppose there could be coverage about the stuff the candidates are saying, but that's pretty dull. It is more interesting to report on how the polls react when the candidates say something, particularly because such reporting also affects the polls. And then it looks like a horse race, and that is much more enjoyable to cover. The media abhors a vacuum (that's why it is called the "news hole"), and although the likelihood is that Dean has all the momentum he needs to cruise to the nomination, Gephardt is popular in Iowa, and will probably do well there. That's all the hook the press needs: we're off to the races! Regrettably, all this distorts the process; fosters cynicism; and diminishes the discussion of the real questions and issues that we, the electorate, should be talking about. Oh, well.
// posted by Bill @ 12:57 PM 
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