Showing posts with label Romney/Ryan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romney/Ryan. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Beware of the Mainstream Media

A recent outburst by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews was a near classic example of how some members of the media are so over the moon about Obama that it serves as a reminder that their long knives are out for the Romney-Ryan ticket.


Matthews’ man-crush on Obama is blatant, but I do take some heart from a recent Newsweek cover and article that tore Obama to shreds with facts and figures. It was so unusual, given the usual news magazine adoration accorded Obama that I found it odd, though welcome.

Much depends, of course, on the coverage that will be given by the network news channels, ABC, NBC, CBS, and we should include PBS as well. From my observation, only C-SPAN makes a good faith effort to provide balanced coverage of both parties and political viewpoints.

And, of course, there’s Fox News. “Fair, balanced and unafraid” is their motto, but Fox has been afraid to get anywhere close to the issues involving Obama’s blatantly false birth certificate, the fact that his closest advisors in the White House are committed Marxists, along with his long association with friends who fit that description such as Bill Ayers.

Moreover, Fox has liberal commentators such as Juan Williams on staff and invites liberals to share their views on air as well. That said, its conservative tilt makes it about the only TV news channel a conservative can watch without wanting to throw up
.
Matthews became incensed with GOP Chairman Reince Priebus during a recent discussion prior to the convention, riding his hobby horse that any criticism of Obama is racist. This charge is used to inoculate Obama against a reasoned examination of his policies, all of which have brought the nation to the brink of financial collapse, along with massive unemployment and other ills. In the area of foreign affairs, he has thoroughly weakened America’s capacity to influence the world.



Dissatisfaction with Obama Isn't Enough


"Throw the bums out," the vernacular for incumbent fatigue, is the emotional response to the analytical dissatisfaction with the status quo.  Yet a bum can survive if a challenger can't promise a compelling vision of the new order.
Obama understands how this calculus of organization change applies to his re-election.  He knows that this election is a referendum on his record, his stewardship of the resources under his command, and how well he mitigated inherited messes.  Obama has been a failure on all three counts.  No, he has been spectacularly dreadful -- his record, stewardship, and mitigation -- leaving a legacy of despair and divisiveness. 
Thus, Obama loses the referendum.  And he knows it.
It is no surprise, then, that Obama's campaign has been devoted to framing Mitt Romney -- and Paul Ryan -- as unfit to lead the nation.  Nullification of Romney/Ryan legitimacy denies the challengers' standing to present a compelling vision of their new order.  Students of organizational behavior know that resistance against or invitation to change is a function of how well a compelling vision of the new order can be asserted and be convincing enough to outweigh the risks of dumping the status quo.
This simple mathematical formula -- (f) R = D+V (rough symbolism) -- is far from novel or profound.  Barack Obama beat John McCain because of Bush fatigue and Obama's compelling vision as the messiah.  Likewise, the 2010 Tea Party sweeps in the U.S. House and in state capitols reflected the deep unhappiness with the tax-and-spend, recklessly irresponsible fiscal policies of the Democrats.  And compelling new faces such as Marco Rubio and Scott Walker provided the vision for the safe bet in rejecting the status quo.
Of course, a few 2010 candidates failed miserably in presenting a compelling -- indeed, competent -- vision of the new order.  To wit: Christine O'Donnell in Maryland and Sharron Angle in Nevada.  Thus, resistance to change triumphed in some cases.


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