Joan Walsh: Trapped in a car with Fox News

http://www.salon.com/2012/11/04/trapped_in_a_car_with_fox_news/

Trapped in a car with Fox News
In which I learn that Romney will carry Connie Mack to victory in Florida and Ronald Reagan still speaks to us
By Joan Walsh


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On Fox News the election is shaping up to be a Mitt Romney squeaker. He’s scaring them, OK, but he’s going to pull it out. We tuned in to hear Romneybot Steve Doocy grappling with a little bit of reality, grilling Dick Morris about whether it isn’t a tiny bit worrisome that Romney had to visit Virginia and Florida when he’s supposed to have those states sewn up; in fact, he can’t win without them.

Not a problem, Dick Morris says – Romney will win both states, and he’ll carry George Allen and Connie Mack to the Senate on his coattails, too. Congratulations to Virginia’s Tim Kaine and Florida’s Bill Nelson, who can probably quit campaigning now.

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The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Henninger showed up to inform us about Romney’s secret weapon: the 350,000 evangelicals in Ohio who didn’t bother to vote for John McCain in 2008. If they all turned out, a breathless Henninger said, that would swamp Obama’s 200,000-plus edge over John McCain. Why we should expect that they’ll all turn out, and what Obama’s edge over McCain tells us about his race with Romney, were some obvious questions they couldn’t get to, what with all the news about Benghazi and Staten Island.

Listening to Fox for 90 minutes on a Sunday, I realized it must be a little bit like going to church for the GOP faithful. They got their worst fears confirmed – the incompetent president is blowing it in Benghazi and Staten Island – but faith will be rewarded: Romney will eke it out in the end (with the help of evangelicals). We even heard the voice of God himself: One hour ended with Ronald Reagan telling voters to “ask yourself if you’re better off now than you were four years ago.” There was no introduction, and no mention that Reagan said it running against Jimmy Carter in 1980. It was the Gipper himself, asking Fox viewers that question today about the Obama years, and knowing the answer.

I’m pretty sure Fox viewers will not be better off in four days than they are now, but for one last Sunday morning, Roger Ailes gave them hope.