Is The McCain Lead A Surprise? You Knew Big Media Was In The Tank. So, How Will Democrats Respond?

Back In June 2008, we discussed what Big Media would do. Many of us said that Big Media would make this election close. We also predicted that Democrats would once again blame the closeness of the race on strategy instead of the corporate media. Indeed, many DUers bought into the "why isn't Obama leading by more" Big Media narrative, which ignored the history that no Democrat has won a majority of the popular vote, since 1976.

Fast forward, and we still have failed to come to grips with just how difficult it is to even elect someone who is moderately progressive like Obama. People still act surprised and start to panic, and complain as though some magical media strategy would have caused Big Media to cover the election in an unbiased manner. It is so easy for us to forget how the McCain campaign was being subsidized in July by repeated free media replays of McCain's campaign attack ads. Now, it is a bit more subtle as the networks question the Democrats on GOP talking points like the surge and voting with their party, while not questioning McCain on his conduct during the 8 years of the Bush presidency, including his decision to support the invasion. Likewise, Big Media fails to ask the Republicans the simply question of how can we expect Bush's economic policies to work better under McCain than they did under Bush?

This is not just a typical liberal rant. The efforts of Big Media to support the McCain campaign were discussed back in June:

Good Story In The Nation - Perhaps The Anti-Democrat Smears Aren't An Accident - June 13, 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6355482


Is This Election That Last Chance To Get Big Media Out Of Your Head? - June 22, 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3499394

The question is that given that it is not realistic to expect unbiased coverage by Big Media, what can the Obama campaign do? I think they are doing what needs to be done, and that is by focusing on voter registration, and on grassroots efforts to get out the vote and spread the Democratic message. However, more help will be needed. Voter registration drives are incredibly labor intensive and require thousands of volunteers. Likewise, walking precincts takes thousands of committed volunteers. In other words, winning this election will take commitment that money simply cannot buy.

Big Media represents billions of dollars of resources supporting the McCain campaign. Can Democrats respond? Is this our last chance to mobilize the community and prove the Republicans wrong, that change does begin in the community before it reaches Washington.

...but of course it's a LIE.

Damn, I'm glad we stopped talking about the economy and started losing.

Good old Democrats.

...are in the same party, and if you watched the Republicans rail against "liberal Washington" a viewer might think that the Republicans were the insurgents rather than the party in control. Sadly, only Jon Stewart (a comedy show) actually mentions that the Republicans have been the party responsible for our current economic policies. The major networks simply refuse to point out that at least until January 1, 2007, the Republicans controlled all three branches of government.

We assume too much, i.e., that Americans know that McCain's policies are Bush's policies, and Big Media has done nothing to correct statements at the RNC convention such as a "liberal Washington."

by forcing the Repubs to come out of the shadows and veto the child health insurance bill, but the spineless weaklings saw a veto coming and said "never mind".


with friends like that.....