BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON
Election-Year Distractions
Have you noticed where the focus of the traditional media is just nine weeks ahead of the mid-term elections? While there seem to be only two driving concerns in this election – the economic condition of the country and the role of government in fixing it – the media is fixated on noise. Just look at the news that’s been dominating the front pages of the newspapers and the evening news broadcasts.
The focus of attention is on the anniversaries of Social Security, the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech (partly because of the provocation of infotainer Glen Beck’s Restore America rally that same day). There’s also continued coverage of the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, gay marriage and the sexuality of former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman; the politics of race, the religious affiliation of President Obama and, of course, the pack-journalism story of the decade, the development of an Islamic cultural center in Manhattan.
Without slighting the importance or the relevance of any of these issues or events, you have to question the unenlightening coverage of chronic unemployment in this country; the disintegration of retirement plans; the persistent instability in the housing market; the serious restraints on private sector investment; the frightening inattention to economic policy at the federal level; and the bankruptcy of many governments at the state and local level, to say nothing of debilitating trade deficits. There are other serious domestic issues, of course, including the federal takeover of education embedded in the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top program, and the dangerous crumbling condition of our national infrastructure. Globally, the human tragedy occurring in Pakistan should be on the front page every day, as should the global ramifications of Iranian nuclear power and the role of China in both international politics and economics.
But again, the media is riveted instead on the loudest voices and the most attention-grabbing headlines. Just consider the media’s preoccupation with Islam, such intense coverage, for example, to a single survey that indicated that 20 percent of Americans think Obama is a Muslim. Is that such big news when 30 percent of Americans don’t even know who the Vice President is or less than 50 percent can identify Nancy Pelosi? The Intercollegiate Studies Institute gives exams to 14,000 college students at 50 colleges across the country to determine what they are learning about civics. Consistently, the students only get about 50-60 percent of the answers correct to basic questions about where the term “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is found, or to multiple choice questions about the Bill of Rights. And it’s big news that 20 percent of Americans are confused about the religious affiliation of the President? I don’t think so.
The Manhattan cultural center is more credible, because it does set in conflict religious freedom against the social and human sensibilities of 9/11. However, it is also a story hyped to a degree of controversy it does not deserve and probably would not have evolved if it were not for the fanning of emotional flames by the media and people who thrive on media coverage. It’s pack-journalism at its worst.
Politicians and political activists on both sides of the fence encourage the media to engage in the politics of distraction. Democratic liberals, when their backs are against the wall, inevitably and inexcusably, foment voter anger by playing their race, religion and Social Security card games. They are all highly irresponsible, but unbeatable trump cards. Too many Republicans and Republican identifiable groups, on the other hand, join them at the card table, thinking they can’t be bluffed or beaten on explosive, emotional issues like race, religion and retirement. And every other November they are proven wrong.
Definitions for your Dictionary
I have no idea where I got these and don’t take credit or responsibility for them:
Benign What you are after you are eight.
Bacteria Back door to cafeteria.
Cauterize Made eye contact with her.
Colic A sheep dog.
Coma A punctuation mark.
Enema Not a friend.
Fester Quicker than someone else.
Fibula A small lie.
Hangnail What you hang your coat on.
Nitrates Cheaper than day rates.
Node I knew it.
Pelvis Second cousin to Elvis.
Tumor More than one.
Urine Opposite of mine.
Varicose Near by
Editors’s Note: Mike Johnson is a former journalist, who worked on the Ford White House staff and served as press secretary and chief of staff to House Republican Leader Bob Michel, prior to entering the private sector. He is co-author of a book, Surviving Congress, a guide for congressional staff. He is currently a principal with the OB-C Group.