THE GIANT DONKEY IN THE ROOM

October 27, 2008

If John McCain loses the 2008 presidential election, and nine days from Election Day I do not believe it is a foregone conclusion that he will, McCain will not be blameless. To argue, however, that it’s all about his campaign, or the global financial crisis, or George Bush ignores the giant donkey in the room.

Short of voter fraud or other illegal activity on the part of Democrats, McCain will accept responsibility for his defeat. McCain is an honorable man, and if he loses he will blame no one but himself. That’s the American, or at least the McCain, way. Nevertheless, pro-Obama bias by the mainstream media (MSM) and the constant derision and ridicule of John McCain and Sarah Palin by Democrats, left wing-bloggers, and the entertainment industry will have taken their toll.

There are instances of voter fraud in every presidential election. This year it’s the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which received $850,000 from the Obama campaign and millions of American taxpayer’s dollars, that’s the focus of attention. ACORN has been accused of voter registration fraud and is under investigation in 15 states across the country. Only if McCain loses by a narrow margin, however, will Republicans blame voter fraud for McCain’s defeat.

As for McCain’s campaign, there's no shortage of Democratic and Republican critics. Every campaign that’s behind has plenty of Monday-morning quarterbacks. Pundits have publicly given McCain advice on what he should have done. Some blame McCain’s choice of Palin. Others argue McCain should have opposed the bailout bill. Still others have suggested McCain fire his campaign staff and hire a new one.

After the Republican national convention McCain had a substantial lead in the polls. Then the financial crisis erupted. He suspended his campaign and returned to Washington where he supported the bailout plan. Despite the fact that Democrat's fingerprints were all over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Democrats blocked efforts to regulate them, Republicans took the brunt of voter wrath while Democrats portrayed McCain as erratic. Obama soon recaptured the lead and has stayed there ever since.

And then there’s George Bush. The central tenet of Obama’s campaign is that McCain would be Bush’s third term. Their mantra is that Bush and his failed policies are responsible for what’s wrong with America. The argument resonates with many Americans or Obama wouldn't use it.

Without question, however, the MSM have favored Obama. NBC, MSNBC, and the New York Times have been the most blatant. When Saturday Night Live suggests the media is in the tank for Obama, you know there's truth to the charge. If you need any empirical evidence to support this conclusion, a Pew Research Center study published on October 22, 2008, found that stories about McCain in the media were overwhelmingly negative, while that's wasn't the case for Obama.

The MSM have reported and investigated accusations about McCain, Palin, and their families, some of them patently absurd, while accepting at face value Obama’s explanations of his associations with Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Father Michael Pfleger, Tony Rezko and ACORN. The New York Times recently did a negative front-page spread on Cindy McCain’s past, including her admitted addiction to prescription drugs, but it refuses to investigate Obama’s past drug use or other obscure episodes of his life.

The attacks on Sarah Palin from the left have been particularly nasty, rarely challenged by the MSM. It focuses on Palin's every word while ignoring Joe Biden's daily gaffes. If Palin said a fraction of the things Biden has said, Democrats would demand McCain drop her from the ticket.

The preponderance of jokes and skits by late-night comedians about McCain and Palin have been equally unbalanced. Jay Leno and David Letterman make nightly jokes about McCain’s age and about Sarah Palin while rarely targeting Obama. Saturday Night Live routinely portrays Palin as a bubble-headed know-nothing. Cindy McCain is occasionally the brunt of their jokes while Michelle has been off limits.

Then, of course, there’s Hollywood. A parade of liberal entertainers have spoken out harshly against McCain and Palin. Infamous liberal movie maker Oliver Stone made the movie W., which portrays George Bush and Republicans in the most negative light possible, and released it just prior to the election. Propaganda imitates art.

Most, but not all, Obama supporters dismiss arguments of pro-Obama bias. Democratic activists tell us that the race for the presidency is the big league; if you can’t take your bruises you shouldn’t play the game. They point to McCain bias in conservative talk radio and the Fox News channel on cable television. Yes, the media is not entirely on the left, but it is demonstrably dominated by it. Liberal commentators dominate three out of four national broadcast television networks. Liberal editorial page writers and reporters far outnumber conservatives on the staffs of most major newspapers and news magazines across the country.

Democrats are wide-eyed at the prospect of regaining the White House, increasing their majority in the House of Representatives, and perhaps obtaining a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Unchecked by a left-leaning media, what might Democrats do? Already, Congressman Barney Frank is calling for a 25 percent reduction in military spending. Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats are talking about reviving the so-called “fairness doctrine,” requiring broadcast networks to air an equal number of liberal and conservative talk shows, constraining the only bastion of the media not dominated by the left.

Whichever nominee wins this election, Americans will rally behind him. That's what America is all about. We have the right, however, indeed the duty, to hold the media to the highest standards of honesty and integrity and to expect that they will not abuse the trust and responsibility we place in them. In the meantime, the election isn't over yet. On November 4, the American people will decide who our next president will be, not the media.