January 20, 2008 9:40
Obama Does Embrace Race
Eleven and a half months ago – and God, I can’t believe it’s been that long – I watched Barack Obama rally a crowd of nearly 3,000 at Columbia, South Carolina’s convention center. It was the week after he’d entered the race and pundits were still amazed at the size of the audiences he could draw, and their diversity: more than half of that crowd was white with about 40% were black and 10% Asian – though many of those Asians were Indians attending a massive formal wedding in the room next door and had drifted over, curious.
The day before his arrival two well known local black State Senators, Darrell Jackson and Robert Ford, withdrew their support for former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and endorsed Hillary Clinton. The papers were full of stories about how the move represented a blow to Obama’s black appeal and how Ford had told a reporter that, electorially, it was impossible for a black man to become president. Ford that morning had withdrawn his comments and apologized but Obama zeroed in on them.
“I've been reading the papers in South Carolina," Obama, yelled over a booing crowd. They say we “can't have a black man at the top of the ticket. But I know this: that when folks were saying, ‘We're going to march for our future,’ they said, ‘You can't do that,’” the audience roared its response, falling into a cadence often seen in black churches: “Yes, we can!”
“When somebody said, ‘Don’t sit at the lunch counter, don’t stir up trouble, you can’t do that.’ And we did,” Obama said. “Yes we can,” chanted the crowd.
“And when somebody said, ‘Women belong in the kitchen not in the board room, you can't do that,’” Obama said. “Yes we can,” came the response.
That day Obama invoked Martin Luther King Jr., a quote he often cited in his early speeches. “It reminds me something Dr. King once said, two weeks after bloody Sunday,” Obama said. “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
A year later and Obama has come full circle. Standing in the same room before a crowd of 3,500 tonight Obama reminisced.
“It has almost been a year since I was in this building. There may have been a few of you who were here back then.,” he said as a healthy number in the crowd cheered. “You know that was shortly after I’d announced that I was running for president. I stood on the steps of the old state capitol of Springfield, Illinois and I announced this unlikely journey to change America. Now, I have to say that I did not chose to run because of some long held ambitions, I know people have been going thru my kindergarten papers. I did not decide to run because I felt it was owed to me. I decided to run because of what Dr. King called, ‘the fierce urgency of now.’ Because I believe there’s such a thing of being too late. “
This time around the crowd was a little more than half black, 40% white and about 10% Asian – the Indians made a comeback, this time sans saris. A lot of people have said that Obama rarely talks about the historic nature of his candidacy and that he avoids it in order to “transcend” race. I would disagree with that – he often invokes race and Dr. King whether he’s talking about the 'arc of the moral universe,' the march in Selma, the 'fierce urgency of now,' even his “Fired Up, Ready to Go!” story has its roots in civic organizing. What he doesn’t do, though, is get angry when he talks about race. He focuses on the achievements and the hope for the future and leaves behind the sense of injustice, the intolerance and the anger that has marked the campaigns of so many other black politicians.
Reader Comments (50)
Another fawning Obama post by Jay Newton-Small. I wish you'd just come clean with us and tell us whether or not you're voting for the guy. I'd hate to assume since I could easily be proven wrong, but the tone of your posts does seem biased.
Here's the thing: I don't mind bias at all. Just tell me where you stand.
Posted by Mike M. | January 20, 2008 10:17 PM
Jay,
I have to disagree with your characterization.
Ob\viously today's speech in church was very much about race in america.
But if you look over the course of his campaign and his speeches, I think it is pretty simple minded to put every quotation of King or the civil rights movement as a discussion of race per se. Instead he usually draws rhetorical inspiration and context from the civil rights movement for his own electoral movement which is premised on unity, progress, etc.
Borrowing the rhetoric of the civil right movement or its leaders is not inherently "talking about race" - you still have to look at what he is talking about.
For example, saying "The fierce urgency of now"while borrowed from King, is used by Obama in a nonracial context - he is saying that there are too many serious problems for the same old politics.
I think you are conflating two very different things.
Posted by RKA
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January 20, 2008 10:26 PM
What does any of this have to do with "embracing race"?
teh stupid! It burns!
Shorter Jay Newton_Small:
"Obama's black! Hey even talks about it! But he's not angree like the usual black people on teebee! Wow, who knew??"
A misleading headline designed to provoke a click, and then a mediocre attempt to smash real events into a cookie-cutter narrative, concluded by a discarded Obama mailer tagline.
Jay Newton_Small:
What did we ever do to you for you to write such f---ing stupidity? What were we supposed to learn from this? Don't you think that this would be more appropriately submitted to O Magazine? Come on...
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 20, 2008 10:35 PM
The fact that Obama does not sound angry about race and that he is doing well in the polls is no coincidence. Obama is succeeding because he is not talking about Race in a realistic matter. If he were, it would make voters too uncomfortable and they would turn away from him and the truth that there is still a great deal of distance to travel.
Posted by ScottyRad
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January 20, 2008 10:55 PM
ScottyRad | January 20, 2008 10:55 PM
............Obama is succeeding because he is not talking about Race in a realistic matter. If he were, it would make voters too uncomfortable and they would turn away from him and the truth that there is still a great deal of distance to travel.
----------------------------
I do find interesting and troubling the number of GOP talking points that has entered MSM and public discourse. "Tax and spend" and "Cut and run" produce vidid images of what is being implied. "Playing the race card" is another talking point that has entered the common language. When Obama, says anything about race, or responds to a charge this card is being played. When Donna Brazile spoke her concern about the snippet of Bill Clinton "fairy tale" speech played repeatedly by MSM, she was paying the race card. Note that this was being said even before people tracked down the full content of the Clinton speech. It didn't matter whether the Clinton snippet being played was true or not, Brazile was playing the card.
I am wondering in what cases, under the new rules can race ever be mentioned. It seems that there is wide acceptance of a GOP construct.
Posted by rmrd0000 | January 20, 2008 11:14 PM
And now CBS weighs in:
It goes on and on with this crap (h/t Digby), but ends with this: "When asked if the whole country was ready to elect a black president, just 54 percent said yes. By contrast, 65 percent said the country was ready to elect a woman president. There is no reliable way to tell exactly what role race has played in the voting decision of older Americans. ".
Right...
If this stupidity continues, I'll be out picketing with RKA. This is getting out of hand.
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 12:10 AM
...and you just have to love the THE U.S. VETERAN DISPATCH:
It goes on and on, with sub-sections entitled "Obama Jr's African roots", "Obama Sr's other wives", "Obama Jr's Muslim schooling" and this incredible piece of work:
...finally, intrepid reporter Ted Sampley gives us a little closing context:
With all of the focus on Democratic voters' supposed identity politics coming into play, I should assume that grassroots Movement Conservatives' obvious ethnic and racial "issues" will be discussed by Swampland columnists at similar nauseating length, shouldn't I?
(ahem)...Shouldn't I? (h/t Jesus' General)
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 12:26 AM
I always like it when my first reaction shows up in another's comment.
I think it is pretty simple minded to put every quotation of King or the civil rights movement as a discussion of race per se...
To invoke Dr. King is to push for social justice by staking the moral high ground. Dr. King's insistence on non-violence and his ability to appeal to conscience were important elements of his success.
In a day and age when we are abandoning the moral high ground at an alaming pace, Obama's call is refreshing and extrordinarily pertinent. And it has very little to do with "race".
Posted by Paul Dirks
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January 21, 2008 12:32 AM
If you know what Greasemonkey is, you might appreciate this:
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/20811
If you don't know what it is, it makes a few modifications to this page to reveal the true nature of the site.
Posted by NoMoreBlatherDotCom
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January 21, 2008 12:35 AM
Hell/Swampland has frozen over:
Stuart and I actually agree on something...that the media is absurdly obsessing over race with regard to Obama.
We probably would disagree about exactly why they are doing it, but hey, at least we both agree that it is wrong.
Ok, I am going to sing Kumbaya a couple times and go to sleep.
Posted by RKA
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January 21, 2008 12:39 AM
Commenters:
Do not install the above script unless you would like to see various text on the Swampland page replaced with comedic variations (kind of like "Find and Replace" in MS Word). For example, at line 55, the script finds "Jay Newton-Small" text on the page, and replaces it with "The Intern". I've included a remarked (non-working) version of the script source below (which is what is usually polite to do).
BTW: This wikipedia article should be read prior to installing scripts like these. Here is a quote from a relevant passage:
Here's the source:
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 12:50 AM
ZOMG!
RKA and I agree on something!
(head hits floor, passes out)
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 12:51 AM
First of all Mike M., I don't vote and will not vote in this election. In the 2004 election when I covered both Bush and Kerry I didn't vote because even if no one else knew for whom I'd voted, I would still know and in some part of my brain I might hold them accountable and it might affect my coverage. If you find fault with the post, I invite you to please give me the merits rather than discounting it as a blind endorsement....
To Stuart, Intern, really? You couldn’t come up with a more creative title? Perhaps Researcher Extraordinaire? Zoo keeper? Spawn of Satan?
RKA: I covered Obama before I joined TIME and therefore have spent more time with him than any other candidate – which is why I’m one of about five national press that was actually here for his first rally nearly a year ago. It is natural that I would write more about him. And may I note this is my first weigh in on his race and as someone who is of mixed race herself I take the topic seriously. That said, RKA and Stuart and Mike M., I’m hardly endorsing the man and wouldn’t vote for him or anyone else for president.
Posted by Jay Newton-Small | January 21, 2008 1:51 AM
JNS,
Just not sure what is meant by "Embrace Race" and equating community organizing with "embracing race" seems a little like stereotyping. Or is it because of the events like Selma he refers to as opposed to, say, a UFW event? And then the "he doesn't get angry when he talks about race." Well, uh, that's not very nice (to other people who talk about race). What (or who) exactly do you mean by that?
I'm not trying to slam you, just asking you to clarify your thoughts.
Posted by James, Los Angeles | January 21, 2008 4:53 AM
"What he doesn’t do, though, is get angry when he talks about race."
???
Other than trying to incite a "quiet riot".
Next!
Posted by QUESTION HILLARY
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January 21, 2008 6:29 AM
And then the "he doesn't get angry when he talks about race." Well, uh, that's not very nice (to other people who talk about race). What (or who) exactly do you mean by that?
it means that Obama doesn't scare people like Stengel and Carney.
It was the week after he’d entered the race and pundits were still amazed at the size of the audiences he could draw, and their diversity:
does anyone remember Jesse Jackson -- the guy who won 11 primaries/caucuses in 1988? The guy who drew large, diverse crowds during that race?
Because obviously, no one in the press corps does. He's been erased from their collective consciousness.
Posted by mediasux | January 21, 2008 6:48 AM
One has to wonder if Obama has anything other than the race card in his arsenal?
Posted by JoeCHI | January 21, 2008 7:31 AM
JNS: Your response noted. I don't care about what Obama says to a black audience and the way they respond. It is a historic fact that black churches get into the spirit of things when the preachers lays out his piece.
Let us wait and see what he says when he faces audiences that are predominatly white in the West. His authenticity will then be measured. Until now he has mainly talked the talk. And given the way Oprah, Dr Phil and others have stressed the need to make people feel good Obama is on to a winner. But no amount of feeling good will compensate for the brutal economic truths that face us right now.
Posted by bitterpill8 | January 21, 2008 7:47 AM
it means that Obama doesn't scare people like Stengel and Carney.
Yeah that's how it *sounds* but I thought it was fair to ask for a clarification.
Swamplanders, except Joe, are largely thirty-somethings, so yeah, I imagine they don't have much memory of Jackson's run.
Posted by James, Los Angeles | January 21, 2008 8:31 AM
The Clintons have intentionally distorted Barack Obama's record on a number of issues. The American people are tired of politicians who lie and distort their opponent's records to gain the edge. Our politicians should be held to a higher standard. We should have politicians who are honest and above tactics that are unethical, irresponsible, misleading and dishonest -- who are willing to do anything to win. After all most of us teach our children to be honest, ethical and not to lie.
How can we have trust in our leaders to be honest with us when they have not been honest and ethical on the campaign trail. Politicians who intentionally lie, distort and mislead are in all honesty not honorable people, and basically unethical -- not the kind of people we should want to run or represent our country.
I can only hope that Barack Obama will not stoop down to their level while trying to set his record straight, which he must, against the lies and distortion their campaign are trying to get into the American psychy. These tactics are old time party politics and should be a thing of the past as we move towards the 21st Century, towards cleaner air, cleaner water, cleaner politics, towards a more holistic way of living. It is a greater duty and in the best interest of the country for Barack Obama to continue to stay positive and hopeful while attempting to bring this country together and lift it up from fear an a distrust of one another -- to continue to show the American people and the world there is another way to run for office other than smear and fear. That is why Obama and Huckabee are so appealing. They are authentic and each in their own way are trying to lead the Americans away from dirty campaigning, lies and tricks. How can a country be blessed after all that ugly and dirty fighting, it can't be. And too we have to ask ourselves as a people, why do we allow this behavior to be acceptable and reward this kind of negative behaviour, when we would not accept it in ourselves.
Posted by bacalove | January 21, 2008 9:06 AM
Jay,
Thanks for your reply.
I just wanted to point out that my only real disagreement with the content of your post is regarding what constitutes "embracing race," with my argment being that some invokation of king or civil right era can be about a topic other than race, such as when Obama talks about the "fierce urgency of now."
I realize there may be a semantic splitting hairs component to the argument I am making, but I think it is important because, in my view, there is an ongoing effort by some to pigeonhole obama as a sharptonesque black candidate when casual low information while and hispanic voters are primed by the history of our politics to embrace that. For many voters, a black politician is guilty until proven innocent of being a racial divider, and in the last two weeks I have seen the court of public opinion be about as fair as the criminal justice system with the Clinton's playing the role of sleazy prosecuters, the media as judges who don't enforce rules of truth or fairness, and a jury (the public) without the sophistication to sort through it all.
Many times we commenters use this forum to discuss broader issues of how media coverage - fair or unfair, is affecting the primary. So often we may railing against the entire media, or subsets of it in the process. So while you in isolation plausibly do not have an obsessive view towards race as a campaign topic, unfortunetly for you, your thread may easily become a forum to widen the discussion beyond your post to the broader media's obsession with this topic, something that seems to me undeniable.
I am an Obama supporter and much of the reason I feel strongly about this is because I think the practical effect of the media's obsession with race has been take Obama, who has really strived to be a concillaitor and caricature him as a racial polarizer. And the exit polls in Nevada show that the electorate was racially polarized and I think that the media swallowing clinton surrogate racial poison pills and making divisive racial discussions the dominant media story line for the last two weeks is one reason that our electorate is being polarized along gender and race fault lines. Instead of fanning these flames by refusing to change the subject, I think the media should redirect our attentions to issues of broader consequence in determining the next president, if not because its the right thing to do, but also because it is unfair to have a prolonged discussion of race and gender when it so obviously helps one candidate over another and the media is supposed to at least maintain the pretense of being fair.
I realize that much of your industry's motivation is a "great story," and racial conflict always makes a great story, Sure beats talking about policy, right? But I think the media should ask themselves whether they are shouting "Fire" into a crowded theater on this issue. I think they are and people are stampeding to the exits typically used by their respective demographic groups.
But again, speaking for myself, this is not personal and your post is a drop in the bucket of water that is being used (figuratively) to drown Obama's candidacy.
And, Jay, no matter what you write I will always have a special place in my heart for you since you referred to Stuart as the "Spawn of Satan."
Posted by RKA
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January 21, 2008 9:24 AM
RKA no offense but I cannot believe that the Obama or Clinton campaigns are complaining about their press coverage. That is about as ridiculous as Saint McCain complaining abut his. At least you guys get some coverage unlike those of us who support candidates who are in the liberal wing of the party.
I don't want Jay to risk her job answering this but I would like to know if the reporters at Time were told explicitly not to give any coverage to John Edwards.
Posted by Derek | January 21, 2008 9:32 AM
Derek: you beat me to it. Jay Rosen has a great post on the MSM obsession with the horse race except that in the Democratic field they have avoided talking about one of the three horses.
RKA: Race and gender will play their part. One can talk about the Clintons and their surrogates engaging in hardball politics in NV. But one can also pick up enough stuff to show that the Culinary Union in Las Vegas was doing the same stuff which affected the support for Obama. The problem is with the loose cannons in each campaign. And, from my vantage point, I thought I saw one presidential loose cannon!!!
Posted by bitterpill8 | January 21, 2008 9:52 AM
bitterpill8 do you have any theories as to why there has been an almost complete blackout on the Edwards campaign? Did he do something to piss off the press? Is this strictly an ideological thing where only those who think Reagan was a man of ideas get covered?
Posted by Derek | January 21, 2008 9:59 AM
ZOMG! On MLK Day a year ago, Obama talked about race AND he did it again this year! That means he talks about race a lot!!!
Re-wrote your column for ya', Jay.
Posted by Florida | January 21, 2008 10:00 AM
Derek: The MSM hunt is packs. They have decided that SC's native son (irony indeed) is not going to win the primary and have discounted him accordingly. Sure The Best Political Team gave him a spot at times, and Morning Joe offered time. But Edwards does not fit into the narrative: race and gender is so exciting, so controversial and no one wants to be blamed for not covering Obama. Elizabeth Edwards was recently interviewed by Matthews in an empty hall. She was rueful, and it made me sad. She made the point that after the initial hullaballo, and sympathy for her because of her illness the MSM left them alone.
I have this nagging feeling that Edwards did himself little good by coming across as a dragon slayer which did not appeal to the current pre-occupation of the MSM for lofty rhetoric, noble phrases, above the fray nostrums and emollient words. I think the MSM is desperate for inspirational stuff.
Posted by bitterpill8 | January 21, 2008 10:11 AM
Posted by Jay Newton-Small | January 21, 2008 1:51 AM:
"To Stuart, Intern, really? You couldn’t come up with a more creative title? Perhaps Researcher Extraordinaire? Zoo keeper? Spawn of Satan?"
Jay Newton_Small:
I'm sorry, I thought that I made this clear: I did not write that text-replacement script. I was merely posting the contents in response to a rather cryptic post and link from NoMoreBlatherDotCom:
The reason why I posted a non-working version of the script NoMoreBlatherDotCom linked to is that I felt it necessary to warn the less-technical commenters that these were the consequences of installation, and to make up for the lack of courtesy. Normally one would not just post a blind link to script--that's an invitation to put an undesired BHO in your browser--without including a summary of what the script does and the whole code. Since NoMoreBlatherDotCom did not do this, I did because I care about this blog and the rest of the Commenters here. What if Atrios or Digby were as insulted by this post's nonsense as I was, sent a bunch of traffic your way by linking to it, and then a bunch of first-time visitors installed the script without being aware of the consequences? It would be not so nice for this blog, obviously. That's why I posted the code that I did not write along with a summary of what it does.
So, I did not bother to script a find-&-replacer switching "Jay Newton-Small" with "The Intern". Somebody else did.
Please do not mistake the vitriol directed primarily against intelligence-insulting columns for puerile name-calling games. If I did do that, then you would be correct: I would come up with better monikers than "The Intern" and "The Intern2".
Perhaps someday you will earn the title of "Satan's Scouring-Pad on Earth", but until then I'll stick to describing columns (not you) as "teh stupid"...
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 10:39 AM
Jay, Thanks for answering. Uh, the numerous times I have responded to the substance of your posts, you haven't answered at all. Seems you're only willing to answer a charge of bias.
Not voting in the election is a pretty bad way to practice objectivity, by the way. I'd rather you did vote and were just honest about it. Your preference for Obama seems pretty obvious in any event. You just always seem to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Anyway, nice to have you in the dialogue. I'll stop speculating on your motives and deal with your substance going forward. Hope the dialogue continues.
Posted by Mike M. | January 21, 2008 12:26 PM
...and...
Thanks so much for responding to commentary, Jay Newton_Small.
Posted by Jay Newton-Small | January 21, 2008 1:51 AM:
"I’m hardly endorsing the man and wouldn’t vote for him or anyone else for president."
Please realize that the objections by commenters are not to having a preference, they are to bending over backwards to convey a false objectivity. It's perfectly normal and reasonable for you to write non-partisan material and yet still have a preference at any given time for a candidate or a candidate's specific position (that may change with future revelations). There are no expectations from your readers that you fit some high priestly, brahmin-esque, "objective" eunuch role as a member in good standing of the beloved press corps; in fact it's the opposite. We aren't under any illusions that your "training" and "experience" somehow compels you to write as if you weren't human--everybody in America with any sense gave up on that laughable idea at least a decade ago.
It really isn't necessary to "walk the fine line" with us. In fact, it's insulting. One of the preeminent offenses (and fictions) regularly dashed out by pompous Pressketeers is the declaration that you are somehow of the pure preference-less elite, whilst we are of the partisan rabble. It's the high-end version of "We Report, You Decide!". You can vote for President; what kind of person truly passionate about politics doesn't vote? You can make an endorsement, you can express a preference for a position or for a piece of rhetoric. All of these things are normal, and when done openly are not discrediting in the least. There is a big difference in intelligent folks' minds between a political reporter and a shill. It's a distinction we will always make anyway, regardless of protocols and protestations. Your profession (starting with you) must get over this neurotic obsession with the rituals and symbols of objectivity; it's meaningless, perfunctory and only serves to render opaque what should be a transparent process. This compulsive kabuki degrades the product of journalism into a fact-less, substance-less jelly of florid descriptions ("It was a bitterly cold November day..."), leading questions ("Democrats Still Weak on National Security?"), and elitist Conventional Wisdom ("A lot of people have said that Obama..."). At its worst, the competing choruses of shrill partisan claims are simply stenographed when the facts are too political for you to "take sides".
Also, when you refer to a Newsweek article as your example of what "a lot of people have said", you're being partisan in a different way. You don't actually mean "a lot of people", you mean to say "a significant number of journalists in mainstream media outlets." This is an important distinction. It's not that you have any more direct access to what different segments of voters are saying to each other (not reporters) than we do, it's that, for you, "a lot of people" means people like you. Clearly this speaks volumes about your preference for the opinions of and descriptions by important people in your business over us and ours. This is an endorsement that threatens your credibility, not finding one candidate appealing vs another at any given moment. This is the bias that betrays the specific political imperatives of your professional cohort. This is the symbol of the groupthink and herd mentality that afflicts your colleagues and corrupts their work. If you'd like to establish your credibility, first and foremost you will need to recognize that we don't share your professional preferences, not expound on the supposed self-imposed political celibacy of our press corps priests.
Your professed "objectivity" is merely "Fair and Balanced" by another name. It's also disingenuous, because it's premised on self-serving roles and castes, the purposes of which are to promote your institution as the sole arbiter of political reality.
You and your colleagues seem to go out of your way to deny and obfuscate very real biases--not necessarily for party or candidate (although these are also apparent), but for Beltway elites' consensus constructions and narratives. This phenomenon is demonstrated in front of our faces every day. In turn, we read Newsweek articles (for example) less and less seriously, and turn to other sources more and more frequently for trustworthy reporting and analysis.
Jay Newton_Small: Please don't bother to describe yourself as some sort of political lab-technician; please don't tell us that you have no preferences for anything political. It's offensive and does your credibility (with us, if not your bosses) no favors at all.
Thanks for reading this, and I'd like to express again how much your response to commentary is appreciated.
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 12:42 PM
Regarding the now-infamous script, I wrote it as a quick, one-off joke based on code I already had. And, anyone who a) runs Firefox, and b) has or will install Greasemonkey is probably at least a somewhat sophisticated user and knows what GM does and also knows enough to look over the script first using the "View script source" link on the right side of the userscripts page. If the names aren't creative enough, it's GPL code so feel free to get as creative as you want.
Posted by NoMoreBlatherDotCom
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January 21, 2008 12:50 PM
stuart, my man. That comment was a thing of beauty. I agree with every word.
What stuart said.
Posted by James, Los Angeles | January 21, 2008 1:04 PM
Did You Know....Clinton/Huckabee's Arkansas honors racist Robert E. Lee on MLK DAY !!!!SHARES holiday with MLK.....Google: 'Ark Robert E. Lee Day'....SHARE THE TRUTH......The Clintons should have stopped this !!!!! First black president.....HA !
Posted by gregjones | January 21, 2008 1:07 PM
Stuart is up on the meta criticism of the MSM.
I believe it is essentially correct.
Haven't seen it expressed this well in awhile.
Compare Time to TPM. TPM is openly pro Democratic Party, yet their coverage is superior and more informative.
How is that possible? Human passion trumps Human detachment in the search for the truth.
Can passion become monstrous? Yes absolutely, one need only look at the Washington Times or NRO, but we should not let these obvious baffoons trick us into thinking we can turn ourselves into passionless 'objective' machines. We hide too much from ourselves and our audience in the process.
Posted by Northern Observer | January 21, 2008 1:34 PM
Thanks so much to all commenters who didn't say:
"Shorter Stuart:
Admitting to political preferences whilst reporting the facts--no problem.
Attempting to surreptitiously influence political outcomes via journalist megaphones--big f---ing problem."
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 1:50 PM
Jay,
I believe you are walking very close to the "house/field argument" divide. If you don't know what that is , ask some of your African / American co-workers.
Jack
Posted by whskyjack | January 21, 2008 2:12 PM
re: not voting as some sort of avatar for impartiality --
This may well be part of the problem. Voters care about issues, we want to know and understand the records and positions of the candidates before we decide. By divorcing yourself from the mindset of the "impartial voter", you lose touch with what is important for journalists to deliver to the people in a democracy.
And the apolitical stance has another pernicious effect -- reporters find themselves drawn to (and giving the most favorable coverage to) the most "socialable" candidate -- the one that is most accessible, most flattering -- and most entertaining to watch campaign.
Posted by mediasux | January 21, 2008 2:32 PM
It is no secret that most journalist have over the years gone from reporting the news to influencing it. The news today is less about actually reporting than it is the journalists opinion.
As said about Edwards, who must have pissed someone off because he gets no coverage, but less you forget neither does Thompson, or Ron Paul. Most of the superfluous coverage now is on fluff, meaningless polls and he said she said conjecture anyway. I blame liberal Editors : )
Posted by Judgement | January 21, 2008 2:34 PM
Judgement:
Don't forget--if you think that they're doing a terrible job, and I think that they're doing a terrible job, then that really means that they must be doing a fantastic job.
See how that works? The more criticism they get, the louder it is, the widely varied sources, the worse their ratings/circulation decline, this all means that they're wildly succeeding.
I wonder what kind of profession comes up with this kind of theory of reality?
BTW, here's an event listing for about this time last year at the National Press Club:
Posted by stuart_zechman | January 21, 2008 3:10 PM
Haha good observations all Stuart.
Posted by Judgement | January 21, 2008 4:19 PM
Here is a link to an interview that Obama did with the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board last week, http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1381682549. It's a little long, but unlike most interviews and debates which seem to contain only shallow sound bites, Obama has the time to respond to pointed questions with in depth and thoughful answers. The Chronicle has extended the offer of meeting with them to the other presidential candidates. Let's hope they accept the offer.
Posted by pinkytoad | January 21, 2008 5:02 PM
"First of all Mike M., I don't vote and will not vote in this election. In the 2004 election when I covered both Bush and Kerry I didn't vote because even if no one else knew for whom I'd voted, I would still know and in some part of my brain I might hold them accountable and it might affect my coverage. If you find fault with the post, I invite you to please give me the merits rather than discounting it as a blind endorsement...."
WHY ON EARTH would any American point to not voting as something positive?! That is just embarrassing. As many other people have pointed out, not voting does not keep you from making decisions or having bias. It does, however, make you a poor citizen. It is our civic responsibility to vote and to participate in our own governance. Journalism is one method, but it is certainly not superior to voting, nor is it contaminated by voting.
The only conclusion I can reach is that you are either extremely weak or you are deluded. Either you have no self control, and having decided to vote, must compel other individuals to do so, or you are deluded enough to think that you do not have any biases and do not filter, in some small way, the way you perceive and present information. Either way, I really wouldn't be defending myself with that position. It just reinforces the notional that the Media is elitist and disconnected from reality.
Posted by ScottyRad
|
January 21, 2008 5:35 PM
If we have to listen to Obama tell us for 4 years we have to get used to it, that's just the way it is, we'll all be crazier than when Bush finishes.
Posted by Pat | March 18, 2008 8:39 PM
Sadly, the "fierce urgency of now" might be read that Obama runs well against women and their "claws" as he did in IL.
Taking on the wife of the most powerful white male in the free world may be the subliminal result of Dr. Jeremiah Wright's sermons on Obama. Could Faulkner have written a better plot?
Stranger things have happened.
Posted by Pat | March 18, 2008 8:44 PM
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46 - -46-p-3 - -46-p-6 - -
ناطحات سحاب - -أفضل 10 مدن - -
مدينة الحب الفرنسيه - -فندق الحب - -
صور - -24 - -34-p-3 - -
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صور رجال - -صور احترافية - -59 - -
58 - -ملحقات التصميم - -دروس التصميم - -
جميلات العرب - -اليسا - -
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1 - -2 - -3 - -4 - -5 - -6 - -7 - -
13 - -14 - -8 - -15 - -10 - -21 - -30 - -
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26 - -29 - -28 - -31 - -32 - -33 - -34 - -
37 - -38 - -35 - -36 - -39 - -40 - -41 - -
42 - -43 - -44 - -45 - -46 - -47 - -58 - -
53 - -54 - -48 - -55 - -56 - -49 - -57 - -
50 - -59 - -60 - -51 - -61 - -62 - -52 - -
11 - -12 - -63 - -64 - -
المنتدى العام - - مواضيع ساخنة ومثيرة - - ترجمة - -
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