The Villagers were dismayed that there were no 'sound bytes' to attack the candidates with
One of the jobs I do as a punditry critic is to check out the talking heads on TV after a major speech, debate, primary or whatever the hot event is that the networks all are covering. I sometimes like that more than the actual event. Anyway, what I noticed immediately after the debate was that Brit Hume was very disappointed there were no "sound bytes" to cover. He seemed a little bored. No glaring gaffes by McCain or Obama that they could then play endless loops about and reduce a very important event down to its lowest common denominator.
His all-star panel all felt the same. Fred Barnes, Nina Easton, Bill Kristol and Juan Williams all agreed. I saw the same on the other networks as well. As I checked around that sentiment seemed to carry over in the print world.
Obama will benefit from having the better sound bite of the night. Cable-news producers didn't have many to choose from for the endless analysis of the debate, but one clip they'll show will certainly be Obama's criticism of McCain on Iraq.
Now on substance, John Dickerson is correct. (one example) Obama was able to highlight a strength of his during the debate, but it really wasn't the kind of "sound byte' cable was looking for. They wanted a major league flub, or even better---a heated exchange between the two that had them glaring at each other and having to be separated by Jim Lehrer.
Here's MoDo: Sound, but No Fury
Have they been watching Obama all these many months? He doesn't operate like that. Would I love to see him attack more forcefully? Yes I would, but I won't be surprised if he never does...
Can't they just cover the event as it happens and report on it?
"Can’t they just cover the event as it happens and report on it?"
No.
I wasn't going to be happy unless McCain ran over and bit off Obama's ear. So I'm disappointed too.
Robert @ 1:
It would be too partisan.
Unadorned reality is sooo boring.
Great post John--This is why the MSM reported it as a tie, when really, Obama won on substance and demeanor--What was really odd is that all the polls proclaimed Obama the winner, and that FACT of the American people's response was somewhat muted. I suspect if McCain had won in the polling, he would have been hailed as the WINNER! Your liberal media at work...This is also why I feel (as you have also pointed out) that a few nasty zingers from Sarah "Family Values" Palin will have the MSM cooing...
I thought McCain's comment about north Koreans being 3 inches shorter as proof of the axis of evil would get some play.
the biggest "sound byte" of the evening was the "visual byte" of John McCain refusing to even look in the general direction of the black dude to his left, and rolling his eyes and laughing angrily every time the black dude said something uppity about him.
I noted the lack of soundbites too that night, and I was damned pleased about it.
obama's an adult dealing with adult issues; the cocksucking whores in the national political press corps -- high school bullshit.
Here's a good video from ADN showing Palin’s lies, lies, and more lies about the Troopergate investigation:
http://community.adn.com/mini_apps/vmix/player.php?ID=2221420&GID=118
The raw materials for manufacturing opinion and consent are getting scarce. A fine reality craftsman can still conjure bullshit from
baling wire, watch Broakw or Gibson if you doubt it. But, the sheople are starting to smell the nuances in the media made
kaka know when things are amiss. The failure of the bail out is a symptom. Millions called there congressmen.
Millions. It's as if there was a special episode of Dancing with the Stars was canceled. Imagine waiting all week to see
some artificial pop culture icon dance with another artificial pop culture icon and then it's preempted.
It's not as easy to generate consent for the destruction of our constitution, our society and our future.
Uh, no sound bytes? What about Senator McCrankypants blurting out "horseshit" repeatedly while Obama zinged him on his Spain gaffe?
link
Lazy journalists. Want to "reduce the debate down to its lowest common denominator" (so true). So they don't have to analyze or actually do anything hard like report the truth about the issues and how each candidate's stance on them will effect the country and the people who live here.
This is the same lazy media who failed to investigate the election fraud in 2000. Failed to thoroughly investigate the largest attack on U.S. soil... Nine Eleven. Failed to pursue the Anthrax story in any type of depth whatsoever. Failed to do its job in the run up to the Iraq War. All the while covering the ins and outs of the Anna Nicole Bullshit and every other stupid ass story that makes no sense or relevance to the actual running of this country.
The U.S. Media = FAIL. And they're lazy like you say as well. They don't give a fuck in other words. Plus they are paid to be stupid and distract us with lunacy. The evidence is all around.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." - former CIA Director William Colby
"There's really five companies that control 90 percent of what we read, see and hear." - Ted Turner founder of CNN
The Best Explanation of the downfall of the U.S. Media:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPlvdSQ6cAM
Yeh, but ... Here Are the Top 3 Debate ‘Zingers’ We’d Like to Have Seen Obama Deliver
Maybe McCain and his economic advisor, former UBS CEO Phil Gramm can get together with...Obama and his senior economic advisor and former Goldman Sachs COO and Citigroup Chairman, Robert Rubin.
They can make up some sound bites. How bout these?:
"My inclination is to support (the bailout)".-Obama
"This is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with." -McCain
linda @ 9:
An "adult"? Oh, ok.
We went from niche programming to meta-programing and now we're into post-meta programming. There's no actual music on MTV, no actual sports on ESPN, no arts and nothing entertaining on A&E and, finally, no actual news on the news networks.
Obama repeatedly telling McAncient he is wrong was a good enough sound bite. Biden-Palin will undoubtedly provide many interesting sound bites that we'll likely see on SNL Oct 4th.
MSM loves slash and burn politics. I think they should all get jobs at the Enquirer. Faux News would be perfect.
Sound bite shortage? Not to worry. Palin is going to help bailout the MSM with a megadatadump of soundbites by Thursday night.
Actually I counted several "gaffes" by both, unfortunately they are considered accepted "truths". Examples include the misquoted Ahmadinejad quote, the Russian barbarians invaded poor little Georgia, the US has one of the highest corporate tax rates (they should visit Sweden if they actually believe that one), Venezuela is an imminent threat, anyone other than the US is allowed to fsck with Latin America. I'm sure there were others but I was getting a lousy feed.
Harry @ 18:
So true. Who do you think they'll have play Biden?
...Also, slightly OT. Found this shortly after digging up the "horseshit" link a few minutes ago. God, I love 23/6.
The "villagers" can stick it where the sun don't shine.
Their inability to work with what they DO have shows how remarkably stupid they are. Seriously - they don't even know how pathetic they are.
*
To be honest, for them to show an Obama zinger would attack notion of "superiority" that the MSM portrays McCain with. I mean McCain displayed mediocre knowledge, atrocious behavior and a condescending attitude and people still think he tied Obama. And Tom Brokaw's display of fraudulent polls and information about Obama is indicative of this.
Otherwise, I'd show the part where McCain was getting steamed when Obama mentioned the "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" song.
Thomas @ 17:
Great point.
It could be the same guy that plays Obama. I don't know the cast well enough to name anybody.
One thing is certainly true about Obama... he specializes in frustraing the opposition. His quasi-passiveness really pisses people off, incuding some of his own supporters. Both the Clinton and McCain campaigns have thrown the kitchen sink at him, and he still didn't lose his cool. And both couldn't hide their disgust while debating him. McCain, in particular, couldn't even look at Obama during Friday's debate. Obama, on the other hand, stayed classy.
In public, John. F. Kennedy conducted himself exactly the same way as Barack.
Again, it's not about facts, it's about framing.
The media has a gaffe-frame for this campaign, from BitterGate(tm) to "my supporters are racists" to "bomb bomb bomb Iran," the media has embraced the idea that gaffes are not strange exceptions in an otherwise substantive debate, but rather that gaffes ARE substance.
They won't be dissuaded from this by logic because they didn't consciously embrace this idea.
Orangutan. @ 25:
I second this. This mimicks Kefauver's "vast wasteland" speech. Our viewing choices are so diluted that the substance we seek is rather non-existent. The good thing is that it has allowed the Internet to thrive as the a place for new entertainment and information.
Correction 29: Not Kefauver, but Newton Minow's speech. I am very sorry for the mistake.
Orangutan. @ 25:
He forgot all the "ghost hunters" and spiritualists on the Discovery channel. So much for science too.
Did C&L already do this one?
LOLz for Cafferty:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=tpmtv&feature=iv&annotation_id=event...
Wow, what a novel idea...just watch the event and "report on it"...can we let that be the "fighting words" we march on? Cause some of us have been wanting that since before 2000!!!!!
And when I say Obama specializes in frustrating the opposition. That includes the MSM.
The Very Bitter Ceci Hussein @ 29:
I clicked onto a program between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. last night and it was about one of the people looking for the perfect hamburger in NYC. If this was an example of what the programming for this fall is, it's no wonder that Americans are so dumbed down.
That's sound BITEs, guys. Unless McCain stammers "00101101" or Obama talks about 0x04 more years...
What happened to Ms Congeniality?
Alex C @ 36:
Like spending 0x64 more years in Iraq?
One other point...
This also holds true for scripted television. As SNL's debate skit proved, Obama is a satirist's nightmare. He gives them nothing to work with. Like the MSM, the SNL writers and performers had to resort to falsehoods and Republican smears to balance out McCain and Palin's self-created ridicule.
Ironically, this thread is followed by one from Nicole in which she pretends McCain doesn't know where Venezuela is. Unfortunately, it is normal (in this country, at this time) for people to try to pick on even the smallest gaffes as if they matter.
McCain, an idiot in my estimation, does know where Venezuela is, but he's inarticulate and very sloppy with language, so he dishes out stuff like the Chavez quote with regularity. I've heard him do it many times. It's a waste of time to pretend he's done something meaningful, just like it was ridiculous for wingers to pretend Obama doesn't know how many states there are.
If you want to elevate the discourse, it's a good idea to begin at home.
That state, I would like to add that I think John McCain is a danger to himself and others and one of the most unprincipled humans to ever have sought high office in this country.
"Can’t they just cover the event as it happens and report on it?"
Of course not, silly! Their job isn't to cover the news. Their job is to sensationalize everything in order to fight all other outlets for attention and advertising dollars. Also to dumb everything down to knee jerk reactions and hot button issues for all the sloths who they feel are just too stupid to be able to handle the actual news.
This is what Obama should say when McCain preaches that he has been a Maverirck.
Senator, I served with the Maverick John McCain: I knew the Maverick John McCain; The Maverick was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no John McCain.
Ron @ 35:
If anything, the scary thing about the vapid nature of television is the fact that Palin is the patron saint of this type of broadcasting. It is scary that if people accept this woman, it shows that people are taken by glitz but not with substance. All in all, she (McCain and Bush) are signifiers of an industry that entertains, but not educates.
Even scarier is that if McCain and Palin are elected, a person has to ask what has happened to America. Not only will they fit in to the vacousness of broadcasting, they'll be representative of what the entire world thinks about the United States.
I just pray that people stop feeling sorry for her and scrutinize her behavior for what it is.
PorridgeGun @ 39:
They are also walking a tight rope as well in terms of Obama's image to the public.
The other thing I'd say is that the mention of Republican smears during the debate sketch was in bad taste when they attacked McCain on his mannerisms and ways of saying things.
Ron @ 35:
Not necessarily Ron. Television programming is for people who watch television. We all do that to some degree but there is no denying it is not a medium for readers anymore.
Please. Print journalism is on life support. TV journalism is stone cold dead. It's all about entertainment now. If I want to know what's actually going on in the world, I check out my favs. Much more sensible.
{Deleted, Spam. SiteMonitor}
If Obama attacked more forcefully, Fox would stereotype him as "angry (black man)". When McCain gets all riled, he's just a zany "maverick".
This would've been a great one:
"John, what pre-conditions would have in place before beginning talks with Spain?"
dumb/dumb/dumb/dumb/
dumb!
da/dumby/dumb.
(cha cha cha)
The Very Bitter Ceci Hussein @ 44:
Sorry. I've re-read my post and felt I had clarify what I meant:
1)SNL's portrayal of Republican smears against Obama was in bad taste. It truly wasn't funny.
2)When they caricatured McCain, SNL solely focused on his mannerisms and words. This is a big difference compared to how they portrayed Obama in the debate sketch.
I hope that is clearer. :)
It was like a death match. Both threatened Iran, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela. Both want open ended occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Obama questions Pakistan's sovereignty. Neither has the slightest idea as to why we may be a little short on cash.
Good job, John Amato.
Spot on about the MSM shark frenzy.
You're a musician, so it prolly goes:
Those who can, do.
Those who can't, teach.
Those who really really can't, are critics (pundits).
Don From Canada @ 42:
+1
I hate to agree with Sean Hannity of all people, but he's right: 2008 will be known as the year journalism was declared dead.
People are finally waking up to the fact that the media doesn't care about the issues or intelligent solutions (like Obama proposed throughout the debate) - they just want a soundbite and conflict to drive up their ratings and profits.
I'd like to think that people are finally getting it.
This is the first time I've brought this up, but I thought Jim Lehrer did an absolute shit job of moderating this debate. When Kerry and Bush debated in 2004, they had a specific time limit on their anwers, with a clock running so the TV audience could see also. Lehrer just let them talk and talk, and they just talked over him, especially McCain. Lehrer had no control at all. And he kept encouraging them to talk to each other and look at each other like he was trying to start a screaming match. He really acted goofy the whole time.
Also, I was ROFLMAO when McCain stated (twice) that he was not known as Miss Congeniality in the Senate - but his running mate was Miss Congeniality in the Miss Alaska contest!
You're SO right about that! It seems that no matter what Barack Obama does or says, the pundits always find him lacking. I know they have to fill the airspace with something, but as you've said: just cover it as it is, instead of what you HOPED it would be!
Well the villagers don't attack republicans and obama said he'd unilaterally bomb a sovereign nation without consent if UBL was there...that kind of talk always gives right wingers erections...
they had nothing to jump on except bandwagons.
the one liners relate to dissing obama, not supporting mccain. that's what the coordinated uncontested repetition of talk radio is for. attacking and denigrating anything liberal/progressive/dem and repeating it until it is truth and acceptable for the mainstream.
the visible media is used to riding that bandwagon and have depended on limbaugh and co to prechew their drivel for them since reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine 20 years ago and the GOP bought up about 1000 of the country's loudest AM radio stations.
obama presents a problem for the one liner makers because they naturally go racist and the mainstream won't go there blatantly. much of the rest they've tried is just as absurd and obama's people have been good at attacking back.
Ron @ 35:
In defense of the writers of How I Met Your Mother, which is one of my favorite shows, the deeper theme of that episode was how particular experiences of our youth (e.g., eating a delicious hamburger) are often remembered as being better than they probably actually were because of our tendency to romanticize that period of our lives. The Marshall character came to realize that his obsessive hunt for the hamburger of his memory was, in fact, an impossible quest to revert to the more carefree person he was eight years ago. Not Faulkner, maybe, but good storytelling for a half-hour sitcom.
Plus, Regis Philbin was in it.
How about they isolate McCain's mic during the "Horseshit, that's horseshit" moment and put that on a loop?
or
His butchering of Iran Pres. name?
or
Tactic?
Great topic. I have said to my friends that this was the best debate I've ever seen. Hands down. It was two adults talking to each other and the American public in a sane, "zinger" free forum. McCain tried a few times, but without an audience, neither Obama nor McCain could put an exclamation point on possible zingers.
I love Lloyd Bentson, but his "you're no Jack Kennedy" line seemed like a cheap shot. The same with Reagan's "there he goes again". It's politics boiled down to cartoons. We're adults now. We don't need that.
If I heard someone say something like "fuzzy math", I'd be pissed. Even if it was Obama.
Good job, Jim Lehrer. Take the audience out of the equation and force the politicians to talk to each other. When you repeat over and over a line like "John McCain thinks the fundamentals of our economy are sound", force Obama to say it to his face.
Obama won because of his ideas, in my opinion. And that's what we should base our vote on. Ideas, not one-liners.
Wow. "All star panel" is now a synonym for "Eighth Circle of Hell."
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