October 23, 2006
Do you know what’s missing from this election season? Issues. It’s all about the horse race; who’s ahead and who’s behind. Who was behind and is now ahead and who was ahead but is now behind?
To some extent the media always do this, but this election it seems to be worse than ever. That’s because the mostly liberal media have torn away the thinnest veil of objectivity in hopes of electing democrats to the house and senate.
Even if republicans are talking issues – like the economy, terrorism and immigration – the media largely ignore them, preferring to speak of scandal. Of course when democrats are involved in scandal, the media tend to downplay their scandals and dismiss them as not as important as policy.
The public is being cheated because the media won’t cover important events when people are paying attention. The media care about conflict and the horse race because it boosts their ratings. But it is a dereliction of their duty and unworthy of the first amendment protections they enjoy. That’s why you’ll have to dig out the issues for yourself.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
