I was hunting for something else when I stumbled across a finely- honed essay that appeared in 2000 in the Wall Street Journal. Written by radio talk show host, author, and movie critic Michael Medved, it dealt with one illustration of the egregious double standard that plagued the entire presidential election cycle.
Medved, who proudly describes himself as an Orthodox Jew, was lamenting how unfair it was that a fellow Orthodox Jew--Senator Joseph Lieberman, chosen to be Al Gore's running mate--could openly, proudly discuss his faith without a whisper of criticism from the press at the same time President Bush was taken to the media woodshed when he said in a debate that Jesus Christ was his favorite political philosopher.
Although what I'm about to quote from Medved applies specifically to expressions of religious faith, it is illustrative of something we're already seeing repeatedly--and will witness many more times during the next seven and a half months. Medved wrote,
"Why has this double standard flourished so shamelessly in America? The answer lies in the basic assumption by most in the media that liberals are at heart good people--so that any expression of religiosity only seems to amplify and reflect that core goodness. Conventional wisdom holds, on the other hand, that a conservative outlook emerges from selfishness and cruelty, so that when a conservative speaks of religious faith it is merely an attempt to mask his inherent heartlessness with 'Elmer Gantry' pieties. When 'progressives' (Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton and the Rev. Robert Drinan) cite religious sources in public debate, they do so to 'uplift' or 'inspire' America. If conservatives refer to the same biblical authority, then they... want 'to ram their values down our throats.'"
I bring this up for one simple reason. I've watched electoral politics up close for thirty years. In all that time, never have I seen the Media Establishment more obviously determined to elect their favorite, in this case, pro-abortion Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
The list of examples could go on for days. It can be as simple as good old boy Dan Rather yipping in glee when a poll shows Kerry ahead of Bush and then going silent when a subsequent polls reveals the President ahead. (Actually it's worse than that. A few weeks ago, when the President's approval ratings dipped below 50%, it merited a story on the CBS Evening News. When Mr. Bush rebounded, not a peep.)
But the most unpleasant and persistent behavior is the megaphone phenomenon. There will be no charge leveled against Mr. Bush--no matter how unfair, absurd, or obviously planted by his opponents--that will go unnoticed, unmentioned, or unhyped. Especially anything that smacks of a "conspiracy"-- you can bet it'll take wing and fly.
Pro-lifers understand media bias the way a podiatrist knows bunions. Painful as all get out, in many cases it cannot be removed, only recognized and called to the media outlet's attention.
When it's the media high mucky mucks, such as Rather and Peter Jennings, drawing their one-sidedness to their attention will likely only harden their hearts. But others, less deliberately biased than they are soaked in the brine of antagonism toward pro-lifers, can often be reasoned with.
Please keep that in mind in the months to come. We may have limited ability to get consistently fair coverage of our issue and candidates who espouse the pro-life position, but we can appeal to reporters' professionalism when their bias seeps [or rushes] through.
posted by: RedTigress (reply)
post date: 03.18.04 (12:10 pm)
I dunno. I think that when Lieberman ran for pres nominee, he saw lots of antisemitism from critics and media.
I have a feeling that that instance where he was 'black-balled' and not allowed to attend the debates was a shot.
Also questions were asked of him 'as a jew...'
no one would ever dream of doing that to anyone else.
i will agree that religion is greatly despized by many.
I agree. The reason I see is because most of the 21% of Americans who don't have a belief in God tend to vote Democrat more than Republican, and don't like to make too big of a fuss over the mistakes their candidate is making in the middle of election season. They should.
I was hunting for something else when I stumbled across a finely- honed essay that appeared in 2000 in the Wall Street Journal. Written by radio talk show host, author, and movie critic Michael Medved, it dealt with one illustration of the egregious double standard that plagued the entire presidential election cycle.