Why Won't the Mainstream Media Question the Obama Narrative?
Once upon a time, the two parties' national conventions chose presidential nominees. Now, they are television shows that try to establish a narrative, one that links the long-since-determined nominee's life story with the ongoing history of the nation, one that shows how this one man is perfectly positioned to lead America to a better future. The hope is that the nominees will get a bounce in the polls.
And they usually do. Gallup Poll data show that nominees got a 5 percent or better bounce from 14 of the 16 national conventions between 1976 and 2004. And that's even for nominees who in retrospect seem less than inspiring. In 1988, Democrats presented Michael Dukakis as the son of immigrants who produced the Massachusetts miracle; Republicans presented George H. W. Bush as the pioneer who went to Texas and was now ready to take on another mission. Both got 11 percent bounces. The biggest of all—30 percent—went to Bill Clinton, "the man from Hope," in 1992, helped by Ross Perot's withdrawal on the day of his acceptance speech. The notable exceptions came in 2004, when a polarized electorate gave George W. Bush only a 4 percent bounce, and John Kerry—"reporting for duty"—actually lost ground.
There is a difference between the two parties, however. The Democrats can usually depend on the mainstream media to accept their narratives uncritically, while the Republicans can expect them to punch holes in their story lines. In 1988, the media didn't note that Dukakis was less an earthy ethnic than a reformer in the Massachusetts Puritan tradition, but they were eager to point to the senior Bush's aristocratic eastern background.
The narrative of this year's Democratic National Convention can be forecast with some assurance. It will emphasize Barack Obama's roots in Kansas more than Kenya or even Hawaii; it will portray him as a leader from a new generation eager to cast off the partisanship of the past decade; it will hail him as a symbol that America has risen above past prejudices and can once again stand proud in the world. His acceptance speech in Invesco Field will invite comparison with the other two Democratic nominees who spoke in stadiums, Franklin Roosevelt in Philadelphia's Franklin Field in 1936 and John Kennedy in the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1960.
Pretty thin. An interesting question is whether mainstream media have any appetite for undermining this undeniably attractive narrative. Of "the whole Obama narrative," one reporter told the New Republic's Gabriel Sherman, "like all stories, it's not entirely true." Obama's record of reaching across party lines is, as his own answer to Rick Warren's recent Saddleback Civil Forum question showed, pretty thin. His paper trail is surprisingly thin, too: He has left no papers from his Illinois Senate days; he hasn't listed his law firm clients or provided more than one page of medical records; the papers of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which he chaired and in which the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers was heavily involved, were suddenly closed to National Review's Stanley Kurtz by the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois. Mainstream media, with the conspicuous exception of ABC News's George Stephanopoulos, have shown little curiosity about Obama's connection with Ayers. It will also be interesting to see if there is much coverage of Obama's 2003 vote in Illinois against protecting infants born alive in attempted abortions, now that his campaign has conceded that the bill was virtually identical to one that passed the U.S. Senate 98 to 0 in 2001.
Obama backers dismiss attempts to undermine his narrative as distractions or as racism, beyond the bounds of reasonable discourse. Most of the mainstream media tend to agree. William Ayers is no more likely to appear at the convention than the disgraced John Edwards. But other media have a voice. Obama will probably get a nice bounce out of his convention. But it's not clear whether his narrative can be sustained in the weeks and months ahead.
Tags: media | presidential election 2008 | Barack Obama
Tools: 
Share
|
| Comments (34) | Print
Reader Comments
Huge disappointment with the media and others
I have never been so preoccupied with keeping up with news about anything political as I am with this election. Few seem to care what Obama says about himself, the way he thinks, etc. in his book "Dreams of my Father". (If you don't know, read it. Or look up excerpts of it on the net.Don't buy it, the money would go in his pocket)Not many seem to care about the fact that Michelle Obama is an angry woman that has her own agenda. Look up some of her college papers she wrote if you want to see how she sees America. And its not good. Unless, of course, they have taken that off the net by now too. The shady people that helped Obama get this far........doesn't anyone wonder WHY these people want him in this position???!! The media will not, will not do their job and report what needs to be reported, they are not working for the American people on this election. They are working on their own agenda, and I have never known of a presidential election being covered the way the media is handling this one. We have to actively find out info ourselves, because they won't give it to us willingly. Its appalling to say the least.The media seems to find it more interesting to talk about Palins clothing and children than to talk about or investigate serious connections Obama has that can harm our country. And what he really thinks about America. And the country is what this about, not trivial matters. They would rather smear a video of Palin having to endure a hateful interview with a woman that obviously wanted to embarass her and sought to make Palin look bad, than dig up the very deep dirt on Obama. I can't believe the people of our country would jeapodize what America believes in (loving this country, not associating in any way with terrorists and visiting thier homes,or funding their platforms, capitalism that this country became great on i.e. working for your lot in life, not having the government's hand in everything we do,not having a president that we have to worry "just HOW friendly WAS he with the guy that bombed our people and his wife shot a cop??)just because they aren't happy with Bush???? Newsflash, Bush isn't running this year. McCain isn't Bush, but he has been participating in his job and actually having an opinion on things that involve our country, not just being "present", coasting by without bringing to much attention to himself and what he really believes in, so he coud be in a position in government to run for president. That was the plan all along, just coast by until he could run for president. He's done nothing. Nothing. He has, however, done enough questionable things to put enough doubt in our minds that he is not to be trusted. Wake up America.
mainstream media
Where was the mainstream media when the liberals and democrats were planting the seeds of economic disaster. It's obvious the champion of free information was busy defending their liberal friends to give any hoot to the signs of economic problems. Mainstream media has failed their duty to protect the public by exposing any corrupt practices in government. When any entity fails to function as expected, it's time to replace it with one that better serves the people. The problem is the mainstream media is out to propagate their own " liberal " views which in every way has taken on the shape and form of socialism. Of course, mainstream media can not see that and refused to see it as such, because it believes in its goodness and unselfish intentions. Lesson: examine your views snd see the outcome of your views. Let us not repeat history because we are to proud to accept our wrong.
Obama Narrative
Mr. Barone,
Obama's narrative of change is outlined at his website, in his speeches, alluded to in his books, and highlighted in the legislation his authored and co-authored. Your real question is how a white man with a great tan came up with the best narrative of his time.
Obama was 10 years old when Ayers and Dorhn were doing their thing. Obama was being raised by his white mother and white grandparents in Hawaii when Ayers was spewing his revolutionary rhetoric. The REASON I am supporting Obama is because he does not have a black agenda. How could he? White Obama did not grow up black. He wasn't subjected to Jim Crow laws. He didn't live through the race riots of the 60s or the later shooting of the four white Kent State students.
You people who have asked for every scintilla of private information about Obama, have asked nothing of John McCain or Sarah Palin. John McCain was a POW for five years and subsequently received psychiatric treatment. Not one reporter has asked to see his psychiatric record. Not one reporter has asked about the nature of his psychiatric problems and whether or not they were resolved. A presidential candidate with a psychiatric history seems pretty significant to me. Further, John McCain often appears mentally confused, forgetful, and irritated. I seem to recall that Reagan exhibited similar problems during his second term. Then there's Mrs. Palin, the unvetted VP candidate who is apparently being vetted by the National Enquirer. Forget about the disconnect between her espoused family values, lifetstyle and parenting skills. What about the very, very disturbing decisions she made while mayor and gov. Mrs. Palin was so incompetent as mayor of a small town in Alaska, the Repub machine demanded that she hire an administrator to run the day to day operations of her office. But the most disturbing trait was her refusal to have anyone on her management team who had supported the other mayoral candidate. From my perspective, the Republican Party believes they can win the election by resurrecting Mrs. Palin as Hitler and in her words, a female dog.
Many, many people are suffering from cognitive dissonance. Their parents taught them no matter how little they accomplished, they could succeed to great heights. Ignorance, lack of education, incompetence, and risky behavior were not barriers to success. You know how that old saying goes - "If you're black get back. If you're brown stick around. If you're white you're alright."
It appears the Republican Party has resurrected Hitler as woman and some Americans are responding by saying "she's white and alright".
advertisement
