Bitterness

Robert Reich:

Listen to this morning’s “Meet the Press” if you want an example. Tim Russert, one of the smartest guys on television, interviewed four political consultants – Carville and Matalin, Bob Schrum, and Michael Murphy. Political consultants are paid huge sums to help politicians spin words and avoid real talk. They’re part of the problem. And what do Russert and these four consultants talk about? The potential damage to Barack Obama from saying that lots of people in Pennsylvania are bitter that the economy has left them behind; about HRC’s spin on Obama’s words (he’s an “elitist,” she said); and John McCain’s similarly puerile attack.

Does Russert really believe he’s doing the nation a service for this parade of spin doctors talking about potential spins and the spin-offs from the words Obama used to state what everyone knows is true? Or is Russert merely in the business of selling TV airtime for a network that doesn’t give a hoot about its supposed commitment to the public interest but wants to up its ratings by pandering to the nation’s ongoing desire for gladiator entertainment instead of real talk about real problems.

Yeah, it was a silly thing for Obama to say, the way he said it. It was silly because of this political culture that Hillary Clinton thrives in: where every word is dissected, not for truth but for political correctness, not who it speaks to but whose over-sensitive ego it might insult. It's why the interesting content from any candidate ended months ago when the voting started; it's why national campaigns are always so dumbed-down, why so many voters are ignorant about basic issues. Tim Russert is indeed part of the problem. And Chris Matthews. And Wolf Blitzer. But they're just responding to what the viewers ask for.