I was going to take a break from ripping the media on the Huffington Post this week. But after reading about some of the barbecue pundit reactions to last night's Saddleback Jesus chitchat, I've called off the break.
The upshot of the pundit reactions:
Senator McCain was forceful, concise and awesome (even though he dodged questions and delivered his stump speech more or less).
Senator Obama was "nuanced" -- which means he's weak, elitist and awful.
'The hell? If we don't seriously change the tide on how American politics is framed and discussed, we're in for many years of war and fascism.
If Senator McCain wins in November, that's precisely what we'll get because the barbecue media, time and time again, demands Republican-style political posturing. Just like they did four years ago cheerleading President Bush to a second term -- only to change their tune after Katrina, etc. Yeah -- the media's shock-horror over Republican incompetence was predictably temporary, and now we're back to hearing that elections ought to be decided based on war- and fear-mongering -- facile, disingenuous attacks and talking points. Vindictive, sloganeered bellicosity instead of thoughtful reason and rationality.
Even if Senator McCain loses, the continued push to the right by the corporate-controlled media -- despite the right's obvious and well-documented failures -- will likely continue to move forward unhindered without the slightest regard to the urgent needs of the country.