The media insist on putting news into a narrative. That makes it palatable to their audience. The human mind will always try to connect things so that they "make sense." Hence, mythological explanations of things such as "the stars are the gods in the heavens" or "this heavy storm is the result of Poseidon's wrath."
I watched the media construct a narrative around the Democratic primaries. They had their maverick front-runner, Howard Dean; they foreshadowed some "fatal flaws"; they picked the challenger, John Kerry; and they proceeded to construct a narrative of the tragic fall of the outsider candidate in the face of the tough, solid career politician.
They've been getting ready to do the same thing in the Presidential race.
All the
pro-Bush spin on statistical ties, all the talk of the race closing after the debates, was a set-up. Sunday and today, they foreshadowed the next chapter in their election narrative: Kerry the Closer.
Today's news was the trigger the media needed to begin that chapter. Be prepared to see mentions of Kerry's abilities as a "closer," some BoSox references, and language and imagery depicting a faltering tragic figure in the White House crumbling before the relentless Terminator-like advance of John Kerry, the people at his back.
The people in the media know full well what's been going on in this country and abroad. But they're in the entertainment business, so they have to find a way to make it into a story, a way to give it a narrative arc.
And now they can. They get to tell the classic Hollywood-style tale of a corrupt political machine taken down by a hero of the people. To do that, they had to set Bush up. Now, they have the plot twist they needed. Now, he goes down.
Just you watch.