We've all talked about this before...Will the media ever realize he CAN do wrong?
I was listening to NPR this morning, as I usually do, when a story popped up concerning John McCain, his military service, and Gen. Wesley Clark's comments thereupon. I was somewhat interested, as I think that Gen. Clark is an intelligent person with a deep understanding of national service. And I think he hit the nail on the head concerning McCain's qualifications.
But then the story went in to say that McCain had been in charge of a number of aircraft and pilots during the postwar period. I knew this too, and I remembered reading that he did a rather good job. But the NPR commentator wasn't satisfied with pointing out just that. He made a big deal out of how McCain went to great lengths to get grounded planes back in the air, and to force his unit to be in tip-top shape. The whole thing was made up to make it clear that McCain could take a run-down, problem-ridden organization and whip them into shape.
But when you think about it, and read more, you realize that he was really just being a nuisance. By the time he was placed in command of this unit, every one of the aircraft was hopelessly obsolete, and the pilots were all in the process of being discharged, retrained, or were troublemakers the Air Force wanted kept out of the way. Not only that, but the Vietnam war was long over at that point, and America wouldn't be entering another major conflict until the Iraq war. So in a period of time in which budgets were tight and there was pressure to build down the military, McCain decided that he needed money and authority to build up his own unit, which even he must have known was not ever intended to do combat.
But of coruse NPR didn't point this out, and they never would, and neither would any other media organization. Why? Because the American media decided a long time ago that they like McCain, because he's a likeable guy. And he is, don't get me wrong. He's just a horrible leader, who sees personal authority and privelidge as much more important than the needs of the greater organization he belongs to. This is where much of his "maverick" nature comes from. He's not being a "maverick," he's just doing what he thinks will give him the most of what he wants. This is why he's so quick to be both for and against the Bush administration. He's just doing what he thinks will cement his own authority.
The American media has always seen themselves as above the fray, as though they are some sort of neutral party in the National debate which cannot be influenced, nor can they be incorrect or partial. But this is, of course, folly. The media is run by humans, and humans are fallible, and thus the media is fallible. But of course the media, being run by humans, is reluctant to admit it's mistakes and accept reality at times. Media personalities feel that they are better informed than the general public, and this means that their opinions and beliefs are infinitely more "true" than those of the ignorant public they inform. This is, of course, a false and arrogant statement, and many in the media are rapidly becoming aware of such. But it is this arrogance that places the media firmly in the McCain camp. So what are we, the people to do about it?
Simply put, we must ignore them, continue to prove them wrong, and make them irrelevant through blogging and other internet media. And that is, of course, why I post here on the Kos.