Flight of the Bumblebee
From tomorrow's Village Voice
I'm posting my letter-to-the-editor here (hey, it's commentary, not just a link), but I want to know what people think of "earnestness" in the primary season... what role does it play in the attractiveness of a candidate, media's favorability towards them, etc.
Dear editor:
While your article about Howard Dean's loss of primacy among the electorate has an amazing sheen of postmodern journalism to it (media about media about a campaign), you still manage to convey the subtle air of self-congratulation for conducting so effective a mugging against a Democratic candidate.
Perhaps this moment would, at last, be a chance to examine the "new old" frontrunner, and where Kerry's new message might not fit with his legislative history. Iraq war? Senseless tax cuts? Energy bill? PATRIOT Act? With Democrats like these, who needs Republicans? And maybe that's the point -- today's moderate is someone who only disagrees with the right wing 25% of the time, to, you know, win over Republicans. If the voters this year are all about predicting who other voters will like best, predicting their opinions with the necessary cleverness is that much more difficult.
This, of course, isn't to say that your journalistic process is invalid: you're offering pop coverage of some telegenic people who want to win over our hearts, and you're covering how they're faring in the space between mainstream media outlets and the voting public. It's great for Michael Musto, though I should point out that the method he mastered years ago is now the industry standard for this election season. Sadly, it seems that many Democrats would prefer their candidates -- and their coverage -- with a nudge and a wink. Shucks, I guess Dean just picked a bad year to go ahead and be earnest.