I was watching and reading all the stories about the fake McCain outrage, and the Sarah Palin lipstick whatever... and it got me thinking. If the press was doing their job what would I have them do, or ask, of McCain instead. Here is my open letter to the mainstream media. If you agree with the letter I hope you'll help me bump it to the front page.
Dear Mainstream Media- Recently you've been quite taken with Sarah Palin, McCain's attack ads, and lipstick. And while these stories are fascinating in their own right it becomes clear that the McCain camp's goal here is to distract you- the supposedly smart liberal media- from the real issues. As a result, I implore you to leave the drama to Perez Hilton, People Magazine and the National Enquirer. i think they can handle the beauty queen and the lip stick. But what, then, would you report on? I have an idea. With an election where so much rests on who is elected it's time for you to show the gigantic balls I know you have hidden somewhere. So from now on you are limited to asking questions of substance. And if McCain, Palin, and Rove don't provide you with substantive, factually accurate answers then THAT is your story- that McCain is as clueless as we all know him to be. To further assist you, might I suggest you begin today by asking the following questions, and not giving McCain ANY press coverage (AT ALL) until they are answered in full. 1. What is your plan to prevent another housing crisis collapse, detailing specifically regulations you will or will not enact as President? 2. What is your plan to stimulate the economy, particularly with respect to manufacturing in the United States, rising credit card debt, and the increase in unemployment? 3. What percentage of the United States budget is defense, and what percentage is pork barrel earmarks? 4. What is your position on Roe v. Wade? 5. Do you support gay marriage? 6. What is your specific plan to win the war in Iraq? 7. How will you ensure that returning veterans are treated for with the care and respect they deserve, particularly health care? 8. What is your plan to bring quality, affordable health care to the American people? 9. How do you propose, specifically, we solve our energy crisis? 10. If California was struck by a major earthquake under a McCain presidency, what would your immediate response, and long term reconstruction plan, entail? 11. How frequently do you attend church? 12. What are the capitals of Ohio, Florida and Alaska? 13. How would you be different- specifically- from the Bush presidency? 14. In cases of rape and incest, do you support abortion? 15. How will you offset the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to the American people? 16. Why didn't you support Jim Webb's GI bill? 17. When will President Bush be making campaign stops for you? 18. How many statements did you sign, or videos did you make, for the North Vietnamese while you were in captivity, and are those signings technically breaches of the Navy Code of Conduct which can be punishable by dishonorable discharge? 19. Was it hard for you to leave your first wife for Cindy McCain during your affair? 20. What sacrifices will you ask the American people to make during your presidency for the greater good- and what are those greater goods? These are the twenty questions the press should be asking John McCain. And until they get answers they should be ignoring his feeble attempts to distract the ADHD American populous. And yes, I would urge the press to ask Barack Obama the same questions (though questions 16, 17, 18 and 19 would need to be changed to suit controversial parts of his past)... but then again, Mr. Obama has been forthright with many of these answers so far already. Please, mainstream media, consider doing your jobs better than you have for the past eight years. I realize the 24-hour news cycle is long, but I am sure there is something you can cover other than faux lip stick outrage from a campaign desperate to avoid the issues. Thank you.