The following is a letter to the editor of
The Miami Herald written by a friend of mine. She wrote this in response to a January 23 piece by
Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. and I thought it was good enough to post here.
Link to Herald column http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/7773961.htm
I am an undecided, registered Democrat. I spend a lot of time researching online, reading articles, listening to NPR, and watching debates for the Democratic primaries.
As an undecided voter, what has unfolded over the last two weeks has absolutely mortified me. I can not stomach how the media have become attack dogs chasing after Governor Dean. So-called journalists acting like tabloid reporters. Columnists claiming they are scared. Pundits flip-flopping like a fish out of water. The constant showing of a video clip, shown out of context and misinterpreted.
Did the perpetual showcasing of the Iowa rebel yell make me think less of Dean? No.
Did I suddenly think he was no longer a viable candidate as the pundits proclaimed? Honestly? No.
Did I get scared like Leonard Pitts? Hell, no. I am too intelligent to formulate an opinion based on a sound bite. What it did do, was make me think that I wasn't being shown the truth.
So I began to search for it. I felt like Agent Mulder on the XFiles. The truth was out there and no offense, Miami Herald, I wasn¹t going to find it in the paper. I wasn't going to find it on the Today Show. Certainly not on Hardball. Or anything on CNN. I found it in a video. Of the entire speech. Taken from volunteers who traveled to Iowa.
Unlike many who might have drawn a conclusion based on 15 seconds, I have seen the entire video of the infamous Iowa speech. From start to finish. I even showed it to my mother. I welcome anyone to watch a great example of it at http://www.idiomstudio.com
Take a look for yourself and I am sure you will see as I saw, as my mother saw, nothing crazy, or wild, or angry, or unstable. 3500 screaming volunteers of all ages, all cold and tired after giving their all. And a coach standing on stage, cheering them on. A Rockne. A Lombardi. An inspiring leader. Heck, I wished I was there. It was exhilarating.
I then asked myself, how is anyone supposed to be able to draw a logical and sound conclusion when they are being fed propaganda? Is there any difference today between American media trying to spin the news and Al Jazeera trying to spin theirs? We say that their news isn't the truth, but how in the world are we to believe anything that our media tells us? What I have witnessed over the past week is hardly the truth.
The sad fact is that the media no longer investigate and report the news, they manufacture it. Right before our very eyes. And sadly, most of us don't know any better. It's like watching a reality TV show. We see what they want us to see. We read the excerpts they want us to read. We believe what they want us to believe. They steer our perceptions. Feed our fears. And control the formulation of most of our opinions.
So I say to you, look at the video. Then consider what you have been force-fed over the past week. It's obscene. It's been blown out of proportion. It deserves a giant apology.
I am angry. More angry than anyone has ever seen the Governor get and that includes Senator John Edwards, Dr. Judy Dean and any staff member that has ever worked for the Governor. It's a pity journalistic integrity can't be grown in an aquarium like Sea Monkeys.
I am frustrated that the media have planted seeds of doubt and made the claim (from sound bites) that Dean's anger and temper isn't Presidential.
They way I see it:
Lying before the Congress is not Presidential. In fact, it's a felony.
Lying to the American people is not Presidential.
Laying a wreath on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s grave, then appointing a racist judge, and trying to overturn affirmative action, is not Presidential.
Laying a wreath on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s grave and then attending two fundraisers on the taxpayers' dollar, is not Presidential.
Racking up the hugest deficit EVER is not Presidential.
Denying American citizens due process is not Presidential.
Isolating the Nation, so much that the majority of the world despises us, is not Presidential.
Leaving no child behind except for the poor ones is not Presidential.
Pandering to pharmaceutical companies is not Presidential.
Allowing bin Laden's family to fly to France after 9/11 when no other planes in the entire country were allowed to fly is not Presidential.
Not allowing the FBI to interview any of his family before they fled, is not Presidential.
Destroying the environment is not Presidential... unless you are the President of a manufacturing company.
Is Dean angry that we have been lied to and are on the verge of becoming an Orwellian society? Of course. The bigger question there is, "Why aren't you?" Every average citizen in this country should be angry. Is his anger so out of control? Hardly. But the media spin is.
I have researched all the candidates. Read their profiles. Looked at who their contributors are. I've checked their voting records. Their plans. Their platforms. I've listened to the pundits with a grain of salt. I have endured the endless rehashing of the Iowa speech.
And I can say with confidence, Howard Dean is only guilty of being passionate, honest and hardworking. He isn't what the media has portrayed him to be this past week. And he won't allow them to make him into something he is not. Yes, he rolls up his sleeves and might grit his teeth -- he is prepared to get his hands dirty because saving this country is going to be hard work.
He cannot be bought by special interests and that is Presidential.
He spoke up when no other leading candidate would and that is Presidential.
His healthcare platform is not only optimistic it is actually attainable and that is Presidential.
He knows how and actually has balanced budgets and that is Presidential.
He delivered health care to 99% of all kids and 96% of all adults in his State and that is Presidential.
He lowered child abuse by 43% in his State and that is Presidential.
He created jobs and that is Presidential.
While the current President pledged to leave no child behind, Howard Dean actually was leaving no child behind. That is Presidential.
While the other candidates were trying to write laws, Howard Dean was actually enforcing them, and that is Presidential.
The man is such a leader, such a role model, that all the other candidates are now pretending to be him. I can no longer keep them straight. They all say the same thing. Except, Dean said it first, when most were too scared to. He was the first to jump in the pool.
Does it sound like I am endorsing him? No. I am just telling you the truth. Something you will not hear the pundits proclaim. As I said, I am an undecided voter. But when I see someone with a backbone, being sold up the river, I will speak up.
Dean's entire campaign has been about taking control back and empowering the people, not the corporations. I hope that when the dust settles people are able to see through the spin and hype, through the 'Yeahh', and see the qualities that so many others see.
No matter the outcome of New Hampshire the Dean campaign will and should stick it out. No matter the media spin, the tea is in the harbor, folks.