We are never going to get fundamental change, at least not the change we need and want, in this media environment.
People here continue to underestimate the power of the Establishment media's Public Opinion Complex.
The presidency is no match for it. Neither is a Democratic congress. Obama can't do anything without a majority consensus. And that consensus is under the control of the big opinion shapers.
If Obama gets off the reservation, they'll take him down. It would have already happened but for the fact that some in the ruling class actually want him elected. But they'll turn on him like a cobra if he becomes a threat. So temper your expectations. And if he does become a threat, prepare to have his back.
I'll Say it again: Our greatest power is to further discredit the Public Opinion Complex, and eventually, replace it.
Sure, we can use the internet to fundraise and organize. But our real power is to spread knowledge, defeat the lies, and hopefully, before I die, usher in a new awareness of the extent to which we are all getting fucked by the Establishment and their servants in politics.
The corporate media's only power is its perceived credibility. This credibility has never been lower. But Americans are still very much under its spell. We need to focus on and prioritize making the Tom Brokaws of the world the laughing stocks they should be.
I've had many big, high impact diaries making these points and I think, hey, now we're getting somewhere. But they are like ripples in a pond, fading into the ether of "Chris Mathews Kicked Wingnuts Ass Today On Hardball" and "Joe Klein Gets It" diaries.
Some day, I can only hope that the netroots figures out what it's really good for. And in a nutshell it is this: turning low-information, mis-information, and no-information voters into high information voters.