Running with Kids
THE CORNER
By Lisa Schiffren
A woman running for office with five kids is a bad mother, the msm have established. But a man who ran for national office with ten kids at home, including a six month-old, and a pregnant wife -- became a hero, a martyr, and an icon to which all dreams of what liberalism might have been were attached for a generation. Was Robert F. Kennedy ever vilified for ignoring his family? Did anyone sneer at his failure to abort or use contraception? No and no. Barry Warsch, lifelong Democrat, former Florida Democrat executive committee member, (NRO reader), who has never voted for a Republican in his life has a great riff on this, at his new, very funny, biting website. I hope the McCain campaign figures out that guys like Warsch are the key to the Florida Jewish vote and puts them to good use. After all, we don't want to rely on elderly people impregnating the wrong chads as they seek to avoid Pat Buchanan... or however that worked in 2000.
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Heartening Polls for McCain
USA survey finds Sen. John McCain's GOP convention speech has scored well, at least with Florida voters. The poll tabs are here. The synopsis: In our latest poll out of Tampa for WFLA-TV, 52% of registered voters told us their opinion of John McCain went up after hearing his speech at the Republican National Convention last night. 18% say their opinion of McCain went down while 30% say their opinion of McCain stayed the same. We asked voters who heard the speeches by both McCain and Obama to tell us who would do a better job with certain issues. Here is what they told us: Who has the better plan for Iraq? McCainFor energy independence? McCainFor Health care? McCainWho is stronger on the environment? McCainOn education? McCain And if Tampa voters were placing a bet today on who will be elected our next President? You guessed it . . . they put their money on McCain.
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The Man Doth Protest Too Much?
By Victor Davis Hanson
Up until recently I think Obama has run an effective campaign. So why after a week of left-wing / liberal smearing of Palin, would he suddenly announce, 'We're not going to be bullied, we're not going to be smeared, we're not going to be lied about'--when everyone will immediately recognize that all those complaints fit precisely--and only--what has been done to Palin? The neutral voter may well think, 'Why, yes, that is exactly what they are doing to Sarah, so why are you protesting when they're not doing it to?'And why, when the theme of the Democratic convention was the common man and Middle American working-class values, would Obama go off like that and thereby draw attention that he was at a $30,000-a-head dinner and private fund-raiser at the rock-star Bon Jovis' elegant mansion?
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Sarah Palin Works Miracles
By Kathryn Jean Lopez
The RNC 2008 was the most watched convention ever?
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The Media Herd [Jonah Goldberg]
From a reader with a better memory for my writing than I have:
I had CBS on watching Guliani then Palin on Wednesday night. Couric didn't seem too happy before Palin's speech; you could hear resentment in her voice. However, after the speech, I could have sworn she seemed a little enthusiastic. Even the journalists on the floor she asked about Palin seemed upbeat. I then remembered something you wrote four years ago:
What I find interesting is that the media seemingly have started to realize that they've been shamelessly backing one horse in this race [Kerry]— and the wrong one. I think it started when reporters realized they had to cover the Swift Boat Vets story, albeit dismissively at first. But since then they have written stories about how Kerry is "off-message" and how his staff needs to be shaken up, although these stories are written with a slightly funereal tone. Albert Hunt of the Wall Street Journal refers to the "faltering Kerry campaign." Dan Rather reports that campaign leaders say there's "no need to panic" — always a sign of panic.
Why the change of heart? The obvious answer is that five major polls show Kerry slipping. But a larger dynamic is that journalists are a herd species. The media move in large packs, capable of suddenly switching directions due to the spooking of just a few critters up at the front. Individuals of the species may be susceptible to traits such as courage and integrity, but as a group they are power-worshippers. Nothing to them is more powerful than popularity — and nothing more popular than power. When you gain it, the press tends to go soft on you, regardless of the merits. When you lose it, they tend to pounce.
Now, based on your posts on Quinn I see another isolated example boosting your point four years ago. Could it be that the Obama story (a great one, no doubt) is losing its luster and perhaps one journalist after another will flock to the Palin story? Like a small leak in a dam, then a crack, then a huge cascade—maybe the herd mentality of the media will start to run from Obama to Palin (or maybe to some extent McCain as I think his story hit some Thursday night).
I guess we'll see.
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Re Oprah and the Governor
By Cliff May
I'm inclined to disagree. Oprah has used her TV show for what can only be called electioneering -- but without the burden of campaign finance rules and restrictions that most people have to endure. If she's going to do politics, she ought to do both sides -- not as a matter of federal regulations but as a matter of fundamental fairness. Sure, while Obama would be assured of only soft-ball questions and wet kisses from her, when it comes to GOP candidates, she'd be adversarial . But hey, that's true of almost all the MSM anyway, from NPR (at taxpayer expense) to the NYT to US Magazine.
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