My own take, fwiw, is that sometime after Nixon, journalists quit holding politicians responsible for the "truth" content of their statements. They moved, slowly, to what we see today, which is politician x says so and so and then here are three other opinions, take your pick. And I should hasten to add I'm thinking of facticity issues; not political philosophy.
I noticed it, first when Reagan would make those outlandish statements which everyone knew were false (the welfare queen comes to mind as I type) and journalists just let them ride. But I think it began earlier.
Once journalists dropped that role, politicians just said some version of spin wins, no one is going to hold us accountable. At least routinely. There will still be those non routine moments but they are so rare that the pols just skate on by saying whatever they wish.
For most of the electorate, I see them as too busy living their lives to devote the kind of time necessary to sort truth from fiction. And so it's, unfortunately, the best spinner.
Thus, I don't see the politicians or the public any dumber; just a media which no longer does minimal "truthiness" gatekeeping. |
