Soothsayers damage democracy
Chances are that the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee will have been chosen by the time you read this column. Chosen, that is, by a cadre of self-promoting New York/Washington pundits with less than 1 percent of primary voters having registered a preference.
After promoting the Iowa and New Hampshire contests as a cross between “American Idol” and the Super Bowl when few Americans were paying attention, TV pundits already appear eager to pronounce the contest over. They’ve gone half-seer and half-Simon Cowell, rehearsing acid putdowns of the presumptive losers.
Some of this derives from the need to appear world-wise and knowing, like tipsters who peddle gambling tips. It’s also symptomatic of inexplicable Clinton-hatred that’s been epidemic in those circles since 1992. No need to vote: Fellow peasants, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd and the rest of the Beltway All-Stars have saved you the trouble.
Led by the hyperthyroid Matthews, MSNBC’s nightly whine-fest has been something to see. Not everybody invited to play “Hardball” shares these odd passions. As Bob Somerby points out on his Daily Howler blog, however, pundits know better than to object if they want to be invited back. If they aspire to be face cards in Washington’s stacked deck, that is.
Clinton’s ability to transcend this madness has always been the big question mark in her campaign. Lacking her husband’s natural stage presence, the effort sometimes shows. Nevertheless, as one who finds merit in all four candidates who debated in New Hampshire, I’d argue that TV soothsaying is bad for the Democratic Party, bad for the eventual nominee and bad for democracy.
The real news out of Iowa was the record number attending Democratic caucuses — more than double the number of Republicans. Had former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee run as a Democrat, for example, he’d have placed a distant fourth. Meanwhile, the night’s big GOP winner, according to the same pundits, was Sen. John McCain, who himself placed fourth. So it ain’t necessarily about the numbers.
Exactly what it IS about is harder to say. Sen. Barack Obama possesses undeniable personal charisma. Most of Clinton’s supporters will back him should he become the nominee. But voters need to see him tested first. Because the same kind of Oprah-fied, pundit-driven, “American Idol” media crush that’s anointing Obama today can turn him into an object of contempt overnight. And if you’re not already aware of that, then you haven’t been paying attention.
If I were Clinton, and could speak with perfect frankness, I’d say something like this: “Everybody’s sickened by Washington-style partisan warfare. We all have Republican friends and relatives whose ideals we value. It’s never been true that all the good ideas belong to one faction or party.
“But when I cross party lines, they call it cynical ‘triangulation.’ When you do, it’s praiseworthy ‘bipartisanship.’ Until you’re nominated, that is. That’s when the GOP Smear Machine will start on you. It’s a Washington thing, run by paid political operatives who have browbeaten and bribed much of the Beltway media into seeing things their way.
“Eventually, ‘mainstream’ pundits chatter about it on ‘Hardball’ because it’s ‘out there.’ Since 1992, I’ve been accused of everything up to and including murder. Then, after the charges were proven false, they decided I was ‘polarizing.’ And I’m still standing.
“Remember, the original ‘Man from Hope’ was my husband.”
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Gene Lyons can be reached at [email protected].