April 14, 2008
The corporate media is still drafting the narrative for the theft of the election this year. You listen to the talking heads on the major networks and you can see 2004 all over again. This past week Barack Obama was answering a question about why small town America are such a difficult demographic for him to win. His answer was well thought out and accurate. He stated that small town America is very bitter over the loss of manufacturing jobs over the decades that have seen once vibrant towns wither away. He then posited a list of things that small town America turn to focus on because of their apathy over the economy. He said that they instead cling to the religion, gun issues, or anti-immigrant sentiments when it comes time to vote.
Let us not be confused about what Senator Obama said. He correctly stated that small town voters will often vote against their own economic interests, because they simply do not see solutions to those problems coming from Washington anymore. They have seen their factories close down and their jobs shipped overseas. They see politicians care more about the infrastructure of Iraq than Allentown PA. They have seen trade agreements destroy the once prosperous towns they grew up in. Thus when faced with the prospect of a presidential candidate not being able to solve these problems, they then turn to the secondary issues Obama listed. Instead of voting for their economic well being; they will instead cling to religious issues, or gun control, or anti-immigrant sentiment.
Now, these comments are accurate and a fair analysis of why republicans seemingly do so well in small town America. While the dems try to appeal to their best interests, the economy, the republicans skip all of that and instead focus on the wedge issues. Unfortunately for Obama, the corporate media is up to their old shenanigans again and is turning the truth of what he said into a caricature. They are claiming the comments show that Obama is an “elitist”; the same tag they successfully pinned on John Kerry in 2004. That he doesn’t relate to the common man. The absolute height of ridiculousness though is that Obama’s answer was too cerebral.
Too cerebral? Are you kidding me? Are we back to the year 2000 when the media sold you George Bush as the guy you would rather have a beer with? Haven’t we seen what happens when your president is not cerebral? Are we so stupid in America now that it is a negative to have an intelligent president? Moving past the cerebral issue, the media is spinning like crazy the truth into a caricature. Instead of debating the truth, the media is saying that Obama connected religion to gun ownership. They are saying that Obama related religion to bigotry or anti-immigrant thinking. They are claiming that he related these things to not having jobs. The problem of course this is not even close to what Senator Obama said. So, instead of debating the virtue of his analysis we are greeted with a debate over the caricature the media has created and when someone starts to point out the truth, Obama is labeled too smart to be president. THAT is the caricature that should be exploited. The notion that small town America is too stupid to want a smart president.
John McCain screws up the difference between al Qaeda and Shiite extremists and the press gives him a pass. A pass on what is supposed to be his signature issue! John McCain admits he knows nothing about the economy and he gets a pass. McCain says he wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years and you guess it, a pass. John McCain has completely flip-flopped on such crucial issues as the bush tax cuts and torture and yet he continues to get the free pass from the corporate media. Then on the other side you see wall to wall coverage of “gaffe-gate”, claiming that Obama said something he never said.
Beware America. This is where it starts. Tagging Obama as an elitist so that when Diebold selects your next president the talking heads have their script. Barack just couldn’t connect with small town America. Nonsense. Obama is just too cerebral for Joe Small Town. Garbage. John McCain doesn’t know who is who in Iraq and we see no coverage. Obama correctly points out the apathy in small towns in this country and we see a week worth of coverage twisting his words into a gross caricature. The machine rolls on, churning toward November and selling you the notion that you are too stupid to deserve a smart president. Unreal.
