Join The Debate
By Anthony Wade
September 26, 2004
This week starts the all-important debate process. Too often these are no longer even watched by many of us in this country, and watched carefully. Additionally, it is vitally important this election season that we hold the media accountable to provide honest coverage, a facet missing in 2000. George Bush is counting on you not only tuning out, but not watching all three debates and then relying on his media disinformation machine to spin things his way.
You see, last month both sides were asked to confirm the particulars set forth by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). The CPD had proposed the standard three debate format. The first debate was set to be on domestic issues, such as the economy, jobs, and healthcare. The second debate was offered as a "Town Hall" format where the candidates would field questions from citizens. The final debated was supposed to address foreign affairs, such as Bush's War, and terrorism. That sounds pretty fair, Right? Well, not to George W. Bush.
It started to leak out that the Bushies were thinking about objecting to the Town Hall debate and wanted to make the format have only the other two debates. They didn't speak this too loudly of course, just loud enough to gain the real concession they were seeking. Karl Rove is too smart to think that he could cut the debates from three to two without a political cost. Instead, the true agenda would be discovered when Bush gained a concession before agreeing to the three debates. The topics for debate number one and number three were switched. This was a subtle move to say the least but one that is quite telling upon analysis. It is clear that the Bush machine believes that the president's strength lies in foreign affairs. Now, most truly informed people would disagree as Bush's War in Iraq has disintegrated into near-civil war and he has had no successful prosecutions from the "war on terror", not to mention Osama bin forgotten. However, the marketing of the Bush Warrior Brand has been masterful to the point that 50% of this country still views Captain Mission Accomplished as a strong war president. Realizing the poll numbers, Rove won the concession to switch debate number one, to his client's perceived strength, foreign policy. The obvious question of course is, why? The answer speaks to the opinion this president has about you and I.
The answer is that Bush does not expect us to watch the third debate. Historically, the viewership declines from debate to debate, rendering the third debate far less watched than the first. The true goal of the Bush cabal was to have domestic issues, the things that should matter most to you, to be seen by the fewest people possible. I do not blame him for this strategy because on domestic issues, Bush is even more vulnerable as the economy shows no signs of recovery and his new "middle class tax cut" has just been exposed as yet another boon for the richest in this country. This falsely advertised middle class cut will see the wealthiest 10% of this country receive 44% of the cuts. What does the middle 20% of Americans get from this? A whopping 10% of the cut. Some middle class tax cut. This president has a horrific record on domestic issues from healthcare to the environment to the economy. His maneuvering though has given him the hope that millions less will get to see the debate that should matter most to them.
Lastly, playing into the upcoming debates is going to be the job the media does in covering it. In 2000, George W. Bush went into the debates process as a decided underdog. There was no possible way the malapropism waiting to happen that was George W. Bush could possibly upset the seasoned, well-spoken Al Gore. What everyone did not count on was poor media coverage and an analysis that would portray Bush as the winner, possibly because of such poor expectations. After the first debate all we heard about was the fact that Al Gore sighed and Bush did not do as poorly as predicted. We heard about how folksy and likable Bush was and how stiff and annoying Gore was. The sad part is that this was not particularly relevant, nor true. It is true that Al Gore sighed at a couple of moments when he knew Bush was lying. How exactly was this news, or relevant? It wasn't, but the Bushies used it to their advantage and the Gore folks overreacted. The second debate saw a more compliant Gore as he tried to be more likable. The ridiculous analysis that followed portrayed Gore as someone who was fake and trying to switch who he really was, while gosh look at the guy-next-doorness of George Bush. Gore never recovered. The truth of the matter is that Gore creamed Bush in these debates. He clearly possessed more depth and knowledge of facts, and was better prepared. Unfortunately the press would have none of it.
Further deception forced upon us by the media was their preponderance to not hold the candidate Bush to the same standards as the candidate Gore. During one of the debates, Al Gore misspoke about accompanying James Lee Witt to survey damage done by wildfires in Texas . This one obscure reference from the debate was blown up by the media as yet another example of Al Gore the prevaricator. Pressured about the statement, Al Gore did admit on Good Morning America that he "got that one wrong". Fine. What was notoriously missing however was the press in covering the bevy of lies being spewed by Bush during the same debates. The most egregious example was when Bush stated that he supported a Patient's Bill of Rights in Texas . During the debate, Bush actually bragged about this point. Unfortunately, it was an outright lie. Bush was vehemently opposed to the Texas Patient's Bill of Rights. When he was over-ridden by the state legislature, Bush had no choice but to watch it to go into law but he refused to even have his signature on it. Where was the media outcry? Where were the talking heads and pundits demanding Bush answer for his lie? They were busy pontificating about why Gore liked to sigh and claimed to invent the Internet (which was another mischaracterization by the media). Thus the candidate Bush, who's Spanish appeared better than his English, was granted a free pass by the press during this vital portion of American democracy.
Here we are again four years later. There is no doubt that these debates are far more important than those of 2000. We must however learn our lessons from the failed coverage from the last presidential election. When the debates are over if we are hearing about how Kerry was too stiff, instead of the specific issue-related topics we should be discussing, then you know the same thing is happening again. The analysis needs to be fair and dare I say balanced. I am looking forward to hearing from Bush about how he intends to keep fighting his war and considering Iran without reinstituting the draft. I am looking forward to Bush answering how he can brag about his middle class tax cut when it clearly does not help the middle class. I am very interested in hearing about how his $3,000 planned benefit for families to buy healthcare actually helps anyone since it costs close to $10,000 to buy insurance. I sincerely wish to hear about what the "ownership society" really means, as opposed to just hearing the sound bites about it. I don't want to hear about likeability and posture. I don't want to marry either one of these people; I just want to hear their vision for this country. Of course you cannot possibly make an informed decision if you are bombarded afterwards by irrelevant analysis and propaganda.
You also cannot possibly make and informed decision without tuning in, to all of the debates. George W. Bush is banking on you not tuning in. My hope is that we all want to make the most informed decision as possible this November. I know that means you sacrifice three nights of the highly unrealistic reality TV, but this is an intricate part of our democratic processes. Reality TV can wait, we have someone currently in DC that we need to vote off the island.
Anthony Wade is co-administrator of a website devoted to educating the populace to the ongoing lies of President George W. Bush and seeking his removal from office. He is a 37-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional counselor, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.
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