My latest for PJ Media deals with the failure of blogs to fulfill their promise of changing politics for the better while racing with the rest of media to the gutter.
A sample:
I suppose it was unrealistic to expect that the political blogosphere might make some positive contributions to the 2008 election campaign. But judging by the smears and lies that are either created by bloggers or are simply echoed again and again on websites both right and left, along with the painfully shallow emphasis on whatever bloggers can blow up into a “gaffe” by hugely exaggerating some minor misstatement by either candidate, one is left with the sad conclusion that most blogs are contributing absolutely nothing of substance to this election.
While the nation is going through an economic crisis, trying to decide the best course of action in Iraq, and wrestling with serious questions of war, peace, and financial security, blogs as a whole are concerned with either promoting or knocking down the latest smear from their opponents. Or, even worse, trivializing the utterances of both candidates so that the elections seems more about the best way to make the opposition look bad by blowing a statement out of all sensible proportion while, at the same time, accusing the candidate of all manner of hair raising-perfidy.
Perhaps it is time to pause and ask “Is this the best blogs can do?”
Yes – if you peruse this site you will see I am a prime example of a blogger who deals in these “gotchya” themes. But I also try and cover the race from the perspective of a serious analyst who weighs the import of many of these gaffes and how they will affect the race.
I have also tried to debunk smears on both candidates while taking a more realistic view of Mr. Obama than many of my more conservative readers like.
That said, I realize my shortcomings in this area and make no apologies. I like having a few readers now and then and if I were to turn all wonky on you (and I hate wonk writing) both you and I would be miserable. And God help us if I ever got to the point where I had to be fair and balanced when it came to writing about the left!
So you see, my friends, I am trapped by my own choosing in this little cocoon of trivia and mud slinging. This blog is what it is and I am what I am and you can like it or take your eyes elsewhere. That is the beauty of the blogosphere.
So enjoy!
3:07 pm
I appreciate the plight of any rational blogger in this election cycle. What else is there to say about the Obama campaign then that it is sheer, unadulterated madness? If you cannot make jokes about a candidate with absolutely zero qualifications and a character to match, what CAN you do?
3:25 pm
I think some of the shrill cacaphony emanating from the right is the sheer nonsense being spoken in support of Senator Obama and the persons who are blathering such nonsense. The perception of him as some sort of shining, untouchable messiah by his supporters is so patently offensive as to send some of us of a more conservative gland into sheer fury at the dunderheads in Obama’s thrall. We KNOW it is nonsense and we do not understand how the entire “old” media can be so thoroughly “in the tank” for this unqualified, inexperienced, idiotic and thin-skinned flimflam artist!
And I will admit that I am just silly enough to find the new references to “Rosary Joe” Biden as “The Chia Pet” to be hilariously funny!
4:15 pm
Blogs should be both fun and stimulating!! I’m just bored about sites filled with people who have nothing to contribute but scream incoherent nonsense (left and right) and then I just don’t go there. On the other hand if sites are not opinionated they are usually just stale. That is why I come here. Of course I also reserve my right to not only see fault with Obama and laugh about ourselves too.
4:32 pm
Hey Rick, I have not commented here in a while. I feel you are right on. My Wife (Infedel Granny) tends to swing at the left, in what looks like anger. Me I try to look at the truth. Example: Nancy P. Wanting that new plane over a year ago. I am in the aviation industry and understand where she was coming from. I felt there was a better choice but she made some very valid points that most on the right dismissed and only looked at the price tag.
I added you to my blog roll long ago. Not that I get many hits, but I do hope that I have sent at least some over your way. Take a look at my blog. It is honest and is based off of facts. Now I do add (LOTS) of my opinion in my writing (warning, I don’t have the best writing style, I did poorly in english), and I always incourage comments. Discussion is what makes this counrty strong. Keep up the good work, Thanks for being involved, and many Blessing, Shane
http://federalistfred.blogspot.com/
“Standing Strong” and Closing Ranks”
and still in the “Hunt For Red November”
5:06 pm
hoooraaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, but really, can’t really say i have heard a pot call itself a pot before… keep it rocking rick.
cheers,
12:01 am
Rick,
I believe a lot of it is a David and Goliath fight. What I mean is that the Internet is dominated by the left. I have spent the last couple of years doing research to substantiate such a claim and have found irrefutable evidence that supports the claim.
That said, when you combine control of the message on-line with control of the message in the media, you end up with a lot of frustrated people on the right.
To compound the right’s frustration and sense of urgency is the fact that you have a candidate with questionable friends, few accomplishments and poor judgment who is a vote away from the most powerful position in the world.
Those who are libertarians, members of the green party, moderate democrats, conservatives, and independents should have pause and think about where this person came from and why are they leaving followers delusional?
Bloggers on the left are perpetuating this man’s myth and those on the right are asking people to stop and engage in the vetting that the general media refuses to engage in.
Look up Barack Obama and John McCain on Wikipedia. The influence of left-wing control of the message shows that there is no such thing as a neutral point of view. Conservative bloggers are not only incensed by this, but feel powerless. The new media was supposed to even the playing field, but that is far from being the case.
2:12 am
Truthteller,
There are definitive psychological differences between the left and the right. It’s a matter of perception and brain chemistry, literally. These differences manifest themselves in how communication is done online. The medium itself seems better suited for well connected groups, which is why they thrive.
I read blogs from both sides. One of the main differences I’ve seen is the comments. On the so called left, the comments and discussions seem deeper, more involved, and far far more diverse.
Comment and discussion on the so called right seems to be either more heavily moderated, or less frequent and more targeted. I haven’t figured out which.
The funny part for me is that both sides seem at a loss to understand how the other side could possibly ‘think like that’. It’s often hilarious to watch. Especially when they talk about how the Main Stream Media screws them.
6:24 am
Chuck,
Your point about the psycological differences is well taken. But the point about the MSM is even more instructive. How could the left and the right be so certain that they are getting screwed by the same media?
The internet age is the age of group think. We seek out writers who reinforce our preconceptions. We have no degree of opposition viewpoint in many cases, because those who disagree with the ideological leanings of the proprietor of the blog are branded “trolls”. (psycology of trolls is another topic of my interest.)
The problem is that we are now our own filters. We have the responsibility, if we wish to be well-informed, to seek out opposing opinions to be given both sides of the story.
And who has time for that crap! We’ve got an election to win. Obama is a known drug kingpin. He accepts contributions from cat-skinners. He is actually an alien from Saturn.
There you go! Take that viral, now!
6:28 am
Oh, and from my evil twin, Dale with a gotee (for you Star Trek fans), McCain frolics nude with goats. I have pictures of him and Karl Rove kissing. (Once I figure out this photoshop thingy.)
8:21 am
Rick,
While I don’t agree with many of your posts and analyses, I have and still do support your blog. It is, after all your blog and your perspective, and if I only read the blogs that I agreed with all the time, I would have blinders in place just like those on the ends of the spectrum.
Keep doing what you are doing and I will keep reading.
Good luck.
9:47 am
Blogs have destroyed the arrogant, biased monopoly of the mainstream media. Without LGF, photoshopped pictures, presented by AP as authentic, would never have been discovered. Without Jawa (or Ace), Axelrod’s astroturfing would never have seen the light of day. As far as journalistic integrity goes, most blogs are front and center with their political affiliations. The MSM feigns shock and outrage when anybody confronts them as biased.
I think the time is past due for the MSM to start asking “why are the blogs kicking our asses”?
10:52 am
After reading the snit by Ben Smith of “The Politico” last night, I left reminded that in this political season the 4th estate has done the American public a disservice.
After the Iraq War started, the 4th estate spent months before they finally decided that maybe they were vigilant enough with their reporting running up to the war.
In this election, the 4th estate repeats it’s error by falling into the same trap.
Fool me once, shame on you
Fool me twice, shame on me
In this election, the 4th estate has actually allowed one of the candidates to write his own narrative, based on two auto-biographical books, that is full of holes for large time sequences.
Today, with only 40 some days remaining till the election, a bit of one of those 4 year holes is filled in, but much is still left unknown.
Will the 4th estate be contemplating their navel for that time or will they begin to ask the questions that will give the American people a complete story ?
Not only does the future of their craft stand in balance, the future of the country demands better.
If they are not up to the challenge .. we will look elsewhere.
11:24 am
Look in the mirror, Rick.
And for openers recall your own purplest of prose:
Sarah Palin “is like a virgin in the Sultan’s harem . . . the corrupting influence of power has yet to perform its dastardly sorcery on her and turn the pure as the driven Alaskan snow child into the coldly calculating political computer that will probably be her legacy once history is done with her.”
Sorry – a little confused here. Did you not read what I wrote? Or can’t you take “yes” for an answer and feel it necessary to point out exactly the same thing that I did about myself?
If I wanted an echo chamber, I’d go to Kos. Don’t need it on my site.
ed.
12:16 pm
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
12:49 pm
Genes, culture, and something called truth seem to motivate bloggers on the conservative side. Seeing leftist falsity everywhere surely causes the newshound conservative to warm up his keyboard and let fly in the only place he can with instant gratification—a blog, or several blogs.
Most bloggers, and the media, I have read on the opposing side are rife with the false meme of the day, pushing other’s dreamed up stories, or simply showing their vicious streak. Sometimes, they are trying to spin around their gaffes, to make their false statements appear to be true, black to be white, minus to be plus, and down to be up. Sorting such nonsense out too often is sheer misery.
One longs for the safety of (at least mostly)like-minded, rightwing bloggers, such as at the nuthouse.
1:59 pm
Manning,
The so called safety you long for severely limits openness and intelligent discourse in the long run.
12:16 pm
Chuck,
No, it doesn’t. The leftists love to come onto a rightwing site and challenge the thinking they see, or at least to harass the posters. Throw in a few links to explore and you have a smersh to ponder over. Besides, one can’t just sit in blogs of one’s own kind for long. That, too, becomes boring when you see all of your memes for the teenth time.
What is necessary is to retreat to the safety of one’s own kind for a sanity check, since there is precious little openness and intelligence to be had on the likes of DU or Kos, or the old warblog, to name a few. Most seem to practice flaming before reason—and after, also.