Media Obsession

I was alarmed today when I checked my internet news sites to read about "tens of thousands" in D.C. protesting the war. I love how we can have peaceful protests in our country without blood being shed, but this march looks more like star gazing than protesting. When I turned on CNN I expected full coverage, but the story was brief, and the crowd does not look like "tens of thousands," as the AP article I read described. It seemed like a thousand people were there to listen to pompous celebraties give their views on Bush. I think this is pretty amusing, and my first thought was how these actors desperately want to relive the days of 1969. My second thought was on one of my favorite movies: Team America. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do.



http://www.aim.org/aim_report/5168_0_4_0_C/

The second link is what I would like to reflect on today, and the two topics are related. Senator Obama. Or should I say Rock Star Obama. This junior senator has been ALL over the news, and not only since his announcement to form an exploratory committee; he's been the media darling since his speech at the democratic national convention in 2004. Obama has been on magazine covers, newspapers' front pages, cable shows, network shows, internet sites, Oprah's couch, Northwestern News Network - you name it, he's been there.

I remember when this Obama hysteria started to get to me. I was, up until December, a subscriber to Time magazine. Before the November election it was cover after cover of bashing republicans. But there was one issue inbetween the cover of the Elephant's behind and the cover with the picture of the tattered cowboy hat, that didn't focus on the immanent defeat of the GOP; it was an issue graced with a cover of a very cute Senator Obama. The article entailed the reasoning behind how he could become our first black president. The arguments weren't compelling.

The article I linked lists all of the praise the senator has gotten within the past year. With all of these accolades, how can he not run for president? He seems modest, but I believe he has to have an ego that convinces him of political invicibility. He probably has supporters in the demoratic congress because there aren't many within the party, as of now, that are electable. Senator Obama is electable. Perhaps more so than Hillary.

But is he prepared to be our president? He seems like a good guy. No doubt he's charismatic, good looking, well-spoken and intelligent. But other than these qualities, what has he done to deserve this publicity? And furthermore, what has he done to deserve being the leader of the free world? He tried passing legislation with Senator McCain and then backed out because it was controversial. He also hasn't been straight with what he thinks is a solution in Iraq. Not that he has any expertise with this topic.

It seems he says things that are politically safe. For instance, on his web site he menitoned "a new kind of politics." What does this mean? It's political jargon that sounds good but it's not substantive. This is not a sign of leadership. As a leader you will have those that support your ideas, and those that oppose them. You can't please everyone. Just ask Bush, he has 70 percent of the country opposing him.

But Obama certainly pleases the press. Obama is just another case of our media's obsession with celebraties. But I do have a friend who loves the young senator. She's from Illinois and worked on his senate campaign. She has told me,"you have to listen to his ideas! He will change things!"

Well, I'm listening, Obama.

JK