Reply #16: debates

[indyjones1938]

It doesn't matter what Kerry's debate strategy is, because no matter how good he does, the media will spin it as a huge Bush victory.

If Kerry is very deferential, cool and polite, they'll spin it as him being "soft" and unable to focus on differences between himself and Bush.

If Kerry is very aggressive and in attack dog mode, they'll say he's "cracking" and "losing his cool."

If Kerry gives his usual extensive, detailed and well thought-out answers, they'll spin him as being too "patrician" and "elitist."

If Kerry opts instead for simpler answers, catchy one-liners and an occasional joke, they'll spin it as Kerry trying to "imitate Bush."

All the while, Wolf Blitzer, Bill O'Reilly, Tom Brokaw and Chris Matthews will herald Bush's "regular old guy" image, trumpeting his ability to "connect with the common man" when he mispronounces words, gives 1-word answers, slumps over the podium and puts on his best "I ain't no college purfessur!" image. They will say that Bush's catchy little one-liners are a "work of genius" - the best rhetoric since Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

They'll criticize Kerry when he gives anything more than a 5-word answer, denouncing him as too "aloof" and "stiff," and unable to connect with Joe and Jane Sixpack down in the trailer park. Then they'll show old file images of Kerry playing "preppy" sports instead of All-American games like football, and say that the debates cemented Bush's image as a blue-collar, common man, regular old guy who drinks Coors and watches the Steelers every weekend.

Then, of course, they'll declare Bush the indisputable winner and say that the election is in the bag for him.

It's disgusting that our media has turned politics into a game of style over substance, but that's what we have to deal with.