The Primary Coverage: Hyperanalysis, Saturation...Enough Already

Here is how much of a political junkie I am. I get emails from the Rudy campaign, the McCain Campaign, the Duncan Hunter Campaign, and even Hillary's campaign, and that doesn't include the plethora of political websites and interest groups like GOP USA and the Minutemen that also send me emails on a regular basis. This political junkie has had it with the primary season and I am quite curious about the new evidence in the Natalie Holloway case and that's only because it has nothing to do with the primaries. At this point, I am searching for a tv station that constantly produces the sound of nails on a chalk board only because that also has nothing to do with the primary election.

Everywhere I turn, I find good honorable candidates get cut up and hyperanalyzed by folks who frankly have no standing or credibility to criticize a garbage man let alone long standing public servants. The last two days everywhere I turn, I find an endless stream of hyperanalysis of whether or not Mitt Romney did or didn't call for a timeline...whether or not John McCain did or didn't lie about it...and whether or not John McCain did or didn't say he wouldn't nominate someone like Sam Alito to the bench. Both professional and amateur pundits hyperanalyze every word, every movement, and every sound until no one is sure what the debate is.

The whole entire thing is trivial and worthless. Let's look at this battle over timelines for instance. Comparing the record and credentials of John McCain to Mitt Romney on issues relating to Iraq, GWOT, and foreign policy in general is sort of like comparing the basketball games of LeBron James to my own. There are many good reasons why Mitt Romney would be a great President however none of them relate in any way to being ready to be Commander in Chief.

Many amateur and professional pundits then try and paint John McCain as a liar for suggesting Romney was for timelines. No living American has sacrificed more and served more honorably for this country than McCain. To question his character and principle, especially if you are one with little sacrifice or accomplishment of your own, is really the height of hubris. Most of these folks that question his integrity have an agenda. They may hate McCain/Feingold or McCain/Kennedy, but that isn't enough for them. Thus, they create imaginary issues of character to further demean McCain. Make no mistake similary tactics have been used against all the candidates on both sides.

All these amateur and professional pundits are preaching to the choir. No one is going to be swayed by their obvious and clearly biased rants. Furthermore, they all say the same thing. I can't turn around without someone proclaiming that they refuse to vote for this or that candidate under any circumstances, or that you must vote for this or that candidate or face the wrath of a third or fourth candidate winning the White House. Every Republican candidate has been portrayed as being the end of the Republican party as we know it as well. Most of these rants are frankly nothing more than an homage and a regurgitation of the rants of the likes of Rush Limbaugh. It is one thing for Rush to do it, but when his rants spawn a million other rants that are frankly no different, well, then, this political junkie has had it.

Blogging evolved from so called citizen journalists who felt the media had ceased to do its job effectively and decided that they would do it for them. It turns out that most bloggers aren't very much different than the very pundits they rail against, only they are a lot less eloquent, they don't get paid, and their political ideology is different. The very same citizen journalists that scream about bias, lack of disclosure, and corruption in the media, then turn around and write a biased, corrupt, piece in which they fail to disclose that they support an opponent of the very politician they rail against.

All of this writing is written for the benefit of no one but sycophants. Here is just one example of what I mean.

I oppose a McCain nomination not only because he has a liberal record and his hallmark legislation was 1) a blow to free speech (McCain-Feingold), 2) an attack on democracy and capitalism that enabled people like Hillary Clinton and Mr. Hsu to raise millions of dollars through apparent fraud, meanwhile preventing people like you, me, and Chuck Norris from donating more than a few thousand dollars to a candidate we support (McCain-Feingold), 3) an attack on national sovereignty and the rule of law (McCain-Kennedy), 4) capitulation to global warming hysteria (McCain-Leiberman), and an attack on free markets (All of the above cited legislation), but most of all because he has been dishonest in his campaign.

At least this blogger disclosed his bias, however the only one being dishonest is th blogger themselves. McCain has a long a distinguished career and he has never had his character questioned, at least not with any credibility, even if he did misconstrue Romney's position, and that is not at all clear, wouldn't forty plus years of distinguished service give McCain some slack to cut. In fact, the blogger doesn't like McCain, I believe, specifically because of McCain/Feingold. There is no problem there, however creating this red herring about so called lying in the campaign is nothing more than a means to blunt a politician that he doesn't support. With all of the accusation traded by every campaign against every other one, it is beyond irresponsible to isolate one attack and hold said politician to a standard that you refuse to do with any other.

The whole entire thing makes me crazy. Today, Michelle ran a piece questioning McCain's allegiance to the free markets. Apparently, something that McCain said last night spawned this latest attack. I am frankly fed up to even bother reading the contents and figure it out. All I know is that he has had thirty plus years of public service. If he really was anti free market, it wouldn't have taken until last night to realize it. The politicians frankly attack each other enough for me. I really have no use for people that are supposed to naturally suport them following suit and attacking them some more. Isn't there anything positive that anyone can say about anyone of the candidates on either side?

I have watched good man after good man...from Rudy, to McCain, to Romney, to Huckabee, and now McCain again, get put through the gauntlet. Because folks are unhappy with one thing, or two things, or even three things, they must be unhappy entirely. McCain is unacceptable because of McCain/Feingold or McCain/Kennedy. A lifetime worth of work is rendered irrelevant because one or two or even three political actions weren't what some people wanted. Back in April, John McCain gave an empassioned and eloquent defense of the surge and the war in Iraq in general. At the time, the conventional wisdom was that such a defense was political suicide. McCain didn't care and he risked his entire political future on the outcome of an unpopuluar war. He was fond of saying this...

I'd rather lose an election than a war

When the chips were down, he was the only one to stand up for a policy that was successful but unpopular. Yet, none of the so called critics that incessently hyperanalzye and hyper criticize McCain ever give him even one iota of credit for this political courage.

Frankly, and ultimately, McCain is demonized by Conservatives because he dared to stray from the Conservative line from time to time and he chose a different path. He did it from time to time mind you. On the whole, he is quite conservative, but that isn't enough. Because he dared to cross the line and work with liberals on some issues, he must be destroyed and demonized.

Of course, McCain isn't the only one to face the firing squad. He is just the one to face it now. Romney's been called a flip flopper. He's had everything from his health care plan, to his tax plan, to his border plan, hyper analyzed for any hint that it too might stray from the conservative party line. If there was a hint, then that was also immediately hyperanalyzed and demonized.

Don't get me wrong. Of course, candidates should be criticized and they should be scrutinized when it is appropriate. I don't have a problem with any questioning anyone else's record. The problem I have is when that is all there is. Going by what I have read each and every candidate in the field is one step above the devil. They will each destroy the party and the country, and they are all ruthless tyrants with no ethics, morals or principles. The whole thing makes me sick. I heard that there is movement in the Natalie Holloway case and also that Brittney is in trouble again. I can't wait to get more details not because I care, but because neither has anything to do with the election.