More bad news for the media…
…The Republicans are better at questioning the President than you are.
I learned more about both sides of the issues than I have by listening to official press conferences. Getting neutrality out of the way seems to help when the issues are by nature contentious. Having the media mediate puts into the middle a force that (a) fears that taking up the opposition’s side too strongly will look like partisanship, and (b) is looking for “news,” i.e., headlines. It turns out that getting to hear the back-and-forth of the groups that have skin in the game can be better than inviting in a skinless third party.
Of course, it helps that not only is our President articulate and informed, he tries to engage substantively and accords his opponents appropriate dignity. And it’s to the Republican’s credit that they invited him in, gave the session enough time, and treated him civilly.
I agree the R’s deserve credit for inviting him in and giving him time, but questions that are really mini-speeches reciting Republican talking points and containing obvious untruths are not uniformly civil, even if they aren’t shouted Joe-Wilson style.
And I wouldn’t bet on a recurrence of this event, as Republican aides were opining — even before the session ended — that they shouldn’t have allowed the cameras in.
Your comments on the uselessness of the media are on point; this was the most riveting political tv I’ve seen, perhaps ever.
Your observations about how the Original Dialog is so much more valuable when take from the ’source’ is spot on. The media’s distillation, hype, and spin are a true disservice to the American public.
The question is: How to take this opportunity and create a comprehensive alternative?
Relying on the GOP to raise issues with the Dems is not a good idea because a) they can’t and won’t be that adversarial, and b) there are plenty of important things that the GOP and Dems have as little interest in discussing as the MSM. As for the event, I scanned the first part of it, and that’s not “back and forth”. Simply asking a question knowing what the response is going to be (“will you support across the board tax cuts” or similar) is just a waste of time. See my name’s link for the way to do things if you want to improve the system.
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