The Unbearable Lightness of Being the MSM

[Geee]

American Spectator:

It has been obvious for some time that the Gingrich strategy for capturing the GOP nomination for President includes running against the "news" media as well as the President, and Saturday's primary results in South Carolina seem to vindicate the shrewdness of that plan. Newt realized early on that much of the voter indignation that has manifested itself in the Tea Party movement is driven by media complicity with Obama in his ongoing effort to ignore the will of the people and transform the U.S. into a European-style social democracy. This concordance between Newt and the voters on the untoward and destructive role of the media in our political discourse was blindingly obvious last Thursday when Newt's reprimand of CNN's John King during the GOP debate drew two standing ovations from the audience.

Much has been written, of course, about media malpractice. Most commentators put it down to liberal bias, but that is actually a symptom of a larger problem -- the intellectual shallowness that afflicts most contemporary journalists. One reason John King opened the CNN debate with a question about Newt's sex life is that it required less cerebral exertion than a more substantive query about such things as the cause of high unemployment or the constitutionality of Obamacare's individual mandate. This lack of intellectual depth is why one moderator of a CNBC debate, who gave each candidate thirty seconds to propose an alternative to Obamacare, was clearly shocked and angered when Gingrich accurately labeled it an "absurd question." She had no idea that she had said something stupid.

And, if you doubt that the "shallowness theory" holds true beyond the realm of broadcast media, I recommend a perusal of the Atlantic. Andrew Sullivan's departure may have reduced that publication's creepiness factor, but it hasn't increased its intellectual heft. A case in point can be found in a recent post by David Graham about Rick Santorum. The latter served in Congress for sixteen years and, in the volatile race for the GOP presidential nomination, he pulled off a near miracle in the Iowa Caucuses. So, what does Graham offer the readers of his venerable magazine about this interesting public figure? A sophomoric critique of Santorum's "embarrassing yearbook photo, which the Atlantic first unearthed in May 2011." Just imagine the seconds of grueling toil that must have gone into "unearthing" this monumental scoop.

[NCTexan]

Too bad our candidates were not as "cool" in their younger days...