A Glimpse into the Mindset of the Mainstream Media

In Friday's edition of ABC News' The Note, the authors begin with an open letter to Democrats regarding Karl Rove's recents comments. The letter, while intended as "satire," offers a rare glimpse into how our mainstream press corps views its role in our political process. The letter states:

"Karl Rove's remarks on Wednesday night reminded us
of something we were sure we had heard before, but we
couldn't quite remember what it was.
(Thinking. . . thinking. . . thinking. . .)
Oh, yeah!!!
Right!!!
THE RHETORICAL BASIS OF THE ENTIRE
BUSH-CHENEY 2004 RE-ELECT CAMPAIGN!!!"

Ha ha! I'm glad that the folks at ABC News are willing to acknowledge (now that we're halfway through 2005) that the entire Bush-Cheney re-election campaign was based on a blatently deceptive style of rhetoric. Perhaps voters could have benefitted from this knowledge BEFORE the election. They probably would have been interested in knowing that they were being consistently deceived, that the intentional misrepresentation of Democratic positions formed "the rhetorical basis of the entire Bush-Cheney 2004 re-elect campaign." But alas, while our mainstream scribes were aware that this was going on (as this letter clearly indicates), they apparently felt no need to mention it until now. This passage provides a rare glimpse into how these scribes view their own role in our political process. While the writers at The Note clearly understand how Rove and company operate, they seem completely oblivious to their own critical role as enablers. They don't seem to grasp that the success of Rove's rhetorical tactics depends entirely on the unwillingness of the mainstream press corps to call a lie a lie or to inform the American people when they are being treated like rubes. Instead they dutifully report what both sides say, and we have to try to figure who's lying on our own.