The "What He Said" Game

Every election cycle the Republicans play the same game of distraction. They want to distract people from what they have done, so they turn the focus on to what their opponents said, or what someone who can nominally be linked to their opponents said.

And every year, the press dutifully plays along.

The ABC debate last night might have been the most egregious example because it seemed like it was the only thing they asked about, but the whole election so far has been littered with these false controversies. All of this plays exactly into the hands of the Republicans. Don't worry about what we did to this country, look away, instead spend all your time getting angry about what someone said.

What did Rev. Wright say, what did a man from the Weather Underground say, what did Obama say about bitter people, what did Hillary say about Bosnia? And now, it's even sillier -- what did they wear? First, it was Hillary wearing something that theoretically showed cleavage -- and this was supposed to prove how cunning she is. And now it's whether Obama wears a flag lapel pin.

The thing that I keep wondering about is whether the actors in this play realize they are in a theater of the absurd and dutifully do their parts or if they are all naifs who are being played themselves.

Does Stephanopoulos realize that he is helping the Republican election strategy by asking an insane and inane question about whether Obama wears an American flag? Or does he have no clue as to how he is being spun? It's all in the question, George. In case you don't know, let me make you aware, the answer is irrelevant, the Republicans win when you ask the question because 1) it sets Obama up as unpatriotic and makes him look defensive when he answers that he is patriotic =- it's like asking him whether he beats his wife 2) it distracts from the real issues and gets people to vote the wrong way based on superficialities rather than the real issues that affect their lives.

This Republican administration, aided and abetted the whole way by the Republicans in Congress, has led us into a disastrous war in Iraq. 4,000 Americans killed, 30,000 wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed. Think about that for a second. Hundreds of thousands of civilians -= women, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, grandfathers =- all killed based on a tremendous, world changing mistake by the Republicans, George W. Bush and John McCain (and Hillary Clinton). And they're asking what Obama is wearing?

It's the game of 'don't look at what we've done, look at what he said.' If we don't all rise up and rebel against it, they are going to keep playing this game forever. They asked Obama about what his neighbor said about something his neighbor had done forty years ago. Do you know all the things your neighbor has said and done? And what would you do if you did know? Give him a sound thrashing?

Meanwhile, Rome is burning. The economy is a mess. The dollar is crashing because we have spent far too much money and borrowed even more for wars that did more harm than good. And now Charlie Gibson asks, no demands, that Clinton and Obama pledge to never, ever raise taxes. He says that revenues always rise when you lower capital gains taxes. Really? Would they rise even more if we lower the rate to 1%? How about 0%?

Does Charlie Gibson know that Republicans lower taxes irresponsibly every time they get into office and then blame the Democrats for raising them because the economy is crashing when they get into office? Does he know this shell game? Does he know his question is loaded to make it appear that the Democrats want to take your money and that everything would be fine if we just stopped taxing everyone? Does he ever ask the Republicans to take a pledge to not cut taxes if the budget isn't balanced? Think about that one for a second. You have to think about it because it has never, ever been asked of the Republicans.

But what a relief it was when they did ask the loaded policy questions because they were at least policy questions. I timed it. It took 52 minutes into the debate before the ABC "News" folks asked a single question on the issues. They were a parody of themselves. It was embarrassing to watch.

Will someone ask John McCain -- yes or no, if you had to do Iraq war over again, would you do it? I don't want to hear about how McCain complained about Rumsfeld and how he would have done the war so much better. I want to know, knowing what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq? Shoot, they won't even ask him to apologize for what his pastor said or what his neighbor said, let alone ask him the most relevant question there is.

This game sickens me. All I want to know now is whether the so-called news folks are in on it or if they are fools being played like clueless puppets. I want to know whether I should be angry or sad. Imagine how embarrassed they must feel this morning if none of this had ever occurred to them and for the first time they realized they've been played for fools all along. That the Republicans call them names, accuse them of being biased and then have them do their bidding every year -- and then laugh at them behind their back and talk about how pathetic they are.

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Comments

[ljsfolly]

Charlie and George thought they had enough going for them that they could just go out on what was calle/billed as a debate and trash talk like th store magazines bringing up crap that mattered to whom? I wanted talk about the economy, gas prices, the war, the lack of care and equipment for our military, how things might be changed so we can once again feel respect from other countries and on and on but where did it all go? Attacks on a little boy? Barack was like 7-8 years old when the weathermen did their thing and yet he was called out for knowing one of the guys in the group yet Hillary's husband pardoned a couple of the same group plus some really low slimy people. Glossed over that and lapel pins that was too dumb for words. If a pin has to be worn to show you are a proud american then we all failed that test. Also never ever point out someones failings when you are also having the same issue. Hillary went for the pile on but who was wearing and who has worn the pin? Called a stupid man stupid when you are acting the same way makes who look the worst?

[Boris]

The sad thing is that during the first gulf war, CNN was so respected, it was viewed around the world and trusted everywhere, even though it was an American network. Remember when the Russians fought back for democracy and they put pieces of it on international TV and saved themselves? None of this can ever happen again. The Murdocks and Zells and DIsney's see news as no more important than the
TeleTubbies.

We have to remember, these guys, Gibson, Stephenwhateveropolis, are some of the dinosaurs that work in a dying industry. Credibility and honesty are second to a pretty face. Who would have thought that Ted Turner's sales of his networks would have led to the demise of the entire industry?

[ihavenobias]

Excellent piece Cenk, as usual. I wrote ABC and also signed the MoveOn petition. I guess I should call them too...

[InternationalObserver]

All these questions about the Lapel Pin ...... did I miss the memo? Is there an email doing the rounds that I didn't receive? Can someone please clarify what NOT wearing an American flag on your lapel means?

I can only presume it signifies one of the following:

You don't support the Iraq War

You hate the troops

You hate America

You love Al Qaida

[erinm]

Thank you! My thoughts exactly. This debate was an absolute travesty and an embarrassment. I just got thru watching countdown, and the meme was these are the questions you have to ask/expect because this is what the American people vote on...e.g. flag pins (why was Hilary not asked why she was not wearing one?). They harked back to GHWB visiting a flag factory after Dukakis refused to make saying the pledge of allegience in schools mandatory...and hey, it worked they said, proving their (joe Scarborough's) point. So my question: have any of these kind of idiotic, embarrasing (for the moderator) questions been asked in previous election cycles, and can anyone cite examples of them. I would really like a comparison becauseI cannot believe anyone, especially George S., is defending this crap today....

Note to ABC: I haven't watched ABC news in years, but was a faithful viewer of This Week every Sunday...I am no longer.

[RavagesOfTime]

It was a "Lowest Common Denominator" debate, Cenk.

It wasn't a debate for people that listen to The Young Turks or post on Huffington Post. It was for everybody else, and let's be honest.

The mainstream media has gotten the mass of the public right back where they always are. Caring more about flag pins, and stories in Bosnia than that whole 'war' thing.

Should we be mad? Absolutely, but let's face it. The rest of the country is paying a lot more attention to CNN's story about Chelsea hanging out at a transvestite club than the economy, General Petraeus' testimony, or anything else that actually matters.

[grendl]

The arrogance of the media is just as much on display as Hillary Clinton's Glenn Close impression from " Fatal Attraction."

Because they're creating and stoking controversies. Someone read what Mayflower Hills wrote on a blog and decided, hey we got the newest scandal, and damned if it didn't happen. It doesn't help that Barack seems to vacillate on the wisdom of his wording, he should've just come out and said he stood by every word.

Unless he doesn't of course. When this "scandal" first broke I heard the reporter on CNN talk about it like it was the next Watergate. Why? Because that's the kind've thing that gets CNN ratings of course. This is just as much about the news media vying for the American public's attention, as it is about a presidential race.

Barack going soft on Hillary was a big disappointment. There's a time to turn the other cheek, and a time to call your opponent out on the worst hypocrisies ever uttered. He's an elitist? Are you fucking kidding me with that? I hope Hillary provided all those Pennsylvanian blue collars with dictionaries.

All Barack had to do regarding his bitter comment was turn to Hillary and say " You say you haven't seen bitterness in America, Hillary? Where have you been campaigning , Cabo?"

He let her slide on the tarmac thing, which shows you can be too much of a gentleman too. Lies matter in an election. Even white ones.

[darcy]

"issues that effect their lives"

That's "affect."

"all the things you're neighbor has said"

That's "your."

Ho hum, Cenk. The press is corporate owned; we all knew that already. Also, bush didn't make a mistake starting the Iraq invasion; it was planned before he was elected. It has enriched him and his friends, so from their point of view it has been a brilliant success.

We're screwed.

[Pippilin]

To answer the question: George and Charlie are "in on it". Didn't George just allow Mr. Hadley
to incorrectly refer to Tibet as Nepal this past Sunday without so much as a single attempt at correction? I see CNN listed in the post above. Didn't CNN revise Hadley's ABC Sunday interview and substitue (correctly) the word "Tibet" for "Nepal"? Now if that isn't collusion in perpetrating falsehoods on the U.S. public, I don't know what is. Yes, this country is over.

[hopeless277]

Face it, Republicans always win. Why? Who are the Republicans? Well, they own GE, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox, TNT, TBS, etc., etc., etc. That is why they win. They control the media. Unless Americans are a lot smarter than I give them credit for, McCain will be the next president. Why? Because the myth built around him will be pushed relentlessly by, guess who, the REpublican corporate media. This country is over.

[Chachi]

This is the pessimistic worst case scenario. But, you're correct that we are at least headed this way if things don't change quickly.

And, guess who helped enable this Republican corporate controlled media to dumb down the American public so much that they could have free reign to take over power in this country? That's right, it was good ole Bill Clinton who loosened rules in the 90's on media ownership and helped these media companies to merge into these huge mega corporations that own almost every media outlet.

[LeftRight]

Let us hope that Americans can be intelligent enough to overcome that handicap, finally!

[darcy]

Keep hoping, LeftRight, but don't hold your breath. Most Americans still think Reagan was a good president.