CNN, Palin, and Obama's dog

CNN has been focusing a lot on Palin lately, such as talking about her calling to put aside "extreme partisanship" to get work done or her complimenting Obama or when she called the attacks against her "cruel" and "cowardly." There were many, many more pieces about her, and I can't help thinking with coverage like this that she is just another celebrity to them and not a political figure.

There has been some real coverage of Obama, such as him being asked to focus on Darfur and some of his lobby rules that could benefit nonprofits, but then there are also the more "fluffy" pieces, such as the packages and articles about his dog. For example, this video/article link says it is the "more pressing issue" to find the perfect puppy for his daughters. I'm not sure how people can think puppies are more important than what's going on in the world now .......

NR on centrism

In the article "Center? What Center?" James G. Gimpel goes against everything that the mainstream media is saying about the country being a centrist country by saying we are not. All the mainstream media outlets seem to be saying lately that Obama needs to be careful with what he does in office because we're such a centrist country, and this article says that there is no coherent center to which voters there adhere. 

"The research suggests that those who at various times occupy this center, often described as moderates or independents, are not very knowledgeable about or interested in politics. They do not follow campaign coverage closely, are inconsistent in their policy views, and are often not able to identify what positions are liberal or conservative."

The article then goes on to say that it's foolish to move campaigns toward the center, since the "center" is never really fixed.

I think this is a good article because it does not just follow the trend that the other outlets have been saying lately, but instead has new ideas that I think at least make sense. 

NR and their defeat

NR was obviously upset with the results of Tuesday night, since it is a conservative publication. But even so, not all of their articles completely bashed Obama and whined about losing.

"Race in the city" by Mark Hemingway was about the response of Washington D.C. to Obama winning. He talks about how the young people gathered in front of the White House aren't angry or focusing on their hatred of Bush, they just keep yelling "Obama! Obama!" The reporter attributes this to the percentage of the crowd that is black, and how this election was a symbol and reason to celebrate. Even though he doesn't agree with much of Obama's policies, Hemingway admits that there is a reason to celebrate because the country has come such a long way.

"The Children Gather" by David Freddoso was about the happiness of the crowd in Grant Park in Chicago as the results came in. He showed how much of the crowd was well-educated about the election, and how some were happy Obama was elected because of his race and some wanted more party allegiance. It really showed the hope of the people throughout the night, and it was touching to read some of the responses of people that were so idealistic about the future. At the end Freddoso says that he thinks that Obama is merely a man and politician and that people are putting him too high on a pedestal, but he just says people will learn the hard way in time.

"Hope amid the ruins" by the editors was about the voters' rejection of the central aspects of liberalism. The editors say that the people clearly rejected what the Republicans have been doing, and that Bush and McCain basically brought it on themselves by not understanding the problems of the average Americans, their response to the economy, botching up Hurrican Katrina, and many other policies and responses. The editors call for the conservatives to work with the Democrats in Washington and to devise an agenda that will help middle class Americans.

NR and networks calling the elections

Today NR had an article called "County by County: Why wait for the networks to call the race when you can do it yourself." The article started out well talking about how everyone wants to know the results before they are in and that there is no way to tell how accurate the numbers are before they are finally counted. Then the article gave a website for following the election by county and finding out the results on your own, so I went to the website and who was it sponsored by?? Fox News. I should have guessed this since NR is a conservative publication. But even so, I don't know if I can trust such a website sponsored by a network that pronounced Bush the president in 2000 way before the results were clear.