BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

I’m not talking about today.  I’m talking about the entire race to the conventions.

Whether you are supporting Clinton or Obama, McCain or Huckabee, it’s time to stand up for your candidate.  If the media had their way, and all too often they do, we would have nominated Clinton and McCain last year.  That was before McCain ran out of money and was all but buried in the press.  That was before Clinton made a loan to her campaign and dumped her Latina campaign manager.  That was before Obama grew to rock star status.  And, God only knows, it was long before Huckabee’s name was known outside Arkansas.

Things have changed.  Against all odds, we have a race.  Still, the media is trying to sway our opinions and our votes.  We are bombarded by misinformation, faulty polls, and predictions of winner states that don’t hold true.  In an effort to be “first” with “breaking news” the media presents wishful thinking as fact.

Recently, in a democratic primary Missouri, “the bellweather state”, was called for Clinton, only to find when the votes were counted that Obama had won the popular vote and a narrow margin of delegates.  Isn’t it more important to get it right rather than to get it first?  Nope.

And why not?  Well, think about it.  As in past elections, the media has called a state for one candidate or another before the polls closed on the west coast.  In the current situtation it is even more influential.  Not all states vote for their delegates on the same day.  And, with everyone wanting to bet on a winner, how many voters have decided to stay home or to change their vote based on media influence?  I’m not going to complain about getting news.  But, what about getting facts, without the spin of wishful thinking attached?

One of the most greatest phenomena of the century is how wrong polls can be.  I love it only because I think the voters are smart enough to screw with the heads of those taking the polls. 

It brings to mind a time when I was called for jury duty.  There was a lady sitting next to me dressed in what those of us in the South call the “Saturday night drinking, Sunday go to meeting” dresses.  Usually a floral print (reminds old timers of flour sack cloth) the dress is “fancy enough” to go out to the bar on Saturday night and if the wearer gets home too late to clean up before church, she just adds one of those removable large white squared off Pilgrim collars for church.

She smelled of alcohol, but was primped up as if she was headed out to teach Sunday School.  The case was a murder trial and while most of us were not interested in being on the jury, this particular lady was practicing every thing she could think of that might get her a seat among the holy twelve. 

She struck up a whispered conversation with me, asking if I was eager to be on the jury.  I explained that once I stated that I was against the death penalty and “no, I can’t be rehabilitated” I was sure I would be excused.  She frowned before adding, “I can’t wait to get on this jury.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I can’t wait to screw up the deliberations and get this guy off.”  She smiled, pleased with herself that she had figured out a way to outsmart the system.

Maybe, just maybe that’s what’s going on with all the polls.  The voters are tired of being questioned, quizzed, and commenting.  So, let’s give out a big “hoorah” for the voters.

And maybe, just maybe, once the media figures this out, they will stick to the facts, just the facts.