The Talking Dog

April 29, 2008, Media priorities

Regular readers know that with the exception of many Sunday mornings when I turn over blog command to the young 'un, and post pictures of teen and tween celebrities, that this blog is completely out of touch with what actually constitutes matters of actual importance. Hence, I remain perplexed why it was such a major story (and why it was so critically necessary for) Senator Obama to express his dismay and denouncement of an egomaniacal local demagogue. Spiritual advisor to Obama perhaps, but friend, clearly not. Otherwise, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would have done his congregant a big favor and, in blog parlance, STFU. Instead, the Rev. Wright went on the kind of media spectacle that seemed almost designed to give all street corner demagogues a bad name. Then again, that's just it isn't it. Think, for example, of Wright's fellow street corner demagogue Rev. Al Sharpton, and his denouncement of Sen. Obama, for having the audacity not to call for violence in the aftermath of the verdict in the tragic Sean Bell shooting case. [Now Andy Sullivan-- he tells us what's important.]

Those of us awake in New York are well aware that Sen. Clinton frequently courts Rev. Sharpton for political support, and perhaps even more is going on, but it seems clear that the Rev. Sharpton and the Rev. Wright and presumably the Rev. Jackson and the rest of the race-based ambulance chaser demagogue set certainly might fear that their usefulness would be drastically reduced (if not more likely eliminated) should Barack Obama be sworn in as President of the United States: an America where a man like Barack Obama can become President is just not the kind of place that many of them would like.

Hey, doesn't this seem like an important story, TD? It's not like the media is covering it quite this way, of course; much better to portray everything as part of an ongoing primary horse-race (notwithstanding that Sen. Clinton can no longer overtake Sen. Obama in pledged delegates, and must resort to some other mechanism that involves taking this away from rightful Democratic primary voters and caucus-attenders, but hey... details!) Oh-- and the media is hellbent on making sure that race-based stereotypes and visceral reactions stay with us, lest, we, you know, grow the f*** up as a country. And so, we get to see the Rev. Wright in living color[ed]. As well as, of course, hearing about the importance of flag lapel pins (even as the questioners themselves weren't wearing them!)

Because, let's face it. If we weren't paying attention to things like this, we might notice things about Sen. McCain, the man who has already told us he knows nothing about the economy (which, we would hope is an exaggeration...). We might notice things about his supposed strength in other matters... what Hillary Clinton has told us is his "crossing of the commander in chief threshold" (to the Oval Office bathroom, perhaps?): his supposed expertise and experience in foreign affairs. We might notice that Fareed Zakaria tells us that, by trying to re-create a Cold War with both Russia and China (and creating a "league of democracies"), the Senator-Who-Sold-Us-Out-On-Torture(TM) may well be bat-s*** crazy on foreign policy too.

And for that matter, why should any of us pay attention to the fact that the former Guantanamo Bay military prosecutor Col. Morris "Moe" Davis just testified for the defense, with respect to the insistence of his overlords that he rush cases to trial for their political value (rather than their prosecutorial merit). Oh, he was also "ordered" not to have any acquittals!

Hey, TD, next thing you'll be suggesting that the House Judiciary Committee might be wanting to subpoena John Ashcroft and John Yoo and David Addington over their refusal to testify on those charming torture memos and other things they wrote! To coin a phrase, "heh".

No, no, no... none of this is important... except for the Rev. Wright part (and the flag lapel pins, of course). Go back to whatever it was that's on t.v., and don't trouble yourselves with any of this. This has been... Media priorities.

Time Machine Update: The Unseen Editor suggests a look at this rather prescient NRO piece; if recent events represent Sen. Obama indeed heeding it, he will have clearly moved into the realm of Macchiavellian Grandmaster.