The Murray State News Blogs

Obama has his own satellite channel. It’s 73 on Dish Network. All Obama all the time.

That unsettles me.

I learned two things in my Press and Politics class last semester. Number one: Political reporting is a career path on par with shoveling elephant excretions at a circus. And, number two: The candidate who best manipulates the media wins the election. (See Howard Dean and the “Yelp That Cost the Presidency.”)

As I watched the unabashed Obama propaganda on tonight’s bonus SNL, I thought about that class and I got a bit queasy. Both candidates have tried to saturate society with their images, and Obama, with his neat logo and James Bond-like poise, has been the most successful. I don’t mind a candidate winning the election, but I do mind if they get to set their paper weights on the Oval office desk only because they played the media better than their opponent.

Yet, that’s the way it works. Few ordinary people can decipher the big, political picture, and few will ever really know the candidates. I think those who fit that criteria are all politicians, and all their opinions are scripted. Most have to interpret what they see, hear or read from news organizations.

Sorry, I sound like Eeyore tonight. I’m not saying that researching politics isn’t worthwhile. I’m just still disturbed by the Obama channel. I have to go crawl lethargically into my minuscule tent now.