Thursday, October 23, 2008

Media Bias: Coverage of Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin

This isn't shocking news to anyone that has been reading this blog for a while, but it has come up again and I feel compelled to post about it. This New York Post editorial notes how easy the media has been on Biden and the gaffes he regularly makes. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as his running mate prompted a small wave of warnings about Biden's propensity for gaffes. But no one imagined even in a worse-case scenario such a spectacular bomb as telling donors Sunday to "gird your loins" because a young president Obama will be tested by an international crisis just like young President John Kennedy was.

Scary? You betcha! But somehow, not front-page news.

Again the media showed their incredible bias by giving scattered coverage of Biden's statements.

There were a few exceptions. On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," co-host Mika Brzezinski flipped incredulously through the papers, expressing shock at the lack of coverage of Biden's remarks. Guest Dan Rather admitted that if Palin had said it, the media would be going nuts.

So what gives?

The stock answer is: "It's just Biden being Biden." We all know how smart he is about foreign policy, so it's not the same as when Sarah Palin says something that seems off.
The article has many more examples and you should go read the whole thing. The point of the article is spot on. We don't hear about Biden's comments, no matter how egregiously bad they are. Instead we get to hear about how much Palin spends on a suit. Consider, for example, if Sarah Palin said the following in a stump speech.
Ladies and gentleman, because he is old the world is going to test John McCain as soon as he gets into office. Within six months we will have a crisis. And because of his time spent as a POW and his anger and his temper, his initial reaction will seem to be the wrong one. We will look to you, as community leaders, to convince people not to panic, even though it will seem like there is good reason to do so.
Can you just imagine the reaction from the press?

If such blatant bias upsets you, there's something you can do about. Get motivated. Go vote for John McCain. Show the media that they can't influence you with their unfair and unethical meddling in the election. Tell your friends to do the same.

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