"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 5 March 2016

THE DAILY BEAST....WHAT IS THAT?

Some comments suggest the ugly American currently getting 80% of the air-time in the presidential battle is  a typical politician because most politicians are con artists.

It's a knee -jerk reaction. Less than original. It invites challenge. 

If the art of the con is to inspire trust by telling an audience what they want hear, politics is certainly not the only operation similarly engaged. 

Television programming ,dependent on ratings, is most prominent.Until social media ,television was the only game in town. It still dominates the elder demographic. 

Young ones are not tied to it any more.They create  their own programming.  Listen to what they want to hear. Make and circulate their own videos.They talk to each other. 

The revolution wasn't started by  Senator Bernie Sanders or B.B.the Republican's worst nightmare.
It was already underway long before the presidential nomination battle got started. Sanders and Trump 
just  jumped on the bandwagon. 

CNN Friday was one long autopsy onThursday's   knock 'm down, kick 'm while he's down and drag 'm out slug fest  journalists still refer to as debate.

 Even allowing for differences in animation, for one side to be civil while the other wallows willfully in the gutter, does not a debate make. 

Next day, prominent Republicans came out of the shadows and deplored the conduct, even as they accused the President of breaking the law and the likely Democrat nominee of being a criminal. 

The world has watched Republicans collectively splashing about in rhetorical bilge while they blithely blame the Democratic President, who happens to be black, for loss of world respect. 

As I end this post, a CNN panel discussion is coming to a close. Speaking in the final round  is a political analyst for something called The Daily Beast. 

It seems like a fitting title but there's no indication of the nature of the publication. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never seen an election such as this one. The only thing that seems to have caused it is the stubborn refusal of the republicans to admit that Mr Obama was overwhelmingly elected TWICE, that the economy is doing ok, their unemployment figures are down and the Bush wars war being paid off. They blame all their personal woes and failings on the man and claim to feel he will declare martial laws before he leaves office. Oh, and that he is coming to take away their guns. An Ode to Faux News.

Anonymous said...

This election has nothing to do with Obama himself. Besides the "Obamacare" I don't think I've heard anyone trash anything he's done. I believe he's more respected around the world than Bush That being said, we've seen more domestic and internatuinal turmoil around the globe. I don't see any candidate in the republican or democrate camp that has the leadership nor the people behind them to change or improve anything. The quality of politicians in the US and this side of the border is sad.

Dave Robinson said...

The Daily Beast was the name of the newspaper in Evelyn Waugh's classic satire of journalism, Scoop. Journalists often are idealists at heart but keep this quality semi-protected by a thick shell of cynicism. The name was brought to real life as a political/cultural website about a decade ago by Tina Brown and others. It has since merged with Newsweek but has a wide following.

Anonymous said...

7:48 - And maybe that's what the American people see, and are tired of them all. A vote for Trump is a vote saying we're tired of all the crap. We're picking the biggest clown. Kinda like choosing Mickey Mouse on a ballot.

Anonymous said...

He lets them holler and swear and bully others while feeling good about it. No wonder it acts like a drug. Anger and hate create anger and hate.

Anonymous said...

00:02 - I don't know about the hate part, but anger? Probably. I believe the anger was already there. When government continues to ask for more money and the electorate believes they are getting less, frustration and sometimes anger will follow. Elections always bring theatrical performances. This US election just so happens to bring some Oscar winning performers on both sides. We are going to have to wait on Nov. 8th who the Oscar goes to.