Warped October Politics

Driving through my neighborhood yesterday I was pleased to see teenagers - including the sons and daughters of various families we know - lined up on the corners waving political signs in support of various candidates. Call me a misty-eyed patriot, but I like civics in action and the kids involved, especially during political season.

Unfortunately, everything else about this month, in terms of current events, is so warped and slanted that it's difficult to obtain any objective news.

Is Bill Frist's attempt to pass a bill on immigration anything less than an attempt to set up Democrats for the political advertisements that have almost certainly been filmed already? Are news items like the MSNBC headline, "Sign of the Times", about the cooling real estate market, anything less than a subtle play at reinforcing the increasingly difficult-to-believe narrative that the economy is lousy? Oil prices just dropped to 15-year lows - I suppose that headline will bubble to the top of Fox News, right next to Clinton's Angry Face.

Meanwhile the New York Times, without question, has a steady arsenal of 'news analysis' front-pagers that are ready to be deployed in the next five weeks - with read meat indictments on Rumsfeld, tribunals, Gonzalez, religious conservatives - the whole hot button array of Left GOTV topics. Meanwhile Karl Rove is probably in a black tower somewhere, surrounded by the carcasses of small, cute animals, waiting to see how events play out - but ready, if necessary, to unleash the October Surprise. Another attack thwarted? Or maybe they finally croaked OBL?

I wouldn’t want to do anything to diminish the enthusiasm of those aforementioned fresh-faced, sign-waving youngsters – but I hope they have an adult nearby to help them read the news between now and election day. Very few big items will be reported without some kind of bias, and it’s more important than ever in this hyper-politicized environment to read between the lines.

Tags: 2008, Election, October Surprise, Bill Frist