There's no denying the extraordinary power of the traditional media in driving a narrative.
CHICAGO, IL (SNRK News) -- In the wake of two weeks filled with one blunder after another on basic facts of national security from geography to recent history, Barack Obama's campaign is reeling and taking hits from all sides. The once ascendant Obama campaign is now struggling to regain its footing in the wake of what seems to be an onslaught of negative press coverage.
"This man's ignorance about matters vital to saving American lives is simply astonishing," said conservative columnist Charles Sauerkraut-Hammer. "No American voter in their right mind would let this man anywhere near the red button--God forbid a 3AM phone call."
In just a few short weeks, Obama has insisted that Shiite Iran is training hardline Sunni Al-Qaeda (forcing Republican Chuck Hagel to twice step in and correct the error), talked about the non-existent border between Iraq and Pakistan, asserted that the surge in 2007 began before the Anbar awakening in 2006, confused Sudan and Somalia, inaccurately called David Petraeus the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly referred to the nonexistent nation of Czechoslovakia, and ignored Afghanistan by calling Iraq the first major conflict after 9/11. And these are only a few of Obama's recent gaffes. Meanwhile, Iraqi president Nouri Al-Maliki was recently quoted in a German magazine supporting McCain's plan to stay in Iraq for the full 100 years necessary to stabilize the oil-rich nation, which in turn forced the Obama campaign to adopt McCain's rhetoric, calling for a "centennial withdrawal horizon."
Remember: it's the narrative, stupid.
Disillusionment with Obama's gaffe-prone campaign has led many leading Democrats to consider replacing him prior to the Democratic Convention with a candidate such as Hillary Clinton, who might have a prayer of winning the election--or at least of engaging credibly in a debate on foreign policy.
The press has savaged Obama mercilessly for his recent errors. Coverage of Obama's gaffes has generated the same media frenzy normally reserved for extremely important stories about domestic issues--for instance, the far-reaching consequences of Jeremiah Wright's damnation of America, which caused the deaths of thousnds of Americans from fiery brimstone hail.
Meanwhile, John McCain's recent trip overseas has bolstered his considerable foreign policy credentials in the eyes of the American press and the public, leaving Obama stuck on domestic soil at small gatherings where he has made one factually inaccurate statement after another to an increasingly hostile press.
A media narrative is like a raging river: once it gets started, there's almost nothing that can be done to change its course--especially if maintaining the narrative is the only thing keeping the horse race close.
"Even the liberal media like CNN and the New York Times are starting to take notice," said conservative New York Times columnist William Kristol-Nacht. "Ultimately, there's no way to defend this guy or try to keep the race close anymore. CBS tried to cover for him a couple of times by altering his answers, but thanks to the fair-and-balanced alternative media, blogs like Free Republic exposed the pro-Obama media bias for what it is."
Liberals are also worried. In an opinion piece published in The New Republic magazine, Democratic Leadership Council president Harold Ford said, "Obama has reinforced Democratic weaknesses on national security. It's time for Democrats to admit that Republicans have won this debate, and emulate John McCain's positions as much as possible." Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman agrees: "It's time to bring the Democrat Party back to the sort of successful wartime policies we had under JFK and LBJ."
While it has taken the press some time for Obama's gaffes to trickle through what has been undeniably favorable coverage, the dam has burst, causing the campaign to go into damage control mode.
Said one campaign insider on condition of anonymity, "As a candidate, if you make just one major mistake on an issue like the geography of the Middle East, the press will jump on you. It's like saying Poland isn't a communist country. It just kills you. But doing it again and again? It's hard to see how the campaign will recover from this. It's tough when the press just repeats your candidate's mistakes 24/7 on the cable news shows."
Narrative, baby. Narrative. It's all that matters.