As an exercise in examining media bias, I examined the article from The New York Times, August 15, 2008 edition, entitled “With Obama Away, McCain Talks Foreign Policy” by Michael Falcone. The photographs show Obama eating ice cream with his family and McCain at a podium with a flag behind him, pointing rather majestically to recognize a questioner. A subtitle for the article reads “While one candidate vacations, another takes an opportunity to look presidential.” Between the visuals and the titles, it is almost not necessary to read the article to see the outrageous bias, but I decided to take a look.
Bear with me through what is a longish recital, and I hope you share my fury at this reporting:
Paragraph 1: Obama “has seemed to fade from the scene” while McCain has “seized nearly every opportunity to display his foreign policy credentials”.
Paragraph 2: “Only once” did Obama discuss the fighting in Georgia from “his beachfront rental home … in a way that seemed timed for the evening news. He took no questions whose answers might demonstrate command of the issue.”
Paragraph 4: “It is as if the candidates’ images have been reversed within a matter of a few weeks.” The paragraph goes on: “Mr. Obama’s voice seems muted at a time when much of the world has been worriedly watching the conflict.”
Paragraph 6: “…the fluency with which Mr. McCain…discusses Georgia, citing the history of the region and the number of times he has visited, lends an aura of commander in chief.”
Paragraph 7: “Conservatives have pointed out that Mr. Obama looks a bit out of touch this time.”
Paragraph 8: “Mr. McCain…has resisted opportunities to criticize how Mr. Obama has addressed the situation in Georgia.”
Paragraph 9 contains a description of Mr. Obama’s week body-surfing, playing golf, visiting with friends and family.
Paragraph 11 describes how minimizing public appearances may have “provided fodder for detractors,” citing Cokie Roberts’ remarks about Hawaii being an “exotic, foreign place” and how he should have gone to Myrtle Beach.
Paragraph 13: An Obama spokesman defends the trip.
Paragraph 14: “Still, some Hawaii residents and political observers acknowledged that exotic impressions of the island have become mythology among Americans, making it one of the most unlikely places for a presidential candidate to call home”.
Paragraph 15 discusses that Hawaii’s reputation as “exotic” is why Obama has played down his Hawaiian roots.
Paragraph 16 calls our attention to the “elitist” tag as a reason why “you would not want to locate your biography in Hawaii.”
Looking back over this list, I feel ill. This article is not labeled an “opinion” or “news analysis”; rather it poses as a straight piece of reporting. It is not. It is purely propaganda for the McCain campaign. I hope you are as disgusted as I am.