Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Ellen Ratner
After watching the Democratic presidential debates last week, I saw a side of the media that I would like to pretend I had not seen. Anyone who watched the debates objectively would have said that there was no clear winner – the field is wide open. Wrong. After the one and a half hours of fun, I listened to pundit after pundit talk about what a wonderful job Sens. Clinton and Obama did. What? I wondered if I was watching a different debate.

The next morning ''Camp Clinton'' issued a press release titled, ''The Raves Pour In: Hillary 'Presidential,' 'Confident,' 'The Real Deal.''' The quotes came from a list of who's who in pundithood or perhaps I should say, pundit dumb.

Afterwards, Barack and Clinton spoke to the local crowds and both seemed to immediately invent a southern dialect. One citizen of pundit dumb defended the two senators by saying, ''Well the people here are so charming, and I find myself adopting their intonations as well.'' No, it's actually more like being a chameleon. I'm thinking that famous Woody Allen movie; ''Zelig'' will be must-see TV this fall.

Barack, nicknamed ''Obambi'' by Maureen Dowd of the New York Times in a column several weeks ago, is determined to brand himself as the newest hawk on the block. He spoke recently at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. As Robert Kagan quoted Sen. Obama in Sunday's Washington Post, he wants the American military to ''stay on the offense, from Djibouti to Kandahar,'' and he believes that ''the ability to put boots on the ground will be critical in eliminating the shawdowy terrorist networks we now face.'' Huh? Did Kagan get the wrong quote? Was he quoting President George W. Bush? Our military has told us that there are no ''military solutions'' in Iraq, or elsewhere. What on earth is Sen. Obama thinking? I know the man is bright, but he seems to have been asleep for the last five years. Our military is an incredible institution when you want to use a blunt object to kill as effectively as possible, but no one, not even the military, thinks that it is wise to put ''boots on the ground,'' in order to accomplish the delicate task of breaking terrorist networks.

As for Sen. Clinton, she was given points by the pundit dumbs for ''not being shrill.'' Yippie! She explained that she made mistakes with her healthcare plan, but the only plan she talked about was that one.

The most refreshing comments of the evening came from Gov. Bill Richardson, the only one on the stage with executive leadership measurable results. He did not apologize for defending the Second Amendment. He did not apologize for being the last to ask for Attorney General Gonzalez to resign. He said he knew him; he knew where he came from and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't jump to universal healthcare because he knows we have to figure out a way to pay for it first.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich was also a breath of fresh air. He said this isn't an "American Idol" contest. Think what you may about Dennis, he's a man of conviction. He doesn't waffle. He lives in the home he bought for $21,000 in the 1970s and he understands what it is to be a working American.

My favorite person in the debates was former Sen. Gravel. I'd marry him. He beat up on the Democrats for their little resolution to withdraw from Iraq. He gave the legislative playbook for how you get out of a war. He should know – he ended the draft. The best line was that the group scared him. He said it wasn't until he had stood on the same stage with them that he realized he wanted to be in the race to win.

America will pick the next president, not the media. The media only wants to play the hits. They want to make the winner. Men like Gov. Richardson are no ''rock stars.'' I would cringe to think what he looks like in a bathing suit. Sen. Clinton has had the benefit of the media spotlight since 1992 when Bill Clinton ran for president. She is media savvy and Obama is the new media darling. I'm saying give the rest of the group a chance. Our nation needs leadership, not politicians who take a wind check before they dispense with their hot air.