Pundists = Worthless to Society?
August 26, 2008
I made the unfortunate mistake of listening to some Republican pundits giving their opinions after the Democratic National Convention on Monday. One thing that I found amazing (but not surprising) was that the Republican pundits found every single strategic move that the Democrats made objectionable. Granted, I'm sure Democratic pundits would say the same about Republicans, but the whole situation confirmed how pointless listening to political pundits are. Regardless of what happens, the pundits will say it is wrong and that the exact opposite should have happened. Consider these three examples:
On Biden: Obama selected Biden as his VP and the Republican pundits object. They argue that if Obama was truly a "change" candidate that he wouldn't have selected an old Washington insider. So what if Obama would have selected someone much like himself? The Republican pundits would argue that the Obama ticket severely lacks experience and that Obama should have selected someone with Washington experience to balance out the ticket.
On Clinton: Republican pundits object to the fact that Clinton didn't get selected as VP. After all, they argue, she did receive 18 million votes, so it only makes sense to put her on the ticket. So what if Obama had selected Clinton? The Republican pundits would argue that it is a terrible choice - that for every voter that Clinton brings aboard, another moderate gets turned off; that Clinton fires up the right-wing base; and that Clinton supporters would still feel slighted that she didn't get the nomination and they will vote for McCain anyways.
On Michelle: Michelle Obama's opening speech at the Democratic National Convention was a generally positive presentation about her and Barack's life. Republican pundits object because they say the speech was too soft on McCain. So what if Michelle Obama had gone hardline and railed on McCain? The pundits would say that the Democrats are being ruthlessly negative and that Americans hate and get turned off by negative campaign tactics.
This phenomenon occurs on just about every issue that a pundit is called in to comment about. The takeaway is that these pundits, regardless of party affiliation, and useless at helping us understand the issues and the candidates. Admittedly, most reporters, journalists and bloggers have some slant - and you'll be hard pressed to find any media that is truly objective. But pundits are a species of their own, who take the "slant" to the ultimate extremes.
On Biden: Obama selected Biden as his VP and the Republican pundits object. They argue that if Obama was truly a "change" candidate that he wouldn't have selected an old Washington insider. So what if Obama would have selected someone much like himself? The Republican pundits would argue that the Obama ticket severely lacks experience and that Obama should have selected someone with Washington experience to balance out the ticket.
On Clinton: Republican pundits object to the fact that Clinton didn't get selected as VP. After all, they argue, she did receive 18 million votes, so it only makes sense to put her on the ticket. So what if Obama had selected Clinton? The Republican pundits would argue that it is a terrible choice - that for every voter that Clinton brings aboard, another moderate gets turned off; that Clinton fires up the right-wing base; and that Clinton supporters would still feel slighted that she didn't get the nomination and they will vote for McCain anyways.
On Michelle: Michelle Obama's opening speech at the Democratic National Convention was a generally positive presentation about her and Barack's life. Republican pundits object because they say the speech was too soft on McCain. So what if Michelle Obama had gone hardline and railed on McCain? The pundits would say that the Democrats are being ruthlessly negative and that Americans hate and get turned off by negative campaign tactics.
This phenomenon occurs on just about every issue that a pundit is called in to comment about. The takeaway is that these pundits, regardless of party affiliation, and useless at helping us understand the issues and the candidates. Admittedly, most reporters, journalists and bloggers have some slant - and you'll be hard pressed to find any media that is truly objective. But pundits are a species of their own, who take the "slant" to the ultimate extremes.
Seriously, you should never listen to republican pundits. It might make youlose faith in humanity