News? Paper

Flowers at Ground Zero - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com
 
By its very name a newspaper delivers news to its readers.  This morning the Fresno Bee, one of the West Coast’s chapters of Pravda, deemed the Vice Presidential Debates hardly newsworthy.  The front page was plastered with old news about the Lance Armstrong doping scandal and color pictures of the Fresno Fair, but there was no clue that tonight two men with very different agendas would be debating in hopes of becoming the nation’s second highest elected official.

If one were not a political junky or simply inattentive to these matters, how deep would someone have to dig to find reference to the debate?  Surely by page two or three, a casual reader would discover something relating to the event.  Alas, it was not until page seven where a 2x2 inch box located in the bottom right corner of the page alerted the readers about the nationally televised debate.

Journalism is not so much about news nowadays, but propaganda.  I imagine if the editors of the Bee thought bumbling Joe would take Paul Ryan to the woodshed tonight, the debate time would be displayed front and center on page one.  Yet they know as well as any the patented Biden smirk and bullying behavior will be in full force, so it is best to pretend the debate never happened. 

Aftermath of the Great Vice Presidential Debates

“Riches and fame make a gentleman not.”  - W.R. Priskna

The morning after the great debate Pravda's front page was adorned by a color photo of the event.  The editors, hoping none of their readers had seen the debate, lavished praise on battling Joe Biden.  He was tough and in command of the fact; just the type of man who should help lead the country.

Ask any expert in the field of body language, and they will testify that rolling eyes and laughing at another’s seriously intended comments shows utter contempt and disdain.  Joe Biden’s Cheshire Cat smirk and bullying tactics at the Vice Presidential debates were reported by the main stream media as a demonstration of aggressiveness, but most viewers with any sense of manners preferred the terms arrogance and rudeness.

The morning after the debate I was working with a group of women who are not usually politically oriented but nonetheless watched the contest between Representative Ryan and Vice President Biden.  To a person they were appalled by the Vice President’s boorish and immature behavior.  “He made a fool of himself,” one noted.  “It was Paul Ryan who kept his poise and acted like a gentleman.”

The weekend talk show experts seemed to have missed the point, as well.  The central issue was not controversial moderator Martha Raddatz or the flurry of facts flying back and forth between the two candidates.  The debate was defined by Biden's outlandish behavior and taunting demeanor reminiscent of the National Football League of old.    

Despite the spin, Joe Biden did not help his party’s cause.  Most of those who watched the debate saw a soon-to-be septuagenarian stuffed in an expensive suit, who conducted himself like a street fighter rather than a statesman.

   Tibet - photo by JoAnn Sturman

A Heart Beat Away

Scott Sturman

fliesinyoureyes.com

Looking for food in Zhangmu, Tibet - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Sarah Palin had problems.  Although her background was not dissimilar from many American voters, and she had served admirably as Alaska’s Governor, serious questions were raised about her modest education, lack of sophistication, and ability to deal with complicated political problems.  Having not received the seal of approval from the New York Times or Washington Post, she was judged hypothetically and deemed to be a woman unqualified to serve as Vice President.

Joe Biden was a different story then and is now.  He is a proven commodity; there is nothing hypothetical about him.  It is difficult to discern whether the man suffers from a double digit IQ or is just foolish, but he consistently has proved himself as an immaculately dressed embarrassment.  “What Joe really meant to say” or “the Vice President’s statements were taken out of content” are frequent rejoinders from his allies in the press.  Joe may be the model of mediocracy, but he is by all accounts one of them.  For all his buffoonery, we the public are assured by the liberal media of his expertise and eminent qualifications to be a heart beat away from the presidency.

This year it is Paul Ryan’s time be judged by conjecture and innuendo.  The tactics are the same: disregard past performance and the substance of his candidacy and focus on speculation and worst case scenarios.  Never mind Joe Biden has demonstrated time and time again over the last four years that he is uniquely incompetent, Paul Ryan is measured by a different standard.  Ryan’s credentials are compared with perfection, while Biden’s, depending on the day of the week, with Moe’s, Larry’s, or Curly’s.

By any objective standard it is difficult to imagine a worse performance than Barrack Obama’s: record debt accumulation, high levels of unemployment, massive trade deficits, soaring energy costs, a foreign policy based on knee jerk apologies, and rampant internal corruption within his administration.  There are serious questions about the President’s background and past affiliations with personalities whose political views are inimical to those of the United States.  Without his name recognition and personal contacts most employers would not hire a job applicant with this resume.  

We voters are being asked to disregard these grave concerns and instead focus on what Mitt Romney might do.  Never mind four years ago Obama campaigned on the nebulous platform of “Hope and Change,” his competitors must provide comprehensive, air tight solutions for all the nation’s problems before being considered worthy.  Even Romney’s detractors concede he is bright and talented man, who achieved success as an entrepreneur, Governor of Massachusetts, and head of the U.S. Winter Olympics.  No one has accused him of cavorting with unsavory characters who damn the United States and burn its buildings.  We are expected to forget Romney’s successes and Obama’s failures and cast our vote based on emotion and fear of what a prudent man would do as President. 

Visitor on a Tibetan Trail - photo by JoAnn Sturman