"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser

A rich man in a poor man's shirt

Imagine how the media would react if a multimillionaire, East Coast, big-city, thrice-married presidential candidate who was a progressive Democrat said his most recent music purchase was opera, his favorite fitness activity, golf, and added that he doesn't drive -- he navigates.

Or if a progressive Democratic candidate who had launched his political career by marrying into a wealthy and politically connected family, then promptly running for Congress, revealed that he has pet turtles named "Cuff" and "Link."

Or if a progressive Democratic candidate who was the son of a governor, who has a net worth of around $200 million, whose own campaign staff was concerned he is seen as not tough enough and that his hair looks too perfect ... imagine if such a candidate said that if he weren't running for office, he'd probably be chief executive of an auto company and whose staff boasted that the difference between him and the president is "intelligence."

The media would have an absolute field day, yammering endlessly about how the candidate is too "soft" and is an elitist, an arrogant know-it-all with a misguided sense of entitlement who is hopelessly out of touch with the rugged regular-folk who live in Michigan and enjoy NASCAR and country music and drive pickups. There would be a real danger of Chris Matthews literally exploding on live television, unable to contain his incredulity that such a clueless candidate could possibly think a Pennsylvania steelworker would care what he has to say. (Then, with the Klieg lights turned off, Matthews would head off to one of the glitzy balls that he frequents, maintaining his place on Washington Life's "Social List" -- or perhaps he'd take a quick trip to relax by the pool of his vacation home nestled among the dunes of Nantucket. Railing against cultural elites on behalf of the Working Man is tiring, after all.)

But when the three leading (for now) Republican presidential candidates reveal their fondness for opera (Giuliani), have their pets named after fashion accessories (McCain), and boast that if they weren't running for president, they'd probably be running an auto company (Romney), it passes without notice.

So when longtime lobbyist and Hollywood actor Fred Thompson -- a man who once rented a red pickup truck in order to campaign in Tennessee as a man of the people -- indicated this week that he would seek the Republican presidential nomination, we knew how the media would describe him: Authentic. Folksy.

Let's back up a moment: Thompson didn't even drive the rented pickup, as The Washington Monthly reported in 1996: READ MORE HERE

THE CONCOCTING OF THE NEWS!

This is unfortunately the truth. The media has different rules on how they present progressives running for office and conservatives running for what they consider their office. I am so tired of watching these so called news outlets MSNBC, CNN and the other local stations CBS, NBC, ABC, that I resort to Jon Stewart, Colbert and Bill Maher's HBO Real Time (which incidentally has taken an hiatus for about 6 months...RATS!) for some truth and a bit of well needed laughter.

Thank goodness, I can turn to Link TV and Democracy Now... http://www.democracynow.org/ Once in awhile to know what really is going on in the world (although, quite depressing at times)... Without that little reality shot-in-the-brain I would be totally in the dark or worse BRAINWASHED with a permanent pair of ROSE COLORED GLASSES stuck to my face.

EXAMPLE OF DEMOCRACY NOW HEADLINES FOR JUNE 2007

- Kidnapped BBC Reporter Appears in New Video
- U.S. Embassy in Iraq Plans Posted Online
- Sadr Rejects Talks With U.S.
- Clashes Resume at Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon
- Bush Rejects Emissions Caps in New Climate Change Plan
- U.S., Russia Trade Barbs Over Missile Plan
- British Teachers, South African Trade Union Back Israel Boycott
- Dow Jones Considers Murdoch Bid for WSJ
- Ex-Rove Aide Resigns as Arkansas U.S. Attorney

THINKINGBLUE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRING THEM HOME NOW