Their political soap opera is our unfortunate reality
Andy McCarthy wrote an interesting article over the weekend that addresses how much more serious the world of politics actually is than the soap opera and games that today's politicians, punditry and President make it out to be...
NRO: The problem with the soap opera that is modern American politics is that politics is not soap opera.
The object of the latter is entertainment through a daily, hokey maintenance of suspense. This necessarily requires the viewer’s suspension of disbelief, particularly when it comes to the lead characters. Depending on what improbable twists and turns the plot must take to meet the demands of day-in-day-out drama, the stars of the show slip seamlessly from villain’s to hero’s role, from incorrigible vice to transcendent virtue. Soap fans buy in because they know it is not real. It is, to the contrary, their escape from reality.
Politics is our reality. It only seems like soap opera because of the way it is covered: Right into your living room, day-in-day-out, celebrity journalists present the adventures of their fellow dramatis personae, celebrity pols. The journalists portray politics, moreover, as suspense, and not just such suspense as the news of the day may warrant by dint of its relative seriousness — an earthquake, the outbreak of a war, or the specter of millions losing health-insurance plans they were promised they could keep. The continuing suspense lies in the practice of politics.
A little more than 15 minutes ago, there were only three major networks and a handful of prominent national newspapers. The focus of this limited news-media universe was the events themselves.
Not anymore. With a plethora of news sources, with limitless space and hours of airtime to fill, events are now more like episodes of a long-running drama. Politics is the glue that holds the plot together. No longer is the story that millions of people are losing health insurance that President Obama guaranteed they would be able to keep. For the mainstream press, it is about how cleverly Obama can rationalize his lies, how adroitly can he revise what he’s previously said, how deftly can he turn the page . . . shifting the audience’s attention to the next episode — maybe immigration, maybe Iran, maybe the debt ceiling . . .
File everything dealing with the coverage of Obamacare vs. the reality of the health care takeover (and ensuing calamity) under the above article!
White House Tells Obamacare Subscribers to Make Sure They're Really Enrolled
ONE THIRD of Healthcare.gov signups contain massive errors
Obama: Hey, You Know What My Train Wreck Health Care Law Needs? A New PR Offensive
Chuck Todd: Obama to Hold Daily Events Promoting ‘Workable’ Obamacare Website
Gallup: Young voters not engaged on ObamaCare
NBC’S Chuck Todd notices one small phrase that has seriously undercut the 'whole idea of government as a solution'
Cybersecurity expert says no security ever built into Obamacare website
Rogers: WH wouldn’t brief us on Healthcare.gov security gaps – even in closed session
Related link: Andy McCarthy on the Political Soap Opera
