Friday, June 8, 2007

Lies, Sighs and Politics

From The New York Times: By Paul Krugman
Look, debates involving 10 people are, inevitably, short on extended discussion. But news organizations should fight the shallowness of the format by providing the facts — not embrace it by reporting on a presidential race as if it were a high-school popularity contest.

For if there’s one thing I hope we’ve learned from the calamity of the last six and a half years, it’s that it matters who becomes president — and that listening to what candidates say about substantive issues offers a much better way to judge potential presidents than superficial character judgments. Mr. Bush’s tax lies, not his surface amiability, were the true guide to how he would govern.

Krugman lambastes the media for superficiality (to put it mildly) of its coverage, then and now.
Why do so many of us put up with (or contribute to) it?

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