A Good Example Of The Problem With Journalism In America

This article describes the negative advertising that is being used by both parties in the political campaign.  Both parties have saturated the media with negative ads.  Therefore, both parties are guilty of the same sin.  There are important differences in the negative ads, however, that could be highlighted without showing favoritism to either party. That is not consistent, however, with the dominant culture of reporting in America.  Reporters are taught to ask others what they think about a topic, and they report on what others think about the issues. In order to be objective, they select "others" from both sides of the political spectrum, and they report what was said.  Reporting is selective stenography.

The negative ads in the Obama campaign have called attention to Romney's use of foreign tax shelters, and they raise questions about whether Romney really was a job creator at Bain Capital.  Romney claims that he would be a better president than Obama because of his business experience at Bain Capital.  His record of job creation is fair game, and it has been the subject of attack by the Obama Campaign.  It was also used by his Republican opponents in the GOP primary campaign. Romney's use of foreign tax shelters is also a fact.

The attacks on Obama by the Romney campaign are very different.  Quotes are taken out of context to suggest that he is not a real American.  Obama stated that businesses could not be successful without the support provided by government.  Government educates the labor force, and it provides the infrastructure and legal framework that enables businesses to operate.  The Romney campaign selected quotes from one of his speeches without providing the full context.  Obama appears to be claiming that government, and not business, is responsible for job creation. They ads claim that Obama is against small business. The Romney campaign has also used ads, and surrogates,  to reinforce a theme that Obama is not a "real" American.  There are multiple strands that are part of that theme.  One of the strands is to associate Obama with social democracy in Europe. Obama's policies are closer to social democratic policies in Europe, than those advocated by the GOP. But that only means that Obama is a Democrat and not a Republican.  The Romney Campaign goes beyond that. They claim that Obama is not a "real" American.  He is really more "European" than most Americans.

The article concludes with a comment by a GOP consultant who supports the fundamental point of the article that the campaigns are too negative.  When a GOP consultant has concerns about negative advertising it is a sure sign that the Obama campaign ads are working.  It will be hard to convince most Americans that Obama is not a "real" American.  Romney's record at Bain Capital, and his use of foreign tax shelters, tells a story about Romney that is not appealing to most Americans.