So I’m ready to acknowledge the media is rooting for Senator Barack Obama to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.
The pundits did everything but bury Senator Hillary Clinton after Sen. Obama’s double-digit victory in the Wisconsin primary Tuesday night, despite her leads in both the Texas and Ohio polls where 218 delegates will be awarded March 4.
The Associated Press depicted her campaign as, “fading,” in the lead of their online recap of the vote. On CNN, Carl Bernstein went further, stating, “It isn’t going to be pretty for Clinton in Texas.” David Gergen drew a sports analogy: “Obama’s going into the fourth quarter with a 24 point lead.”
A 24 point lead? He’s only ahead in the delegate count by 62, give or take a few depending on your source. Two weeks ago, granted, before Sen. Obama racked up nine straight wins, Sen. Clinton’s 100 plus delegate lead after Super Tuesday was characterized as a dead heat by most news organizations.
Now, I’m not saying the media is responsible for Sen. Obama’s recent surge, nor am I saying they are manipulating the information in his favor. I’m just saying they are kind of acting like homers.
Political pundits are a lot like sports reporters – they root for a good storyline. Do you think it’s fun to call a blowout? Or cover the Miami Dolphins for an entire season when they go 1-15? No. The sports media wants a game like the Super Bowl: a David and Goliath battle, a historical comeback, one for the ages. So let’s face it, Sen. Obama is doing what no poll or political insider predicted he would do, comeback on the Clinton’s deeply rooted political machine.
But that doesn’t mean Hillary is dead. And knowing that her name is still Clinton, be sure that she has a pulse.
And weren’t they starting the funeral procession once before in New Hampshire. Didn’t Sen. Obama also wipe out a big poll lead there only to lose? If the media should be claiming any certainty, it should be that anything can happen.
Now, of course, Sen. Clinton will need double-digit victories in both Texas and Ohio to pull even, due to the manner in which the Democratic Party allocates their delegates. And I’m not saying that will happen. But she’s probably only down about 11 points – a touchdown, a two-point conversion and a late field goal could do it.
Paul Gackle
