Hold The Drama Please

Once more the media has cranked the drama up to absurd levels. No less than Andrea Mitchell was expressing her bewilderment and horror over President Obama’s refusal to visit the border where all those children were crossing into Texas from Mexico. She made it sound as though the President was fiddling while Washington was burning. Other supposedly objective reporters and pundits were also shaking their heads as they talked about the “optics.” What they meant by optics is nothing more than political eyewash. It did not look good for President Obama to stay away, they said. It made him look like he did not care. Some Republicans actually said this was Obama’s Katrina. But, of course, those Republicans simply do not get it and never will. What made President Bush’s fly over seem so callus was “You’re doing a heck of a job, Browny,” Barbara Bush’s comment about those poor people camped out in the Superdome being better off than they were in their homes before the storm, and the obvious neglect leading up to the storm!

I do not think we can call anyone on television a news reporter today. At best they are news casters and at worst they are salespersons. I am sure President Obama wishes his crystal ball had told him all those kids were coming. If he had known, he could have prepared for the crises by asking congress for the same funds they say he does not need in order to deal with the problem today. The fact that Republican Congressmen refuse to do what needs to be done about this and other immigration problems is a lot more important than political eyewash. So why is the news media calling President Obama’s refusal to provide them with the sight bites they demand a failure of leadership? Could it be that real neglect and intransigence are not as dramatic as the crap the demagogues can make up and the news casters can stir up? Got to draw the marks to the pitchmen, you know! It is all about selling the products.