Are the mainstream media destroying themselves?

I’ve been watching developments since the announcement of Governor Sarah Palin’s selection as Senator McCain’s Vice-Presidential running-mate with bemused fascination. I’ve posted about it before, here: but the non-stop hammering being meted out to her by the mainstream media has become mind-boggling in its intensity – and it seems to be backfiring on them.

The media’s bias towards Senator Obama and the Democratic Party has become so obvious, so in-your-face, that it’s now unmistakable. Many people are noticing. ABC News is taking all sorts of heat for its deliberately slanted, carefully edited attempt to demean Governor Palin and portray a picture of her at odds with reality. Certain parts of the interview were deliberately left out; a double standard appears to have been applied, in that she was mercilessly grilled in a way that ABC has not done with any candidate from the “other side”: camera positions and angles appear to have been chosen to “belittle” her; and so on.

The same problems are, of course, evident in many other organs. It’s got so bad that a senior Democratic Party strategist, Mark Penn, has warned:

I think here the media is on very dangerous ground. I think that when you see them going through every single expense report that Governor Palin ever filed, if they don’t do that for all four of the candidates, they’re on very dangerous ground. I think the media so far has been the biggest loser in this race. And they continue to have growing credibility problems.

. . .

This is an election in which the voters are going to decide for themselves. The media has lost credibility with them.

I can verify Mr. Penn’s last statement personally. I’ve talked to a number of local folks over the past week or two, during our joint efforts to get over the damage caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Without exception, all of them – even lifelong Democrats – are bitter and angry about what they see as the media’s attempts to “brainwash” them, denigrate a Governor who in many cases stands for positions they hold (irrespective of party politics), and give them a falsely optimistic, attractive picture of the “other side”.

The local Democratic Party organization is well aware of this groundswell of reaction, and is trying very hard to keep its followers loyal: but one of their field workers admitted to me today that it’s an uphill battle, and she fears she’s losing it. A number of these lifelong Democrats have already stated flatly that they’re voting for McCain-Palin this time around. They reckon that they’re far closer to their values than either Obama or Biden.

I’m genuinely non-partisan. I don’t vote for a political party: I vote for an individual. I’ve had (and still have) major reservations about both Senator Obama and Senator McCain. I don’t regard either as a particularly good candidate to be President of the United States. However, since neither of them do anything much to float my boat, I have to look at those around them, and the conduct of their supporters and partisans. When one side is devoting so much time, attention and effort to destroying the image of the opposition’s secondary, minor candidate, to such an extent that the primary candidate is almost ignored . . . that speaks volumes. The Democrats and their mainstream media shills are terrified of Palin. There’s no other explanation.

The blogosphere has noticed too. More and more bloggers (not just from the right, but centrists like myself as well) are getting fed up with this nonsense. To give just one example (there are potentially hundreds), take a look at what Roberta had to say, and read the comments from her visitors. Makes you think.

For myself . . . well, Palin certainly makes the McCain option more palatable. However, the clincher, for me, came in an e-mail from a friend today. He sent me this image.

Says it all, doesn’t it? I’ll put those bumper-stickers on my truck any day!

Peter