Senator McCain ’s Smooth Ride in the Media

By Brigitte L. Nacos
Senator John McCain is the only presidential candidate the mainstream media haven’t laid a glove on. All other candidates, Democrats and Republicans, those still standing and those out of their respective party’s race, have been targets of media criticism and attack-dog journalism. Some more (i.e., Hillary Clinton); some less (i.e., Barack Obama). In a democracy, the fourth estate is supposed to scrutinize public officials and candidates for public offices. But one would expect some evenhandedness in this respect. Instead, Senator McCain has gotten a free ride because the press has bought into his “straight talk” slogan. Add to this the media’s frequent references to McCain’s suffering as POW in North Vietnam and as genuine American hero, and you get an idea why he is now the favorite for Republican nomination—and perhaps beyond.   

Referring to President Bush’s and Senator McCain’s shared hawkish attitudes, Arianna Huffington wrote the other day, “When it comes to the war in Iraq, the president and the leading GOP contender to replace him seem to be stuck in a time warp -- tossing out applause lines from years gone by and using rhetoric drawn from the Dark Ages of the Iraq debate.” The amazing thing is that McCain is not seriously questioned by the mainstream media on positions that are outright frightening and more hawkish than those of the very unpopular President Bush. During a campaign stop in Florida, he said, “There's going to be other wars... We will never surrender but there will be other wars." After Iraq—what next?

Last night, there was yet another useless TV-exercise called “debate;” nobody asked McCain about the next wars to be fought with what resources and at what costs? And when the Senator was asked about his remark that American forces may stay in Iraq for 100 years last night, he was not pressed for a straight answer but allowed to display once again his righteousness in favor of military actions. And this is a candidate who promises to cut spending and taxes once he is president.

Or take the issue of waterboarding and torture. Senator McCain’s, himself a victim a torture during his POW years, was a driving force behind statutes against allowing American interrogator to use these techniques. But where was the Senator’s “straight talk,” when President Bush made clear in his signing statements that he had the authority to decide what the CIA could and could not do?

During one of the debates among Republican candidates, Senator McCain lectured his rival Mitt Romney on the no, no of waterboarding and torture. Yet, he endorsed Michael Mukasey as Attorney-General, although the nominee had refused to acknowledge that waterboarding was illegal—a position the now Attorney-General reaffirmed the other day before the Senate Judiciary committee.

That much for the straight-talker; and that much for even-handed campaign coverage.

Comments

[thirdparty]

I have to say I strongly disagree with this analysis. You imply that the media should be challenging McCain for silence on the Bush signing statements, which strikes me as unfair treatment (to single someone out, that is).

Worst of all, you bring up these popular but unbecoming attacks on McCain about his "100 years" and "other wars" comments. Obviously, what he said about 100 years was simply a comparison to our lengthy presence in places like Japan, Korea, Germany, (now) Kuwait, etc. Yet the media, which supposedly is in McCain's camp, constantly replayed his remarks on television without giving them proper context.

And, yes, it is straight talk to tell the American people there will be other wars. As a serious academic, are you insisting that there won't be?

[Tony]

We were treated to an assertive "it depends" on the waterboarding question from the new guy filling in for Gonzales the Mealymouth. Mukasey said he would probably consider WB torture if applied to himself, but as regards the soldiers, well....not so sure. We have gone from bad to worse in the AG's office. This version can't even be definite, which at least Gonzales was, even if he didn't have the authority to rewrite all those international treaties the US ratified. The stunning news is that the US citizenry seems to have an unlinited capacity for such doubletalk. Not so long ago, protesters would have been clogging D.C's streets. As for McCain, his most positive asset seems to be that he isn't flawless, as his opponent portrays himself. But we'll either see a draft or a massive recruitment of mercenaries to fight all those wars McCain has promised us.