By Peter Bauer, Contributing Editor
The opening of the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate in Las Vegas was dominated by media darlings Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The two stars began by bantering over their respective Health Care plans.
“I can’t let that go unanswered,” Clinton interjected in an impromptu rebuttal to Obama’s claims before Wolf Blizter, the moderator, got a chance to offer the floor to other candidates.
The debate was controlled by Obama and Clinton, paired next to each other in the center of the stage, for 6 ½ minutes before any of the other five Candidates got a word in. Edwards charged Clinton for voting with the Neo Cons and defending a system that is “broken, rigged, and corrupted against the interest of most Americans for a very small, powerful, well financed group.”
Clinton responded with a passive-aggressive suggestion that the Democrats need to put forward a positive agenda for America, and not fight amongst each other. This led Blitzer to his next question: “Is this exchange (the one we just had, right now) good for Democrats or bad?”
This allowed a few more candidates a chance to introduce themselves to the audience and use the “Yes or No” question as a platform to hit their talking points. Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico and former Clinton Energy Secretary, said that he wanted to “debate the issues” and keep the event positive, steering the field away from Edwards’ accusations.
After all but one of the candidates had responded to the question, Blitzer moved on, asking the contenders, “Are you ready to support the Democratic nominee, no matter what?
After a chorus of “yes” responses, Dennis Kucinich made his first statement in the debate after 16 ½ minutes. He said he would support a Democratic Candidate “Only if they oppose war as an debate instrument of policy.” Kucinich, who recently introduced legislation to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, was positioned next Clinton, though his camera time was limited.
Throughout the debate, Blitzer repeatedly stated “everyone will get a chance to talk” as he tried to regain control. With so many candidates talking over each other, it became less like a traditional debate and more like a late afternoon talk show.
Debates of both parties have been happening so frequently that the Media’s coverage of the race appears more like star-making than it does traditional journalism. The genre of American Politics has been exploited to such an extreme in the past two decades by cable news channels that politics itself is becoming just another show to watch, like sports, sitcoms, and “reality” TV.
Responsible journalism has given way to a consolidation of choice. With fewer and fewer outlets controlling the way candidates are presented to the public, the format of a traditional presidential campaign has been altered. The next few weeks are now crunch time for candidates who want any shot at being a serious contender in the race.
After the caucuses, the tone of the race will change, and half the field will no longer be covered by major media outlets. In this way, the caucuses serve as a way for media to narrow the publics' perception of remaining candidates, thereby limiting their choice. Without major media coverage, a candidate has no chance of winning the White House.
As the race continues, it is essential that voters are able to tell the difference between media question fluff and issues that matter. Elections are a cornerstone of democracy, and should be reported and presented as an issue of importance, not as a well marketed hour of entertainment.
