McCain, Obama, The Times and A Civilized Election

When John McCain received the typical media treatment that conservatives receive, the conservatives responded with typical conservative outrage, John Hawkins among them. The New York Times may continue to lead the charge to take down the "conservative" candidate, but everyone knows that John McCain is no conservative. The media's bias shines through. It's not conservatives they hate. It's anyone who isn't a Democrat with socialist tendencies they hate. McCain is Republican, sure, and a "moderate". Which is to say, he enjoys big-government intervention just like Democrats. He's not from the Bible-thumping corner of the party. He's not conservative on immigration, regulation, just about anything. He's been a staunch defender of the war in Iraq. That's it. Yet the Times gives him the same disrespectful treatment.

I do believe The New York Times miscalculated. They revealed their paper as the instrument of the Democratic party. They revealed themselves to be in the business of making news not reporting news. And their timing was purposeful. The story could have come out during the primary process where it could have hurt McCain's chances against other Republicans. But no, the Times waited until the timing most benefited Democrats. Megan McArdle calls her mom The Swing Voter who had this opinion:

As longtime readers of the blog know, I'm related to the Swing Voter, aka my mother. Her vote is an infallible indicator of who will win the general election. We had dinner last night, and somewhat to my surprise, The Swing Voter is completely outraged by the New York Times story--she vows to no longer take the Times, nay, not even for the Sunday crossword. She is also now thinking seriously about voting for McCain just to spite the New York Times.

It seems that the press will have to tread carefully all the way around, with a McCain-Obama election. Hammering McCain (they won't be able to help themselves, they love the Leftists too much) will further diminish their standing. Harsh pieces on Obama will engender cries of racism.

So will an Obama-McCain election be more civilized? Maybe so.


Cross-posted at Right Wing News.