It has recently come to pass that John Edwards has admitted to an extra-marital affair. Now, left wing sympathizers who have political aspirations and credentials, including John Edwards himself, and those within the media are now criticizing the coverage of the scandal, saying that it hypocritical because John McCain is guilty of the same thing. Fox News of course being the target of the attacks, but thats no surprise. Everything is blamed on Fox News nowadays because apparently people with different viewpoints aren't allowed to have representation within the media. Its only a matter of time before global warming, murder and rape is pinned on them. Back to the Edwards-McCain thing however, I would like to sit these people down and explain a few things to them. Why is logic and reason within the media so rare these days?
The funny thing is that they seem to be presupposing that McCain cheating on his wife wasn't raised as an issue beforehand, though I knew about it, and so did others I am sure. Surely, me being an idiot, wasn't the only one to be aware of this, and knew it way before the Edward's scandal broke. Those on the left, who I may be unfairly singling out and if this is the case I apologize, but it is they who are raising the issue the most from my vantage point, also tend to forget it wasn't Fox News (the channel most often cited in the complaints) who broke the story, but rather ABC. One of the biggest things that is overlooked is the very nature of the News and its reporting.
Journalists out of all people should know that what they deal with is current events, which is another name people often give to the news. This is why we frequently don't have stories running on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, or FOX concerning the discovery of the New World, the Boston Tea Party and the Tet offensive. Though these may be referenced from time to time, it is always in the context of a more current story that past events are mentioned. This is certainly true when McCain began his run for the presidency, this issue was brought up several times on different networks. However, because the public really didn't consider it a scandal for one reason or another, most networks dropped it. This is another thing journalists are forgetting; public interest frequently drives the news. I also love how all media coverage in this case seems to be personified by Fox News, when other networks chose not to run the story either, even "left-wing networks" like CNN.
What is also forgotten is the big difference between how both men handled the story. McCain didn't lie to the American public concerning the affair, which doesn't make the affair ok, let me just make that clear. Yes, it is true some say he lied concering the timeline and sequence of events in relation to his affair, but he didn't, as far as I can tell by my research, say it never happened at all. This is in sharp contrast to what Edwards did, he lied saying it didn't happen when it in fact it did. The Edwards situation, being more current, OF COURSE made bigger headlines. DUH. Anyone saying that it goes beyond that is really fishing for something that isn't there in my humble opinion. Maybe the public is just sick of politicians lying to them.
I am getting so sick of politicians and the media engaging in this campaign of misdirection. Using Edwards as an example, in his ABC (thats right ABC not FOX) interview, he said paraphrased, that he was annoyed that he was a big deal, but that nobody pointed out McCain. It's time we see through all this slight-of-hand and misdirection manipulation. No, don't look at what I did wrong, look at this guy over here, or these people over here who are choosing to air it. We could play that game forever shifting back from both Republican and Democrat, Edwards to Bill Clinton, but in the end it is irrelevant. It doesn't negate ones personal responsibility for their actions. Edwards, of course, isn't the only one who does this; just watch interviews with politicians when they get a question they don't want to answer. Misdirection is frequently used to put the focus on something else, and news anchors usually fall for it, which really gets me. Another argument is that because so many people cheat, is it really a big deal? Should we hold politicians to a higher standard? Ummm...YES! Of course! They are representing the people, and I would go as far to say that anyone in authority or who has higher responsibility needs to be held at a higher standard. Period! Preacher, Judge, Police Cheif or Politician need to be subject to this rule.
That being said I am not excusing McCain of his actions, and in fact I find it awfully sad that ones libido often takes precedence over love this day in age. However, it is beyond me, the media, or other politicians in deciding the level of importance one holds such indiscretions when they go to the polling booth in November. One thing I do know though, despite what some people may say, Edwards affair is legitimate news, for it is current and it concerns someone in the political arena. One needs to know that if you get in the political game, your going to be focused on and higher scrutiny is going to be placed upon you. This includes even your family members, Obama. Just a word of warning.
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