By Kristen Wall
College Republicans
It has long been claimed that the media has a liberal bias, but the majority of the media has never been so in the tank for any democrat as they are for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D.-Ill. On Oct. 21, the Kansas City Star editorial page came out with a column calling U.S. Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin racist for calling Obama a socialist. Apparently, J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, used the term liberally to describe African Americans who spent their lives fighting for equality,"" at least according to Lewis Duguid, a columnist for the Kansas City Star. This is an absurd statement, even by the liberal media's standards.
Whether or not Senator Obama is a socialist, or favors socialist legislation and policy is beside the point. The point is that the liberal media has run out of things to attack McCain and Palin on, and now have to conjure attacks out of thin air, like calling them racist for using the word ""socialist"" to describe Obama. For many Republicans this pangs of former Sen. George Allen's, R.-Va., media storm over the ""macaca"" comment.
The left-wing media bias has gotten completely out of control. It seems that Obama and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden can do no wrong, since the media hasn't jumped on Biden's inability to spell a three letter word - jobs - and his claims that there could be a terrorist attack within the first six months of his presidency while every move that McCain and Palin make is dissected and scrutinized until the media can find something offensive about it.
In the 2000 Republican party primary, McCain was often referred to as the media's darling, and in March of 2008, Free Ride: John McCain and the Media, by David Brock was published, attacking the media for giving McCain a pass and enabling his rise to political prominence. As his 'Straight Talk Express' rolled through America, the media's heart leapt as McCain cast off the shackles of the Republican establishment. One would think that with a record such as McCain's, that if anyone were to be given a free pass by the media, it would be him. He is a decorated war hero, a celebrated legislator who has a history of working across party lines - with his name attached to bills with two of the most liberal senators in the congress, Kennedy and Feingold - and is a genuinely intelligent man. Since McCain locked up the Republican nomination, the media have turned on him in a way not seen since democrats in Congress threw U.S. Sen. Joe Liberman, I.-Conn., under the bus for turning Independent.
Obama, on the other hand, is the person who has been given a free ride by the media. They have turned a blind eye to all of Obama's surreptitious friends, including Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers, America-hating Reverend Jeremiah Wright, disgraced Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines, Obamassiah proclaimer Louis Farrakahn and shady Chicago slumlord Tony Rezko. And they have even condemned the McCain campaign for bringing up these clandestine characters in attack ads. If McCain were associating himself with the aforementioned men, the media would be having a field day.
McCain was fighting an uphill battle in this election from the beginning. The liberal media bias has made that battle even more difficult. Only time will tell what effect the media had on this election, but it will probably be more profound than any of us would ever think was possible.
Kristen Wall is a junior majoring in economics and political science and is the current vice chair of the UW-Madison College Republicans. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
