John Edwards
So a fellow blogger has been talking about this and I'm always afraid of taking up comment space with all my opinions so here I go...
His wife has cancer, he WAS running for President, he had an affair, the media found out and exposed it. I'm sorry to my two loyal readers (I probably shouldn't alienate the two people who actually read this:) but the media in this regard disgusts me. What was the reason for bringing this to light? Because he MIGHT have become President? Well he wasn't. Because it's IMMORAL? Oh shut the fuck up those without sin cast the first stone.
I felt this way when the whole Bill and Monica came up. Let Hillary deal with it, I'm pretty sure she can and will. "Oh but he lied!" Yes, and in my opinion he should say "none of your business" and then refuse to speak of it again because it's not my business.
We have found out time and time again that powerful men tend to be philanderers. No I wouldn't want to be married to them but I don't see who it effects their jobs. Unless of course you count the stress of having to dodge THE MEDIA. Sure that could change how they do their jobs but is this something I have the right to know? GRRR.
The thing I find most disturbing is that his wife is dying of cancer, he has children and it could have been kept quiet. Why in the hell was this necessary??
Listen To This: Eyes On You!
5 years ago
4 comments:
I hesitate to say this again because I like my two media people so much...
But I have to say the thing that ticks me off so much is the way this done. It's like the media digs and digs and digs until they find something anything they can gleefully expose.
I think it adds to the problem. Most of us have things we wouldn't want exposed. Does this keep good people from running for office? I have things in my background I wouldn't want the whole world to know. Not necessariy because I'm bad or evil but because they are private. So do we knock out all like me? Are we left with immoral ego maniacal religious right swinging freaks?
I'm sorry but I think we do.
here's the media's doubled edged sword though. If you run for public office you USE the media (and believe me we spun so hard and so often I've just learned to live with professional vertigo)...you leak, you speak under condition of anonymity, you 'talk on the record.' All when it suits you...when it helps you get elected or get your message out. So from the beginning you as a public figure have engaged 'the beast' ... and love it or hate it..the beast in this country is what it is (and as I pointed out elsewhere... ours is tame in comparison to many other countries) ... so don't be outraged when the beast bites back. When the beast asks questions you don't want to answer.
"Blame the media" is an easy escape hatch for many who've screwed up. The media does enough dumb stuff (Anna Nicole death watch, Lindsey Lohan crotch watch) and pissed enough people off...that you can reliably pull that rip cord and often get somewhere (Spokane's Mayor West tried it, Sen. Larry Craig tried it) ... but you'd better be careful when you pull that cord...because the media anymore is the only way we CAN hold leaders accountable. We do not live in a direct democracy...you cannot talk to the president...you can rarely talk to your own state senator. But the media can. AND because of the double-edged dance I discussed early our leaders HAVE to. Without the media there would be no accountability to power in this country. As flawed as the media is...I'm scared to death to think of what it would be like without reporters.
As I pointed out on my blog there are some great examples of leaders who continue to lead even after admitting a mistake. I'll point out another here. Rep. Barney Frank of MA. He was letting a teenage male prostitute sleep in his capitol hill apartment (and sleep with him)...turns out even run his racket from that home. Frank went public, with all the details, laid it out...asked for forgiveness and actually went to bat from then on for gay youth. That was the early 80s and the man is still in Congress.
I think you can lead, you can screw up, you can be held to a higher code, you can dance with the media and you can do it all while still ultimately working for the good of those who elected you.
I wouldn't want to be without reporters absoltely not but I do think there should be a point to which they butt out. Illegal activity? Absoutely call them out but immoral? Hmmmm not so clear to me. Now if it's like Larry Craig who is actively trying to rundown gay rights then have at him but this not so clear to me.
I'm sorry for some things I do blame the media in this country. We have switched to BBC in the morning. Some of the cable news networks have fallen down the slipery slope into tabloid journalism. Britney watch? Digging to find out juicy personal details, then confronting them in public, forcing them to lie and then dissing them for being dishonest? Shady.....
Why should the beast ask questions completely unrelated to the job at hand? Yes I think he screwed up but not in the capacity of his job.
Wow just reread that comment and I should have proof read :)
Post a Comment