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Halleluljah! The 2008 election is almost over. It's been exciting, inspiring, historic and incredibly contentious. Soon we won't be hearing anymore about John "Mr. Grumpy Puss" McCain and Barack "Mr. Tax and Spend" Obama or Sarah "We're Mavericks" Palin or Joe "I"m From Scranton" Biden. But before we move on to the next act in this political drama, let's take a look back from a media standpoint.
In a campaign year when many Americans got their news from the internet: YouTube, Facebook, campaign websites and hundreds of blogs on the internet that helped shape public opinion and motivate voters, it would be a mistake to forget the power the mainstream media (MSM) still holds over shaping a candidate's image.
Here are some Election 2008 MSM highs and lows.
Highs
CNN's Campbell Brown's "Race Baiting" Rant: Way to go Campbell Brown for calling it the way it was.
More Blacks And Women Around The Pundit Table: Though it should have happened ages ago, it finally took having a woman and a black man running for president to make the MSM realize you need more than a bunch of the same old white men sitting around the pundit table.
Katie Couric's Interview With Sarah Palin: It gave Katie back her public credibility and it gave us a rare yet unsettling glimpse of Sarah Palin.
Charlie Gibson's Interview With Sarah Palin: Charlie Gibson didn't need to get his credibility back, but he conducted a fair interview.
Bob Schieffer At The Last Presidential Debate: Schieffer's a pro and it showed. He fought a losing battle trying to pry the candidates off their talking points, but it was the most substantive of the presidential debates and Shieffer was one of the reasons.
Tom Brokaw's Interview With Colin Powell: Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama on "Meet The Press" was big news and Brokaw challenged Powell with all the questions he knew needed to be asked.
Hot Topics On "The View:" Love her or hate her, ya' gotta tip your hat to former host Rosie O'Donnell for putting "The View" on the political map. Her clashes with resident Republican Elisabeth Hasselbeck might have been noisy, but they were refreshing. Here were two women arguing passionately about 9/11, Iraq, George Bush and other issues important to every American. When Whoopi Goldberg arrived as Rosie's replacement, she brought a cooler head and less confrontational style, but the Hot Topics segments still made for good television. The show even had Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama co-host---separately of course---and the Gabby Girls' grilling of John McCain on his one visit since becoming the nominee made headlines.
Barbara Walters deserves to be commended for seeing which way the wind was blowing and allowing political discussion to make "The View" relevant in a big way.
David Letterman's Interview With John McCain: The folks at "Meet The Press" should consider having Letterman replace the late Tim Russert, 'cause Letterman conducted a Russert-worthy interview. McCain pretty much stuck to his talking points, but Letterman asked all the questions I would have asked and didn't let him off easy.
Keeping The Candidates' Kids Off The Table: Including the unmarried, pregnant teen daughter of Sarah Palin.
Dad and Daughter Talk Politics: Check out this email exchange between CBS political correspondent Jeff Greenfield and his daughter, an associate at a law firm about the media coverage of Hillary Clinton. Who says there's no intelligent conversation left in this country?
Lows
Fox News Channel, King of the Lows: There were so many examples, but exhibits A and B would be the non-existent "Terrorist Fist Jab" and the "Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking On Obama's Baby Mama" graphic. They were obnoxious and racist...yeah I said it...racist insinuations designed to undercut two very smart and accomplished black professionals.
Writing Off John McCain Last Year: Campaign staff shakeups in the summer of 2007 had many in the MSM writing John McCain off as dead in the water. Obviously he had the last laugh.
Overuse Of Un-Named Sources: It's one thing to use un-named sources once in a while and on an issue of national security, but the now consistent use of un-named sources, especially over gossip items, undercuts the little bit of credibility the MSM has left. Like the story from last February that suggested John McCain
