Thursday, August 26, 2004

Slow News Cycle: People say August is the silly month because the political news covers ridiculous items instead of real issues.

I'd say the 527 battles fit that description perfectly. We've got outside, "independent", unaccountable groups making obscure, pointless charges against Kerry and Bush. Now the two candidates are trying their darndest to pull the other into the muddy 527 waters, like some fraternity tug-o-war.

Swift Vets are attacking Kerry, saying he didn't deserve his medals. MoveOn and other groups are attacking Bush, saying he was AWOL in the National Guard. Nevermind that the Navy and the National Guard said both men deserve their awards and gave them honorable discharges. Nevermind that the evidence the 527s present is scant at best. And nevermind this is about something that happened 35 years ago -- Kerry has had another whole career in the meantime, and Bush has been president already for four years.

So Kerry, instead of attacking the Swift Vets, blames Bush for the ads. Bush decides to attempt to ban all 527s from participating in free speech.

The media then adds gasoline to the fire by splashing headlines about the Swift Vets and the Bush campaign having one lawyer in common. Little is mentioned about how common a practice this is, especially considering that several of Kerry's lawyers work for the anti-Bush 527s.

Luckily, August is almost over. But I'm not optimistic that things will get much better in terms of political coverage. Sure the Republican National Convention will be here soon, and we'll get to see the two stand off in debates. But we already know where each candidate stands on the issues. The media isn't going to pay much attention to their political platitudes. Instead they'll be focussing on gaffes and mud, leaving us to dig through the muck to get to the voting booth.