Watching the Watchmen
What a month it's been.
Since bloggers made history (albeit with a small "h") at the national party conventions, Memogate has shone a spotlight on blogging, bloggers, and the contribution we can make to our nation's common discussion.
I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that, due to the sheer number of blogs, bloggers, and other open, unmoderated (barring pure peer pressure) forums, these debates may be the most intensely scrutinized performances of their kind in history.
Hewitt notes in the Weekly Standard:
Old media's refusal to note what ordinary Americans are talking about is the latest in a series of stubborn refusals that began with elitist indifference and ideological bent and which are ending in irrelevance. There have been others (Rathergate and Christmas-not-in-Cambodia) and there will be more.
We may have another moment tonight. Jim Lehrer takes his seat as debate moderator with the PBS brand as firmly affixed to his back as CBS is to Dan Rather's. Moderating a presidential debate never carried much of a risk for the mother ship in the past, but in this era of new media, any detectable bias on Lehrer's part will result in a cyber-tsunami headed towards PBS affiliates across the country.
The key is "detectable," and the arbitrators of that won't be the folks who ignored [John Kerry's pumpkin-orange tan] on Wednesday morning. It will be the viewers themselves, working through the blogosphere, posting on FreeRepublic.com, calling into talk radio, and canceling their pledges to local PBS affiliates if their verdict on Lehrer's performance is negative. If Lehrer goes in the tank for Kerry, expect an enormous blowback--as predictable as the one which followed CBS's foisting of forgeries on the public. Only PBS is much more vulnerable to viewer dismay than the Boss Tweeds at Black Rock.
I will be joining most of the Northern Alliance, and countless hundreds of other blogs of all political stripes, in live-blogging the debate tonight. Please check in on
Fraters,
Powerline,
Captain Ed and (in St. Cloud, I suspect)
King, as well as
the Stroms and many other local bloggers as we liveblog the festivities in an event that will no doubt make Nick Coleman's teeth grind at night.
We may not be journalists, but we're very, very picky about things like leadership of the free world.
Posted by Mitch at
September 30, 2004 09:16 AM
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Sure, Mitch, forget me.
Posted by: kb at September 30, 2004 10:13 AMKing who?
Posted by: the elder at September 30, 2004 12:08 PMSince the "debate" tonight will be nothing more than a beauty contest of sound bites, how do we actually score the (non)debate?
Since both parties have implemented sufficient rules to minimize candidate error and mis-perception and sanitized the format that both sides could probably claim victory, here is what I will be judging:
The number of times Kerry wags his finger at Bush and the American people.
How many times Kerry says, "let me make one thing perfectly clear.
How many times Bush snickers at his own jokes.
Will Bush Swagger at the podium (in Texas they call it standing)
How many times each candidate accuses each other of "breaking the debate Rules"
Will Kerry get the cotton mouth froth thing going again (easier to see in High Def)
How many times Kerry says the words Wrong, lied and Misled
How often Kerry will cite that he "fought for our Country"
How many time Bush will say the words Freedom and Democracy.
How many times Kerry will raise his eyebrows above his receeding hairline.
Who will be the first to mispronounce a word.
Which candidate will visibly show anger.
Who looks the most tired and worn out. Might even include Lehr in this one.
Who will have the snappiest soundbite replayed endlessly in the media the next day.
In any case I will catch your Live Blog Mitch, should be fairly easy to comment on the content because we will have heard most everything before....unless there is a knockout punch that will be heard around the world.
Posted by: The Doctor at September 30, 2004 12:15 PMActually, King will be in the secret hizzy.
Posted by: kb at September 30, 2004 02:29 PM