Out of context quotes, incomplete sentences hurt campaigns, help media
Out of context quotes, incomplete sentences hurt campaigns, help media
As much as some people would like me to, I could never run for political office.
With 33 years of broadcasting and three years of writing these columns for the Penny Press, there's just too much fodder out there for the jackals to grab onto and take out of the context of the entire program or column and attempt a hack job.
Witness the ministerial flaps in the presidential race.
I suspect that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a decent enough man, probably a fun person to break bread with. His misstatements, which he claims were taken out of the context of a sermon, certainly have done their damage to the Obama campaign. I can see, though, how in the context of a sermon, he could use the phrase, "God Damn America". Some of his other statements are a little harder to forgive.
The same could be said for Pastor Hagee, who has been accused of being virulently anti-Catholic. Some were offended by his comments from the pulpit that God used Hitler as a tool to deliver Jews to the promised land. Ignored by many is that this view is actually shared by some Jewish scholars.
Also consider endorser pastor Rod Parsley, whom ABC News reported he called Islam an "anti-Christ" religion and the Prophet Muhammad "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of evil." A number of Christian pastors may actually back that view, but don't make a big deal out of it, lest their church come under assault from the Council on American Islamic Relations, who hammers anyone who shows any opposition to their religion.
But the flap doesn't end with pastors.
Take Geraldine Ferraro, the former vice-presidential candidate under presidential candidate Walter Mon-dull. At first she said that Obama was getting a lot of traction with statements and policies he was making simply because he was Black. Many people took offence to that statement in the Obama camp. Several African-Americans, including the founder of BET, agreed with Ferraro. To take the heat off of Clinton, she took herself out of the presidential campaign scene, but not before saying she wouldn't vote for Obama because she thought he was "sexist."
The bottom line is that we could sift through all the supporters of either candidate and find utterances that would offend someone.
But why?
Supporters don't make the candidate. The candidate does.
And all any of the major candidates make me want to do is sleep.
Watch out now, the mainstream media is in full swing to discredit the third parties.
First Ralph Nader's renewed candidacy that Liberals say will siphon off votes from the Democratic campaign.
Now Bob Barr is stepping up for the Libertarians in a move that Conservatives claim will take votes form John McCain.
They're both wrong.
The people who vote for both of these candidates would likely have NOT voted for either major party candidate. I know I wouldn't.
With both Barr and Nader in the race, I'll have a difficult decision to make. Both are better than our current crop of Republicrats.
And given the mainstream media bias against change, neither one will get anything approaching a fair shake.
And that's just wrong. Because that's not the true, honest American way.
If Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter can get elected, these two sure should be able to.
But then, I guess faux integrity is better than the real thing.
Wyatt Cox is 100% natural, no artificial ingredients. He is, however, unsafe for maintaining mainstream ideals. Read more at rant.wyattcox.net
As much as some people would like me to, I could never run for political office.
With 33 years of broadcasting and three years of writing these columns for the Penny Press, there's just too much fodder out there for the jackals to grab onto and take out of the context of the entire program or column and attempt a hack job.
Witness the ministerial flaps in the presidential race.
I suspect that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a decent enough man, probably a fun person to break bread with. His misstatements, which he claims were taken out of the context of a sermon, certainly have done their damage to the Obama campaign. I can see, though, how in the context of a sermon, he could use the phrase, "God Damn America". Some of his other statements are a little harder to forgive.
The same could be said for Pastor Hagee, who has been accused of being virulently anti-Catholic. Some were offended by his comments from the pulpit that God used Hitler as a tool to deliver Jews to the promised land. Ignored by many is that this view is actually shared by some Jewish scholars.
Also consider endorser pastor Rod Parsley, whom ABC News reported he called Islam an "anti-Christ" religion and the Prophet Muhammad "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of evil." A number of Christian pastors may actually back that view, but don't make a big deal out of it, lest their church come under assault from the Council on American Islamic Relations, who hammers anyone who shows any opposition to their religion.
But the flap doesn't end with pastors.
Take Geraldine Ferraro, the former vice-presidential candidate under presidential candidate Walter Mon-dull. At first she said that Obama was getting a lot of traction with statements and policies he was making simply because he was Black. Many people took offence to that statement in the Obama camp. Several African-Americans, including the founder of BET, agreed with Ferraro. To take the heat off of Clinton, she took herself out of the presidential campaign scene, but not before saying she wouldn't vote for Obama because she thought he was "sexist."
The bottom line is that we could sift through all the supporters of either candidate and find utterances that would offend someone.
But why?
Supporters don't make the candidate. The candidate does.
And all any of the major candidates make me want to do is sleep.
Watch out now, the mainstream media is in full swing to discredit the third parties.
First Ralph Nader's renewed candidacy that Liberals say will siphon off votes from the Democratic campaign.
Now Bob Barr is stepping up for the Libertarians in a move that Conservatives claim will take votes form John McCain.
They're both wrong.
The people who vote for both of these candidates would likely have NOT voted for either major party candidate. I know I wouldn't.
With both Barr and Nader in the race, I'll have a difficult decision to make. Both are better than our current crop of Republicrats.
And given the mainstream media bias against change, neither one will get anything approaching a fair shake.
And that's just wrong. Because that's not the true, honest American way.
If Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter can get elected, these two sure should be able to.
But then, I guess faux integrity is better than the real thing.
Wyatt Cox is 100% natural, no artificial ingredients. He is, however, unsafe for maintaining mainstream ideals. Read more at rant.wyattcox.net
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