TV’s dilemma: how to hype the primaries
Commentary by PAT MURPHY
Now comes the downfall of men who for months have been claiming that only
they had the moxie to be President.
As they’re weeded out through state primaries, the next silliness is
just ahead. Most, if not all, men who publicly railed for months about other
candidates’ shifty shortcomings will rally around their party winner, extolling him
as the perfect man for the Oval Office.
Whatever else is said of Pat Buchanan, he at least was honest enough to
bolt his party for what he considered intellectual deceit.
So, should voters now believe the candidates’ campaign slurs about
each other, or believe their glowing support for party nominees?
That’s not the only shabby habit of candidates in these drawn out
string of primaries.
They willingly playact in a drama of contrived suspense that’s
generated principally by television to create a serial cliffhanger.
Political primaries are to national TV what fisticuffs and brawls are to
Jerry Springer—conflict, confrontation, crisis, suspense.
Television isn’t simply passive: when audiences yawn at droning
campaign oratory, news programmers ditch the talking heads for new ways to hype candidates
into actions that often make them appear sappy.
The Confederate flag dispute in South Carolina, for example, came along
just in time. Forget that the leading Republican candidates, Bush and McCain, had quick
answers on dealing with Russians, abortion and trillions of budget dollars but obliged TV
by dodging and weaving on what to do about the Confederate flag for fear they’d lose
votes. Suspense. Controversy. Crisis.
Once the flag dispute was exhausted, television found Elian Gonzalez and
threw the tot into the grinder. Candidates were forced to abandon rational thought by
simplistic media questions—would they send the kid back into the commie arms of Fidel
Castro or do the patriotic thing and keep him in the United States? Crisis. Suspense.
Controversy.
TV programmers have another trick—pollsters who ratchet up suspense.
Who’s ahead today and by how many points? Are upsets possible? Will
Democrats keep the White House or lose it? Is Donald Trump serious? Do women like Bush
more than McCain? Should candidates admit using drugs? Would they post the Ten
Commandments in their offices?
This reads like Cosmopolitan magazine headlines on how to bring excitement
into the marital bedroom, not how well a candidate will lead.
Decide for yourself whether TV programmers really believe this
orchestrated tripe is serious civic responsibility.
Intense national TV coverage of the presidential horse race would be
dumped instantly if, say, another lurid criminal case such as O.J. Simpson’s murder
trial suddenly began.
TV cameras would ditch presidential politics and political pollsters would
be quickly yanked and replaced by "experts" on gory crimes of passion. Political
primaries would be reduced to news briefs.
Pat Murphy is the retired publisher of the Arizona Republic and a
former radio commentator.
