Yeah, I watched that Jon Stewart/Chris Wallace interview, just like you did.
Yes, it was extremely satisfying to watch Chris Wallace claim that there was no Fox bias and yet is a counter-balance to the liberal bias of the mainstream media. (Aside: how is the number 1 cable news channel not mainstream? I genuinely don’t understand that.)
But here’s the thing … this reminded me that I really don’t want to go through this election cycle thing again. Because I know I’m going to watch it. Probably less than I did during the past few … but enough to get me riled up a few times, I’m sure. There will be some conservative version of Jeremiah Wright that will deliver me to fits of righteous secular indignation. And I’m sure I will write here about how Obama is being unfairly treated/characterized. I just know it.
But I am not looking forward to it. Because unlike previous elections … I can’t conceive of an outcome that will make me happy. Like any honest left-wing person, I’m thoroughly disappointed with Obama’s first term (although, unlike some extremists, I do think there are some mitigating circumstances). He’s clearly head and shoulders above any other reasonable option … but it’s hard to rationalize where the promised significant and real changes have been enacted. And it’s hard to believe that a second term would hold much more progress. More likely just a self-congratulatory victory lap.
So I feel like following this sort of argument … let alone taking sides in it … is at best a waste of time … at worst feeding into the monster that eats anything true and good about public service.
So now, I’m gonna get sucked into these arguments … without the promise of anything approaching the elation of November 4, 2008.