Do we really need to chase Rebecca Brooks and her semi-severance package with pitchforks? Do we need to be a nation seeking to unmask unconvicted no-longer-legally-alleged murderer Casey Anthony’s wherever she goes? Do we need to watch the economy ebb and flow like it’s a highlight on ESPN when if you want to understand job creation, almost no one can offer a coherent, consistent answer?

We’ve become a nation of self-righteous ignoramuses. We’re all such f-ing experts about everything we see talked about on TV.

Right and wrong are minor issues next to what notions of factuality will fit our personal leanings.

No doubt, there are many who work the various beats of the world whose projections are much better educated than most. But the temptation to pretend to be in complete control of the facts can lead to even more brutal places than “civilian” mouthing off. We have never been in a more dangerous moment for the authoritative voice, not only because it’s being torn down by a show of tweeted hands, but because those who have that authority are getting sloppier, it seems, in wielding it. (I expect kettle/pot accusations to be hurled at me on this point… which is fine… but while I may be wrong at times – on facts… opinion is a different issue – I am not unconscious of a constant need to be circumspect.)

I have enormous respect for Politico, but the story today, “Obama plan: Destroy Romney,” which has now set off the chattering class a’chatterin’, is one of those stories where people were asked about a strategy on Romney, they were given pretty honest, but pretty limited answers. And the media outlet ramped it all up into a 2012 mission statement. WTF?

Chris Matthews wondered aloud, “Why are they rolling this out so early?” And the answer seems to be, “They weren’t.” Read the article. Clearly Team Obama has discussed Romney. But there is not an iota of info suggesting that they are out planting stories focusing on Romney being “weird” now. Obviously, they don’t even know if Romney will be the candidate they’ll be facing.

It doesn’t take a whole lot to spin this story into the headline grabber it is. They’ve taken a strategic discussion of how to take down Romney and spun it into a call to action. It’s like saying that we are going to invade Russia because the military run computer simulations about invading Russia. Even worse, it also suggests that studying an enemy’s tactics is somehow unacceptable… while the truth is, if you are a strategist and don’t study all of history, you are a moron. Understanding the German military’s best strategies under Hitler does not make you a Nazi.

The money quote that allows all this grandstanding is:
“Unless things change and Obama can run on accomplishments, he will have to kill Romney,” said a prominent Democratic strategist aligned with the White House.

In paragraph ten, David Axelrod, who is the actual authority figure in the story, speaks to Politico about Romney. There are 4 quotes in the piece.

“He was very, very good at making a profit for himself and his partners but not nearly as good [at] saving jobs for communities,” said David Axelrod, the president’s chief strategist. “His is very much the profile of what we’ve seen in the last decade on Wall Street. He was about making money. And that’s fine. But often times, he made it at the expense of jobs in communities.”

“If you were to write the history of his political career, it would be called ‘Extreme Makeover,’” Axelrod said of Romney.

“There’s a question of public character,” said Axelrod. “Are you principled, consistent — are you who you say you are? Can you be counted on?”

“Presidential campaigns are like MRIs of the soul,” said Axelrod. “When he makes jokes about being unemployed or a waitress pinching him on the butt, it does snap your head back, and you say, ‘What’s he talking about?’”

Okay… that’s interesting… it’s certainly negative and direct… but it has no hint of the drama of this piece.

Romney’s weird. Shocker. 4 years of jokes by comedians and this is breaking news?

Someone mentioned that GWBush was smart about pushing the idea of John Kerry as a dilettante from the start of their campaign, so now people are talking Swift Boat. But unless you believe the Swift Boat story to be true, there is ZERO suggestion of them wanting to “swift boat” Romney with false smears.

But at the core of what makes me nuts about this story is that while it uses all the tools of quality reporting, it’s shitty analysis that is way way way ahead of reality. It’s a manipulation of what they were told. It takes fairly reasonable arguments being made by Axelrod, who no doubt was only offering them because he was asked, and surrounding him with a dozen mostly unattributed people speaking in hyperbole and changing the entire tense of the story from future to now. They throw stuff out there like “skinny jeans” as an issue, offering no context… and I believe someone mentioned them. But they’ve contextualized it into what sounds like an absurd personal smear that will allegedly be the cornerstone of a campaign – which may not happen – between Obama and Rommey.

Of course, the subtext of the whole piece is that Obama won’t be able to run on his record, so he’ll have to smear the opposing candidate to get reelected. And maybe he will. And maybe he won’t.

If the piece was titled, “If Things Don’t Improve, Obama May Be Forced To Go After Romney On A Personal Level,” and the writing fit that headline, the piece would be accurate… and not explosive. But that wasn’t what they wanted to do.

As it is, with this breathless attention grabber, I agree with Romney’s camp. Team Obama sounds scared and petty and desperate. Romney couldn’t ask for a better headline. It’s the first time in weeks that someone has made him seem like the leader of the Republican Party.

And it doesn’t even matter that there are people on the right who lie about Obama all day every day. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Problem is… this isn’t real. It’s strategic conversation. And like gossip from a movie set, the reporter really doesn’t know shit about what the real outcome will be. Great… the movie star screwed 14 women in the cast & crew in 8 week. Golly! But unless you are going to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, all the world really wants to know is, how is the f-ing movie? However, TMZ can’t run a business discussing whether movies are good or bad. They need human bullshit.

All Politico knows right now is that it sounds good right now and no one is denying anything… because no one on the record really said much of anything. You can’t deny this broad a hypothetical. “Uh, no… we don’t think Romney’s weird.” No. Another hypothetical molehill has been blown up into a media mountain.

It makes me so sad when a guy like Chris Matthews bites on bait like this and keeps building the mountain with nothing but a hypothetical foundation. And don’t expect the rest of the media to lodge a protest either. They know a “good story.” Even if it’s a grossly overstated story. It draws suckers into the tent.

And almost worst of all… it will be forgotten before Labor Day. So very important now. But no important enough to remember. This is the Michelle Bachmann Newsweek cover of this week… as thought Newsweek has any influence at all anymore.

It feels like walking in quicksand some days.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•