Campbell Brown Asks A Question Muy Stupid

By John Aloysius Farrell

America has no shortage of scummy dingbat politicians who will chant any sort of media-pleasing idiocy to maintain their tiny place on the national cable TV stage. It is hard to decide  who was more contemptible this week: Rudy G or Jesse J?

But some share of the blame for the awfulness of the presidential campaign – and I am increasingly thinking it’s a rather large share – needs to go to the commentary class as well.

Think about it. The two presidential candidates have said some really interesting things in the last three weeks. They offered leadership at some political risk.

Barack Obama made several eloquent, nuanced and well-reasoned speeches about patriotism, religion, national service, parental responsibility, education and other issues which nudged Americans toward common ground, instead of partisan division.

Obama also began the difficult (the inevitably difficult) task of educating Democrats that our withdrawal from Iraq is going to be a complex, costly thing. A timetable that he proposed for withdrawing from Iraq (a timetable that will be more than a year old on Inauguration Day) will have to be adjusted to the reality (whatever it is) of 2009. As he has long warned, we need to get out more carefully than we got in.

And, of course, Obama suggested that Americans who study foreign languages – as they have been doing in school for the entire life of the Republic! – will be better positioned in a global economy.

John McCain stepped up as well. He advertisement about the patriotism of Hispanic Americans, running on TV in Colorado and other states where tensions are running high over illegal immigration, was an exceptional (and too rare) reminder from his campaign why we love the guy.

McCain also gave a speech that, though short on specifics, at least promoted the notion of a balanced federal budget. He defended free trade. And he suggested, rightly, that it is disgraceful for young folks to be paying into a Social Security system for old folks, while the old folks refuse to make the sacrifices that would guarantee the system’s health for the young folks.

So, in a week or ten days, we got the two major presidential candidates digging through some pretty important stuff, and offering glimpses of how they would lead America.

And then I switch on CNN last night, and there is Campbell Brown being an absolute idiot.

When Obama encouraged his countrymen to learn foreign languages, Brown asked a guest, wasn’t the Democratic candidate undermining the desperate efforts he has been making in the last few weeks to prove that he is a real American?

How do you answer such a dumb question? Her guest was stunned speechless.

The underlying assumptions of Brown’s question are: Americans are stupid. Americans are lazy. Any suggestion that does not treat Americans as stupid and lazy is politically risky.  This international economy thing isn’t too important. Foreigners are bad. All foreign cultures are inferior. Education is a drag. Obama is foreign. The nominee of the Democratic Party needs to persuade Americans that he is American. By urging citizens to unite, learn and work hard in school,  Obama is an elitist. Learning is a foreign value. Any suggestion that America needs improvement will be viewed by dumb, cowed voters as unpatriotic.

I guess I should not pick on Campbell. The horse race is fun. We like to tout here at RobertEmmet.

But the whole CNN-MSNBC-Fox thing has taken on a life of its own.

How much cleavage will the Fox blonds show? Will obnoxious Keith and bully Bill come to blows out by the hot tub? Will Chris get voted off the air? Did Donna and Paul make up?

It’s like some awful, hideous reality show.

The candidates are not failing us. It’s the scribes who are letting us down.