McCain's Gaffes Won't Matter, Until the TradMed Decides They Matter.

I was motivated by the diary titled: This is Why We're Going to Win. I'm not trying to call out the diarist, I just believe that his diary should be titled: "This is Why We Should Win".

For the most part, Republican ideology cannot win in a free and fair election.  

That is why they have cultivated overwhelming advantages in campaign finance (which they might not have in '08).  

That is why they are so adept at voter suppression.  

That is why they tried to hijack the Federal government and make it an arm of the Republican party.

But most importantly, that is why their allies in Big Media have tilted the field in the Republican's favor.

Big Media isn't interested in democracy, it's interested in making money.  So their coverage of politics is always going to be in the interest of maximizing their profit. Big Media knows that it has a friend in the Republican Party.  

Even when Big Media isn't deliberately aiding its natural ally, its profit motivated coverage leads to an unintentional boost for the Republicans. If the American people really understood how they were being screwed by Republican policies, then the Republicans would be history. But that kind of in-depth, analytical coverage is expensive and "dull".  It's so much easier to simply embrace the accepted narrative and package it up for the highest ratings.

When it comes to beating McCain, it won't be because he's a clueless fool. Bush was even more foolish and clueless in 2000. Big Media just didn't like Gore.

This is yet another reason why Obama would be a superior candidate.  I don't know what the Big Media narrative will be on Clinton, but I can almost guarantee that it won't beat the "straight-talking maverick" narrative. Obama can force Big Media into a positive narrative that counters the one it's already chosen for McCain.

McCain's gaffes will become "news", only if the media narrative turns against him. Until then, he'll remain their "straight talking maverick".