Essential issues not covered
By James Hutchinson
Renowned host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart, made an inflammatory appearance on CNN's political debate show "Crossfire" this past week. His statements cut to the core of much of the partisan bickering that has engulfed the country in the past four years. Stewart sharply rebuked hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala's "pro- wrestling" approach to political debate, saying that they have failed in their responsibility to inform the American public.
Stewart's appearance garnered much attention from the national media as well as high number of Internet downloads of the segment. I believe the reason his appearance sparked such interest was because Stewart's critique of political analysis/debate shows such as "Crossfire" touched upon a genuine truth about the American news media and its discussion of politics in today's society. Polemics from both sides of the political landscape do their best to distort and misrepresent the other through fear and slander. For evidence of this, look no further than the "substance" of this year's election.
All year long the only substance the news media continuously focused on were the service records of Kerry and Bush. Analysis shows such as Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor" would often discuss which candidate the American people would rather have a beer with as a determining factor in the way people vote. With that said, in an age of terrorism, sky rocketing deficits, failing health care and rampant job loss, the news media clearly failed in their duty to act as a beacon of awareness for the American electorate.
When Stewart accused the "Crossfire" hosts of contributing to the climate of polarization that pervades the country, he was right. These types of shows pander only to the ideologues from both the right and the left and does nothing to raise a consciousness about the real substantive problems of our time, nor generate any genuine solutions to fix them. When Bill O'Reilly takes on Michael Moore it makes for great spectacle and television theatrics (much like politics in itself); however, it does little to solve problems and much to exacerbate the partisan divisions in this country. If the news media and the politicians feel it is in our best interest to keep real issues out of the political discourse, they do so at the peril of a vibrant democracy.
* Ã Ã James Hutchinson's column appears once a month. He can be reached at jehutchinson@scu.edu.