Nathaniel

Shockey

Read Nathaniel's bio and previous columns here

July 7, 2008

How McCain Can Run Against the Media and Win

The relationship between the mainstream media and the Republican candidate is especially complicated this year. John McCain had managed to stay on the media’s decent side ever since he ran against George W. Bush in the Republican primaries eight years ago.

He has frequently found himself on the left edge of the Republican Party, and has been frequenting talk shows throughout Bush’s entire presidency. But now he’s running against a colossus, perhaps the most blatantly media-favored presidential candidate in America’s history. And soon, the media will move from a position of adoration for Barack Obama and general neglect of McCain to a much harsher attitude. The Bush 2.0 platform will crush whatever seemingly warm bonds McCain formed in the past. The relative peace won’t last. Obama is the media’s choice, and they will not hold back.

So McCain needs to rid himself of any ideas about winning over the media. This may actually be the biggest issue of his campaign.

Concerning the media, a conservative candidate has to pick his battles. On almost every issue, there is a distinct gap between the media’s consensus and the public’s. Strategically, the goal is to discern which gaps are the biggest, and to, whenever possible, make those your home run issues.

If a candidate decides to make a big deal out of any position with which the media disagrees, he would be significantly better off knowing the public is already leaning his way. But if the public is leaning towards the media, then the media’s attacks will inflict serious damage.

Take, for example, issues such as gay marriage and global warming. The media would have us believe that, by now, Al Gore has everyone convinced that global warming is the greatest threat our world has ever faced. In actuality, despite the overwhelming acceptance of global warming by so many companies out there who correctly fear what the media could do to their reputation, a Gallup poll released in April showed that only a third of Americans see global warming as a serious threat, which is about the same percentage as 19 years ago.

Concerning gay marriage, the media would have us believe that bigoted Nebraskan farmers are the only ones opposed to a constitutional amendment legalizing gay marriage. The fact is that most polls show that there are still more Americans who oppose gay marriage than those who support it.

But here’s the problem with turning these issues into wars. Although there is a clear gap between the media’s ideas and those held by everyone else, the gap is not so large to render the media’s attacks impotent. America has not made up its mind. There is a large enough percentage of Americans who fear global warming, and a big enough buzz, that the media could seriously damage a candidate who openly questions the urgency of the problem.

But there are two subjects in particular that have sprung major gaps between the media and the public, and these are the battles McCain should choose.

McCain’s first issue should always be oil. It affects our nation’s financial security and our national security. And if you ask me, it speaks loudly about our general state of sanity. We have to begin drilling right away, and although the media is perhaps in bed more with the environmental groups than any others, the majority of Americans want us to use the oil we have. This issue is a home run, and McCain cannot get scared of the media on this one. Be loud and proud. They’ll slander him, call him a cold-blooded capitalist, question his devotion to “long-term health,” but fortunately, there are enough voices out there and enough reason among the average person to realize that there is only one good way out of our current oil crisis. While we’re developing alternative fuels, we need to drill here, now and quickly.

Secondly, McCain needs to constantly preach the success in Iraq. The media wants to focus on the initial invasion, which they are convinced was completely foolish. But the truth is that this just doesn’t matter anymore. McCain needs to make this point every time he steps up to a microphone. Things are getting much better, victory is in sight and Obama’s heroic stance all those years ago is about as relevant as the Baldwin brothers.

Very few Americans actually favor Obama’s previous stance on an immediate troop withdrawal (which he is beginning to revise). The only reason I can imagine that McCain has not made a bigger deal out of this is that he fears the reaction from the media. Get over it, McCain. You’re right about this one, and Americans could use a reminder. No matter where Obama winds up on this one in November, he’ll either appear like an idiot or a flip-flopper of Kerryesque proportions.

If McCain would accept that the media has already has made its choice, maybe he’ll figure out that the two keys to the White House are oil and Iraq. Much to the chagrin of the media, they don’t get to pick the next American president. That job still belongs to the people.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

Click here to talk to our writers and editors about this column and others in our discussion forum.

To e-mail feedback about this column, click here. If you enjoy this writer's work, please contact your local newspapers editors and ask them to carry it.

This is Column # NS121. Request permission to publish here.