Dissent Will Not Be Tolerated

Obama runs a tight ship. His campaign has been disciplined, steadfastly on point, and scripted. This is an amazing feat, considering his legions of aides, surrogates, and campaign supporters throughout the country. He has out-campaigned and out-strategized McCain on virtually every front. It is not difficult to imagine that should Obama win the election, he will run an equally disciplined White House.

Certainly he has not done this alone. In one of my previous blog posts, I cited the non-partisan Pew Research Center's study which demonstrated that Obama has been the beneficiary of significantly positive mainstream media bias throughout the campaign. Further analysis by Fox News has also pointed to the sharp contrast in coverage between Obama and McCain, with Obama receiving upwards of 78% positive media coverage from some newspapers and news stations versus 29% positive for McCain. Never before has the media been so slanted in its coverage as it has in this election cycle.

But what of those who have not shown bias in Obama's favor? Barbara West, a reporter for an Orlando news station, asked Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, specific pointed questions about Obama's proposed policies. This did not sit well with the Obama campaign, and the station was immediately cut off from further interviews with the Obama camp. Today, three major newspapers which endorsed McCain for President, were suddenly kicked off of the Obama news corps plane, despite having followed his campaign from the beginning. And then there's Joe the Plumber, a guy playing football with his 13 year old son in his yard when Obama stopped by his driveway on a campaign stop. Joe asked a question about how Obama' plan might effect his taxes, and subsequently became an icon representing McCain's tax argument against Obama. Since then, the Obama camp has done everything it can to smear this private citizen's name. Is this the kind of treatment dissenters can expect under an Obama administration? Bullying, intimidation, investigations of private citizens, and cutting off of any press which happens to ask questions he does not like?

I have stated before that beneath Obama's cool, elegant veneer is something that doesn't sit right with me. Cold ruthlessness, enormous ambition and ego, intellect and strict discipline combined with a refusal to tolerate dissent smacks of past and current leaders around the globe who represent the worst the world has to offer. It feels like the antithesis of freedom. It feels like we are about to embrace a dictatorship.

Maligning a Regular Joe

Like most Americans, I tend to be fairly middle of the road in my political views- a little to the left on this issue, a little to the right on that one. I make sure that I read articles from all sides of the political spectrum to be sure I get the full story, because I find that usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Things have shifted with this current election cycle. The mainstream media has always veered towards the left, and talk radio to the right. Lately though, the mainstream has gone off the edge and is taking with it our civil liberties and the true notion of Freedom of the Press. If the press presents only one argument, and maligns ANYONE who disagrees with their view, it then veers into the sort of propaganda machine we see in restricted societies such as China and Russia. Part of the blame goes to the American people, for taking the sound bites that the press feeds them, and feeling satiated. For not taking the time to question what they read or hear. In less free societies, the people have no recourse- information from the other side is not allowed in any format. But in the USA, we do have options to learn both sides of a story.

Take the latest celebrity story of Joe the Plumber, a regular guy who asked Obama a question on tax policy during a campaign stop. His question was valid and reasonable. It was a question that should have been asked by many people long before now, weeks to go before the election. McCain picked up on it, as well as Obama's answer to Joe, and used it as a centerpiece in the final Presidential debate. Frankly, Joe got across a point that McCain himself has been unable to make alone. It resonated with people. And that scared the pants off of the press, who have worked so diligently to get "their man" elected. So they wasted no time in tearing this ordinary citizen to shreds. No plumbing license (he is currently taking a course to procure his license)! Tax liens (one old, one current, to the tune of about $1000)! etc. etc. This is a guy who works 10-12 hours a day to provide a good living for himself and his 13 year old son. He lives in a modest ranch house outside Toledo. He wants to buy a business. He simply asked a question.

It is shameful. And scary.