Why the press helped McCain whitewash Bush: "Bush's failure is the media's failure."

[DeepModem Mom]

Media Matters for America: Tue, Sep 9, 2008
The press helps McCain whitewash Bush
by Eric Boehlert

CNN.com announced last week that among McCain's top political priorities for the Republican convention was his "need to make it clear that his first term will not be Bush's third term." In fact, it was probably the worst kept secret in St. Paul: McCain had to completely cut ties with the wildly unpopular Republican incumbent and his record of failure....

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But if McCain did pull off the great escape, it was only thanks to the press and the way eager journalists pitched in to erase Bush from the political picture....And that's why Bush was a non-story in St. Paul and remains a non-story in the unfolding campaign....

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Instead of journalism in St. Paul, we saw a lot of winking and nodding going on. The Republicans announced, with a wink and a nod, that neither Bush nor Cheney could possibly attend the GOP convention. Instead of a) pointing out the logistical absurdity of the claim or b) analyzing (ad nauseam) what the White House no-shows meant, the press mostly signed off on the phony script.

And it's not just about St. Paul. The press remains allergic to the topic of what Bush's deep political stain could mean for the GOP on Election Day. The press has virtually erased Bush as a player in this campaign, which is striking because back in 2000, when Bill Clinton was the retiring two-term president, the press couldn't stop writing and gabbing about his role in the unfolding campaign. (It was mostly bad for Dems, the pundits agreed.) But Bush? Who's he?

It's fitting, really, that as the media's lapdog performance under Bush comes to its conclusion, the press would soft-peddle the president's role in his farewell convention fiasco. It's fitting because, let's face it, Bush's presidential failure is really the media's failure, and what journalist wants to dwell on that? Remember, this is the same political press corps that just had a gut feeling about Bush in 2000; just liked the guy. They vouched for him. Said he was a real, authentic politician who would restore bipartisanship to Washington....

The media have, throughout Bush's gruesome political collapse, shown very little interest in taking part in the usual Beltway pastime of dissecting the miscues, assigning blame, and yes, doing a little bit of grave-dancing. When it comes to Bush's four-year decline, the press has remained oddly detached. So when McCain and company wanted to erase Bush from the presidential picture, the press was only too willing to oblige. More importantly, that timidity helped McCain pull off his top priority; separating himself from Bush with a clean break. (McCain to the press: Thanks for the bounce!)...

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(J)ournalists, like McCain, just want Bush to fade away.

http://mediamatters.org/columns/200809090014