When the presidential candidates release plans to deal with important issues, such as education, global warming, or veterans’ affairs, the Des Moines Register more often than not buries the story in the middle pages of the Metro Iowa section.
That is especially true for the second-tier candidates.
Tuesday morning I picked up the Register and saw a photo of Chris Dodd and Joe Biden on the front page of the main section. Wow, that’s unusual. But what do you think the story was about?
Both Dodd, a senator from Connecticut, and Biden, a senator from Delaware, each are hoping to emerge and knock out a front-runner. But both facing an increasing amount of questions about whether they are different enough for voters to tell them apart.
Increasing amount of questions? From whom? I talk to Democratic caucus-goers literally every day, and while I have heard undecided voters praise Dodd and Biden many times, I have never heard anyone express concern that they may not be different enough for voters to tell them apart.
The Register goes on to tell us that Dodd and Biden get along well, charter planes together sometimes, and are “old school” senators. It mentions a recent Saturday Night Live sketch making fun of their similarities and quotes experts suggesting they are political insiders who lack “sex appeal.”
I expect meaningless process stories from most of the national press corps, but couldn’t the Des Moines Register at least pretend to cover the substance of the campaign on the front page?
Haven’t the Register reporters who cover the town-hall meetings and house parties all over this state noticed that caucus-goers want to hear where the candidates stand on the issues?
That is especially the case for the second-tier candidates, because most Iowans are less familiar with their records. Dodd and Biden have plenty to say about how they would govern and what their priorities would be–not that you’d get any idea about that from the article.
I noticed this quote near the bottom of the piece:
Kathy Elsner, a dentist in Des Moines who supports Dodd, said voters should look seriously at people running for president, and not just their campaign style.
Please, Des Moines Register editors, take Elsner’s advice and assign your reporters to compare and contrast the candidates’ proposals for dealing with the issues.
5 Comments
Well said
I haven’t heard anyone call Dodd or Biden the same candidate because while they’re similar in experience and leadership, on the issues and what they’re campaigning on they have shown dramatic differences.
chris-woods Wed 28 Nov 11:08 AM
Well...
Quite honestly, I’m just glad Dodd and Biden are getting any coverage at all. They are clearly the two candidates with the experience and honesty to lead this nation through what we all know will be a difficult decade. I support Biden, but I must tell you, Dodd is quite a great guy as well.
rpritchard Wed 28 Nov 6:45 PM
Register coverage
is certainly not the best. But I thought this was a pretty decent article and somewhat interesting. I also agree about the major point of the story. I’ve said many times that I don’t think there is room for both Biden and Dodd in the race. They fit the same general candidate profile, no question about it. Also, Register does cover quite a bit on the candidates’ takes on issues. You can’t overdo that either, as most people are not political junkies like us who hang out on political blogs 24/7.
rf Wed 28 Nov 7:23 PM
but they bury the issues stories
inside the Metro section, and they don’t do a good job of comparing all the candidates’ stands on a particular issue.
desmoinesdem Wed 28 Nov 8:15 PM
Lest we forget...
Print media dinosaurs like the Register (almost called it the R&T, that dates me a bit), particularly the Iowa versions, depend on political advertising for survival.
So we never get the real debate, it is always clouded by special interest influence, and even Yepsen juggles those “professional demands” along with political perception, whether conscious or subliminal.
He is very well respected among the “poundit” class of journalists, whether for his perceptiveness or his brinkmanship, only the poundits can certify.
One thing you will never see is any substantial criticism towards or an expose’ of any of the candidates with all of that easy corporate money, because that has become the gravy train, the slop trough, the overflowing cup, that Iowa media has come to know and love and covet.
Until we take the profit out of campaigning, we will never get any good old-fashioned Lincoln/Douglas style debates, because the last thing our media wants is for one of their wealthier advertisers to get eliminated from the game due to actual issues and abilities, rather than their money-grubbing talents.
Edwards has been on the wrong side of the corporate world since he beat them in court, now they are leaning on every publisher, who is leaning on every editor, who is leaning on every journalist, to marginalize JRE’s campaign.
I hope Iowans help overcome this media industry maniuplation, and caucus for Edwards in January. He deserves our support, and we deserve his leadership.
We’ve had enough of corporate management in government, it is time to put an end to the Enron era of book-cooking, no-bid administrations.
jep Thu 29 Nov 8:48 AM