Nicholas' Blog Entry #5

Nicholas Savasta
Blog 5

Chapter 12-Privacy for Political Leaders
The American press has traditionally seen its role in our democracy as the Fourth Estate, an unelected but active player in the life of the republic. Some, however, would accuse the media of being too active of a player: writing stories from their own biases and mercilessly intruding on the privacy of political figures.

In the 20th century, the press went from being a watchdog of candidates’ morals to a lapdog. (Smith, 241-242)

One story I chose about “Privacy for Political Leaders” is a brand new story tonight about Obama’s ailing grandmother and his suspension of his campaign for two days because he is going to see her. Just the fact that this is news really speaks volumes. The article goes as far as telling about Obama’s grandmother being in the hospital last week and here being at home resting now. I think they went a little bit far but I guess in a historic election comes historic news coverage, opinions, and active playing in the Presidential nominee’s personal lives.

The article is called: “Obama Cancels Campaign Events To Visit Ailing Grandmother” written in The Wall Street Journal.
There were a couple of different views of why the schedule changes were being made. Almost to over look the fact that his grandmother is sick and in serious condition!
“Campaign aides insisted the schedule changes were not driven by political concerns. However, they coincide with recent reports that Republicans are contemplating moving resources out of the two states, Wisconsin and Iowa, where recent polling shows Sen. Obama's lead widening. Indiana, a traditionally Republican state, is far more competitive. Sen. Obama's mother died at age 54 of cancer. His maternal grandfather and his father are deceased.”

It also goes into detail about his recent vacations and quoting Senator Obama about his grandmother. Who knows if this is even true!
Sen. Obama vacationed with his grandmother this summer, saying she had reached an age when he wanted her to spend as much time as possible with her great grand children, his daughters, Malia and Sasha.

The Wall Street Journal even goes into Obama’s past speeches and mentions the “raising some eyebrows from his critics” in part of it. I just really don’t think this needs to be mentioned!
“She has always featured prominently in his stump speeches and biography, a "Rosey the Riveter" in World War II Kansas. He also raised her in a somewhat critical way -- raising some eyebrows from his critics -- in his closely watched speech on race in March in the wake of the controversies surrounding his long-time Chicago pastor, Jeremiah Wright. "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother," Sen. Obama said. He described her as "a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.””

Beyond this, the article goes on to talk about why this might be a positive thing for Obama during the campaign. They actually think it might be a positive thing! What happens if his grandmother dies? Will that be positive too? I think this part is a little deranged.
“Nothing a presidential candidate does in the final weeks of a campaign can be divorced from politics. Here are three reasons the suspended campaign will not hurt Obama:
1. The trip emphasizes Obama's human side. A former law school faculty member, he can come across as aloof and overly intellectual. He has a compelling family story and a trip to visit his sick grandmother brings that story to the attention of more voters.
2. The trip may make some Obama critics tone down their attacks. It's hard to throw rocks at a guy when he is caught up with a very tough family situation. Political attacks pose new risk to any Republican tempted to play in the gutter.
3. Democratic surrogates will get new attention. Michelle Obama and Joe Biden are strong campaigners. Bill and Hillary Clinton will be on the trail, too. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were together in Florida on Monday. Even with Barack Obama out of the picture for a few days, his high-profile supporters will keep the momentum rolling”