Say what you want about the mainstream media, but one point is indisputable: They're a tenacious lot. So they're not going to let Hurricane Gustav dampen efforts to advance the Democratic presidential ticket.
Today's Chicago Tribune informs us - just in case we've missed it - that "Obama and Biden (are) a dynamic duo." The article begins:
Over the last several days, as Barack Obama and Joe Biden have campaigned together in Pennsylvania and Ohio, a dynamic has emerged for the new Democratic ticket.
Where Obama tends to employ his trademark soaring oratory and sweeping gestures, Biden has served as a change-up. He's a go-for-the-throat gambler, tending to condense policy points into bumper stickers. Saturday, when asked about the approaching Hurricane Gustav, he simply said: "Don't ride it out. Ride it out of town."
Physically, where Obama tends to stay fixed in one spot, Biden sweeps the perimeter, brandishing the microphone as though he's hosting a daytime talk show.
He makes the case for his ticket in man-of-the-people terms, preferring to begin sentences with "Ladies and gentlemen" and "Folks . . ." as if he's standing in for Ed Sullivan or Will Rogers. And so far at least, crowds have responded, especially when he mixes in references to his "small-town" roots in Scranton, Pa., and Wilmington, Del., and talks about his father telling him "Champ, when you get knocked down, get right back up."
OK. Obama's got his "trademark soaring oratory" while Biden speaks "in man-of-the-people terms." That Obama's oratory must be teleprompter enhanced or that Biden's man-of-the-people routine is already sounding paralyzingly artificial isn't mentioned.
By now there may be a question as to what these guys are running for: president and vice president of Scranton? Regardless, they're dynamic.
Just to show how objective the Tribune can be, in its print editions an article about McCain running mate Sarah Palin appears on the same page as the one about the dynamic duo. Oddly, this isn't as favorable, reporting:
Property tax cuts and a focus on bread-and-butter matters like roads, sewer and water supplies helped her win re-election in 1999. But her rapid rise came with sharp elbows and led to enemies, said Alaska state Senate President Lyda Green, a Republican who represents the area.
"You go under the bus and find a crowd there," said Green, a former friend who had a falling-out with Palin. Others here worry that Palin's growing family — she and husband Todd have five children —could preoccupy her in Washington.
Sharp elbows, under the bus, too preoccupied with her family. And now, with news breaking that Palin's 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, there's even more reason to wonder about her candidacy.
The message is obvious: Obama and Biden are dynamic. McCain and Palin are not. What would we do without the mainstream media filtering the information we need to know to arrive at the "right" conclusion?
