After this summer's war between Georgia and Russia, threats to the United States from Russia over the missile defense shield, and two casualty intense wars that have no end in sight, all the news networks can cover is the scandal over whether the Obama family will cave to the public and buy a dog from the pound. This seems a little ridiculous. after all of the domestic problems in America, be it home forecloses, poverty, the recent spike in burglaries, and the manic-deprissiveness of the NYSE, all the media (and most of America for that matter) cares about are frivolous issues of non-import.
Something has got to give. The media has truly overstepped its madate this time; they should be covering to housing crisis, or how Iran's president supported Obama until he realized that Obama doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons either. Seriously, can anyone say they acutally care about what kind of dog the Obama family will have over serious international and domestic crises?
10 comments:
well, if they got Lassie, maybe she could lead us to where osama bin laden is? And which Lassie to choose? That's an important decision. Sometimes the American public needs a couple days break from all the problems in America and distract themselves until they gather themselves enough so they can face the problems the next days. It's like a water cooler break for America. But if inauguration day comes and Obama still is focused on the dog than we have some problems.
As an American citizen, yes, I want to be assured that Obama is caring about the important crises in the country, but, as Ian said, the media is looking for something more along the lines of a human interest piece or at least a reprieve from the tedium of policy and election. It goes back to ther idea that people want to see the human side of their leaders. I don't think at this point that there is anything horribly wrong with the situation, after all, it's the media that is preoccupied with it, not necessarily Obama himself.
I think the media's excessive reports about the dog are a lighthearted attempt to remind Americans of the good life. We have had a difficult past 6 months or even year and I think the dilemma of the dog is just a way to escape these issues. With just a few months until inauguration, nothing more can be done about these issues. Bush can't start anything because Obama will just end it as soon as he's in office. Obama can't do anything because he isn't officially president. So with everything at a standstill, there's not much more to say than the Obamas can't decide what type of dog they should get. I feel we deserve a break from all the chaos overseas. Americans don't have to worry about where Russia is in relation to Alaska or about the other big issues clotting the campaign. While Max's right that the world hasn't stopped just because we're in between presidents, I see it more as a transition period, nows the time to worry about “frivolous issues” and remember what its like to be an American before we need to get serious and to work to fix all these problems that he's mentioned. I'd say better now than in February. Besides, the home foreclosures were all over the front page of the Chronicle this morning.
The media tries to capture whatever the American public has interest in. Because the American public has interest in this dog ordeal, the media is obviously going to cover this. Plus it's just as a. rosensweig says, it's a lighthearted attempt to remind Americans of the good life. I mean, I sure don't like to be reminded that America's foreign relations are in a skydive, our economy's in a jam and our world is going to expire possibly before i die. TV media is always going to show something that catches our interest best, and distract us from our problems.
I agree with what everyone else has been saying. This story gives Americans a break from reality and creates the image that the Obama's are like an average American family. So what if the media wants to know which dog the new first family will get? Who really wants to read everyday that our economy is once again in crisis? This current issue also allows everyday Americans to participate in the decision and vote for which dog the Obama family should own. On the other hand, if in a few weeks this whole dog topic is still as popular as it is now, then I will start to question the media's true priority.
So? Sorry for the sarcastic comment, but I don't really mind the media reporting on what type of dog the Obamas might get. Many respectable news source (NYT, NPR, AP) do report on the important issues. If this story is the front page on the NYT, then I would be enraged at the MSM's level of standards. However, I'm glad to report that this hasn't happened...yet
Dog is man's best friend, and in the White House, it's always great to have some friends. I don't blame the Obama family for wanting a dog so badly! Even though I feel that the dog issue is taking away valuable airtime for political and economic issues, I must admit that its pretty funny. With everything else that has been going on in our country, its nice to get a break once in a while from the important news. By the way, I hear that Obama is looking for a hypoallergenic dog because his daughter's allergic. I don't think he'll be going to the pound to find that one...
You know what else is ridiculous? President Bush's dogs (Barney and Miss Beazley, Scottish Terriers) have their OWN WEB PAGE!
check it out: http://www.whitehouse.gov/barney/
You can view videos, pictures, biographies and even ask Barney a question.
I also found this interesting website about the different pets that Presidents have kept at the white house.
Anyways, at least all this buzz about Obama's new dog reminds the public that even the President is only human. We can also see that Obama knows the importance of family. This is a good thing. I mean, if a President can't take care of his own family, how could he keep an entire country together?
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