Comments on: Our Talking Point Culture

By: P.S. Ruckman, Jr.

P.S. Ruckman, Jr. — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:41:20 +0000

Another case in points: for weeks Obama has been up in national polls by 5-10 points. The pundits credited the lead to his message, the economy, his personality, disfavor with the Bush administration, the unpopular war, etc.

Today, McCain is up in a national poll by 10 points. The same pundits now say such polls are meaningless, we shouldn’t give them too much weight, etc.

Perhaps Stewart can lampoon these “expert” commentators as well.

By: JP

JP — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:25:25 +0000

James,

I’m not saying your underlying point re: Republican pundits is wrong (I don’t watch them), or funny in and of itself.

It’s ironic because it’s phony and inane partisanship on a thread decrying phony and inane partisanship. Such irony would be funny if intentional. I did not think yours was intentional.

I have no idea what your 6:54 comment is saying, so I guess that yes, you must have fooled me.

By: Maryland Conservatarian

Maryland Conservatarian — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:18:32 +0000

Prof. Grimmelmann is right – that’s why I stick to MSNBC…although at times I do wish Keith would loosen up and stop being so damn measured and even-handed…

By: Danielle Citron

Danielle Citron — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:28:16 +0000

Dan,

I could not agree more. And last night’s convention confirmed my feeling that sometimes pundit mimic those whom they tease–if politicians make policy seem like gum-ball sound bites then maybe pundits are just following their lead.

Thanks for the clip!

By: James Grimmelmann

James Grimmelmann — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:54:29 +0000

I didn’t plan it.

But I fooled you.

Now that’s ironic.

And funny, too.

By: JP

JP — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:09:23 +0000

James,

That was funny, until I realized you didn’t intend to be ironic.

By: James Grimmelmann

James Grimmelmann — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:28:31 +0000

Nate, you’re exactly right. Cutting down on pictures helps, too.

And Dan, when you say “stop giving these pundits all the airtime,” I believe you mean “stop giving these Republican pundits all the airtime.” That’s where most of the mendacity is coming from.

By: Daniel J. Solove

Daniel J. Solove — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:55:29 +0000

Frank, Nate, and David — The TV news is particularly bad, but the problem exists everywhere. It also exists in newspaper op-ed pages, blogs, etc. It’s everywhere. It is increasingly harder to escape from it, and it frustrates me more generally that this is how our political discourse is proceeding. Shielding myself in a bubble only blunts the pain a little bit, especially when I know what’s going on outside. It also permeates the speeches of candidates and others, and there often doesn’t seem to be much of a line between the punditry and the political speeches themselves.

By: Nate Oman

Nate Oman — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:46:57 +0000

Dan: My suggestion is that you simply get rid of all television news. I’m serious. Stop watching it; it’s crap. You can get plenty of information from print or the internet, and you can screen out most of the idiotic yammering or at least dramatically reduce it.

By: david niehaus

david niehaus — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:17:55 +0000

Asking the networks to regulate this kind of entertainment is pointless. Broadband has exposed the limits of intelligent human communication. The time has to be filled so what gets said is a good deal less important than the fact that something is being said. One solution is to look for Andy Griffith marathons. Or, even better, turn off your TV.

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:16:39 +0000

Agreed. I cannot believe the cable networks actually substituted pundits for Kerry’s speech last week. One more thing that drove me to watch the conventions from live feeds from the parties’ sites, rather than cable or networks.