In the crosshairs of 'gotcha' journalism

Editorials

November 19, 2011

In the crosshairs of 'gotcha' journalism

Lone Beasley Publisher The Ada News The Ada Evening News Sat Nov 19, 2011, 03:10 PM CST

Ada —

Among the blessings we associate with Thanksgiving of spending time with family, eating too much turkey, and preparing for the kick off of the Christmas selling season, we might add one more this year — a blessed couple of days off from the 2012 Presidential race. And if it’s blessed for us, think what it must mean for the candidates.

Due to the searing heat of examination, some are already has-beens. Gov. Rick Perry may do well in front of Texas cameras, but not so much with those geared to a national audience. Not that yours truly would necessarily do any better. I have brain freezes in my living room at home answering questions from my wife. What would it be like facing ultra-bright lights behind which is a studio audience and cameras beaming your words and face worldwide?

Herman Cain and his wife insist he isn’t a sex offender, which is good because if America elects another Bill Clinton to occupy the White House we may as well change our country’s name to Italy.

Still, we must give Clinton his due. No matter how ribald his philandering, there was never a time he couldn’t quickly and intelligently respond to a foreign policy question. Herman Cain wishes he could say that. If he expects to be President, Cain simply must immediately be able to answer a question like the one the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked regarding Pres. Obama’s Libya policy.

Cain is right about one thing. This election is about jobs. But that doesn’t mean foreign policy is a non-issue. A presidential candidate must be on top of international affairs even if the topic isn’t currently uppermost in the minds of the electorate. After he or she is elected, and almost certainly sooner rather than later, a foreign policy issue will present itself front and center and it won’t be something that can be delegated.

With Perry’s and Cain’s poll numbers dropping, Newt Gingrich’s stock is rising. How long that lasts will be a function of how well he handles questions regarding the skeletons in his closet. Freezing in front of a camera or an inability to respond quickly to a foreign policy question won’t be an issue with him. Newt has another problem. Voters tend not to like him all that much. 

A book he wrote was on my reading list several years ago during a Thanksgiving trip home. I put it down with the back cover consisting of Newt’s photo facing up. Each relative walked by, spotted Newt’s mug and involuntarily said, “Ugh!”  

It is only anecdotal evidence but it told me something about his electability. And now that Gingrich is the latest presumed alternate to Mitt Romney’s front-runner status, he’s in the “gotcha” journalistic crosshairs. 

Exposing candidates’ dirty laundry is something of a latter 20th-early 21st century wrinkle. Had they known this was coming, many former presidents would surely have added to their list of Thanksgiving blessings the fact they never had to deal with presidential vetting 2011 style.

———

Lone' Beasley is publisher of The Ada News.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Editorials

Imagine a more truthful commencement address
We are in the time of year for commencements, and every commencement has a commencement address.

May 22, 2013
Letter To The Editor
May 22, 2013
Surviving a tornado while on the road
All Oklahomans know the importance of going to the storm shelter when the tornado sirens sound. But what should a person do when caught in a storm while out on the road?

May 18, 2013
Be a good neighbor with pesticide applications
Being a good neighbor with pesticide applications means thinking first, about what your pesticide application might do to harm your neighbors crops.

May 18, 2013
Bench Warrants
May 18, 2013
Cool vs. un-cool musicians
Jokes, we know, are no good if you have to explain them. It has happened in my experience that a certain deadness of expression sets in on some non-musicians’ faces upon hearing them because they aren’t in tune (if you’ll pardon the play on words) with the punch lines. They don’t get them.

May 18, 2013
Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.

May 18, 2013
AP right to be angry about seized phone records
The Obama Justice Department is a wonder. It is a frightening wonder, but a wonder nonetheless. Attorney General Eric Holder, ever eager to give terrorists their day in civilian court and so protective of their rights, has no qualms about stomping on the constitutional rights of the press.

May 15, 2013
Looking through the miscellaneous file
I’ve heard historians say that in the so-called primitive cultures the women bear and raise the children, gather and raise food for the family, and prepare the meals. The men hunt, fish, and tell stories. Many of you will see there is nothing primitive about this except for the lack of hunting and fishing in some areas.

May 8, 2013
5-5-13 sounding board
May 6, 2013
More Editorials Headlines

Editorials

Search Results

In the crosshairs of 'gotcha' journalism

Do you think the state budget should include raises for state employees?

Site Map

Contact Us