Where are the Democrats?
Reported by Eleanor - August 31, 2004 -
I watched CNN during the democratic convention, and the difference in the coverage of the republican convention was striking to say the least. At the democratic convention, more republicans were in evidence than democrats, at least among the people in the media booth.
Tonight after McCain and Guliani spoke, I expected a democratic response. Instead, Wolf Blitzer, Judy Woodruff and Jeff Greenfield regurgitated what they had just heard, and added their own spin. The only reference to a democratic response was by John King who said the democrats are "reacting." Since there were no democrats present, the reaction was mute as far as CNN was concerned. At the democratic convention, a prominent republican was trashing the speeches before the clapping stopped.
At 11: 25, Aaron Brown interviewed John King, Candy Crowley, Bill Schneider, and then repeated some video clips from the speeches. When the hall was almost empty, they mentioned a band-aid with a purple heart that had been passed around the convention hall. Lots of people were wearing one. Supposedly, they gathered them up, and they're disappearing from the hall now that they have been denounced by the republican leadership.
At 11:37, five reporters were interviewed, and still no democratic spokes person. Jack Germon was blunt when he said that the speeches were rhetoric. "With 60 days to go, people will not vote on the basis of those speeches." They were "sugar candy." John McCain was interviewed at 11: 52. Bob Herbert, a reporter on the "other side," was given three minutes, and didn't really make a good case for the democratic side.
Larry King came on at midnight. He had the first democratic leader, Mario Cuomo, who made some good points after everyone had gone to bed. Among his comments: This was a "locker room" ceremony that lacked logic. Republicans have nothing to say, except Bush is doing a "great job." They included Iraq in the War on Terror. They did not make a good case. They made one case. With more people in poverty, without health care.....they have no domestic agenda. They say the war on Iraq and War on Terror are the same. There was no terrorism in Iraq until we went over there. They were wrong about all their reasons for going there.
Comment: The cable networks beat themselves up for the way they covered the speeches at the democratic convention, and promised to cover the republican speeches the same way. But no promises were made about the post-speech coverage. The fact is that few democrats were present on CNN, at least on the first night, with a few minor exceptions, and not one democratic leader had a chance to give a response to anything brought up in the speeches, except after midnight. Tomorrow is another night, but I predict the same.
