Centerfield

I'd love to see an empirical study of campaign content that weighs policy vs non-policy issues in a campaign and see how the trend line changes as the election approaches. To me, ten days to go means it is time to get the waders on because it is going to get shoveled higher and faster. Ten days of sound bite city and image spin. Even debates are pretty useless this close. Everyone has been coached to say as little as possible in as many words as possible. At local level, you will get some decent policy discussions, but the higher up the political food chain you go, the silliness increases.

Its not a left or right wing issue either. Youtube may explode this week. I am sure there will be a ton of 'anonymous' items popping up over the next week. If you want to blow a hole in the campaign finance laws, youtube will be the place to do it.

I can't say that I disagree with the observation. Kinda of like what I've been posting for years. There has been a irresponsible neglect by media to even focus public attention on defining the terms used in the terrorism debate, such as "terrorist", "pre-emptive", self-defense", "human rights" or even "freedom of speech", or the "right to privacy". I would love Fox to devote some time defining Fundamentalism, or the BBC in defining “terrorism”

The bottom line is that only economic crisis and/or serious national threats really drive elections. The media has focused on neither in its reporting of the world or our economy. Still, in the calm before the storm, policy makers ought to consider the political consequences of near term intelligence failures and any successful attacks against us or our allies. Despite this, Democrats often base their estimations on strange assumptions about the world.

I mentioned Ted Koppel's "Don Corleone" approach to Iran, which I think far more inhuman than our present bungling. It would be a horrible failure.

No matter what the world thinks, tens of thousands of capable Muslim extremists along with a vast network of other antagonists and criminals are expanding their operational capabilities. Convincing a larger number of people worldwide will not change that.

Several regimes are engaged in the production and development of wmd whose leaders are linked directly to the terrorist/intelligence network. Democrats this election cycle are amazed Foley and North Korea moved Iran and Lebanon off center. Instead, of focusing on the terrorist issue, their campaign talks of change.

Hmmmm..... I wonder why the media during these last months simply ignored the refutation of the Lebanon cease fire by the UN, the lack of global intervention on African genocide perpetrated by Muslim extremists, the inability to quarantine NK, or even sanction Iran. There is no frank media discussion about what a strong American policy should be like while myths are hoisted in place of facts.

The Democratic national security policy is been based on several myths. One such myth involves a benign portrayal of Muslim indoctrination an education in those regions most afflicted with violence. What would Democrats do? Isn't this pre-emption? How long will Musharraf survive? There is a disturbing lack of truthfulness by many Liberals and Conservatives in assessing the nature and behavior of the threats, which face Liberal Democracy. Instead, there is an inane debate over what Liberal Democracy is, as our neglect over refining policy continues.

How can media debate "the war on terror" without defining the terms, antagonists and reasonable options? As long as media ignores who is responsible for the Congo and Sudan, how can they speak about the carnage in Iraq? As long as they do not fear Mullahs with nukes, why do they tremble before Big Brother? Until media frets less about religious cartoons and more about broadcasting terrorist propaganda, media will remain an amplifier for boardrooms and special interests groups who seek to stir opinion rather than educate it.

10 Days would be impossible, unless you make reality a Reality Show. 10 reporters seeking to survive assignments in the worst places.

Ahh the typos......

and the better link.

Seems an awful lofty goal to ty to break the record by 10.