MATT LAUER AND THE TOWN HALL WITH MR. TRUMP AND MS. CLINTON

MATT LAUER AND THE TOWN HALL WITH MR. TRUMP AND MS. CLINTON

So it looks like the presidential campaign has entered the last weeks and both candidates have their ways of facing the future. 

Ms. Clinton is more afraid of being indicted than of losing the election, or she would not have used a faulty memory as an excuse to avoid prosecution for security lapses.  A concussion and subsequent health problems would not have been mentioned in front of the voters, except out of desperation.

I did watch Matt Lauer’s Town Hall featuring Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton.  I am not familiar with Mr. Lauer’s work, but this Town Hall was good, respectable work.  He does have a reputation to hold up and I think he did well towards that end during this program.  He did put Ms. Clinton on the hotseat when he asked he about all the pay for play scandals.  He also asked Mr. Trump if he really knew more than the generals, like he had said earlier.  Mr. Trump adroitly dodged the direct question but did deal with the dicey situation with the generals.  Maybe Mr. Trump does know more about Isis’ finances than the generals.

Ms. Clinton complained about lack of time to talk, but she attacked Mr. Trump six times after giving her word at the beginning that she would discuss the issues rather than her opponent.  I mean this woman made a promise on worldwide media and then broke it six times in the next thirty minutes.  Mr. Lauer had anticipated the attack dog problem and attempted to handle it by asking for a commitment from Ms. Clinton to discuss only her views on the issues at the outset.  She happily agreed then broke the agreement six times.  She can be counted on to be agreeable to whatever, then doing what she impulsively chooses to do. 

I thank Mr. Lauer for bringing this out. 

The media has been under fire lately.  I’ve seen stories of rampant bias ordered by the huge honcho owner and I’ve seen stories of reporters influencing the news with their own inclinations, whether real or paid for by special interests.  How about the one that the liberals had infiltrated the media with friends, associates and family members, exemplified by Chelsea’s $600,000 starting salary?  Ms. Kelly viciously attacks a Republican presidential candidate on the basis of what he used to do in show business and this is condoned in the media and she is temporarily elevated but like Humpty Dumpty is she destined to be.   Editorializing should always be identified instead of being embedded as fact.   

A $20,000,000 lawsuit settlement over sexual harassment and stories of the old casting couch still in use in the show business the news media has become.  Sleeping your way to the top was always an option, apparently.  No wonder the mission became flaunting legs and influence peddling, rather than reporting the news.

Whatever happened to the morality of the media?  Whatever happened to the old ideal that journalists were committed to the telling of the truth and the achievement of justice?  What happened to commitment to truth and justice by the media?  If the media cannot be trusted, then their influence is waning because people have other sources of news.  Remember that bias is a form of lying if you are being paid to spout it.  And due to the tremendous literacy rate in the USA, WE WILL SEE THE LIARS.

SO WHO IN THE MEDIA IS GOING TO SURVIVE THE COMING PURGE OF LIARS AND FOR SALE JOURNALISTS?  The journalists chosen to moderate the debates are going to be scrutinized very carefully by a very literate and alert population.  If the candidates are not treated fairly, we will see it and your careers will suffer as a result.  I hope they realize that their own careers are in jeopardy and that they are not in charge of the results of the debates, even if their purpose is to slant the coverage in favor of one candidate or the other.  Impartiality is the key if they want to keep their credibility.  I’m tired of left right games and I feel we deserve some impartiality from the news media around here.