President Obama has laid some blame on the media for the current tone of this years election. He spoke at a journalism awards banquet saying that we are more concerned with tweets than serious political questions. He dropped a slight hint at Trump by referring to his vulgar, violent behavior at his rallies.
Enough people are falling for his idealized version of the past with his slogan “Make America Great Again.” It has made the nightmare of his presidency an actual possibility. He is pushing divisive, un-American ideas such as walling off our entire country and outlawing a whole demographic of people because of their religion.
World leaders are voicing concerns over whether or not America will still function effectively. British Prime Minister David Cameron put out a rare statement saying that the GOP’s frontrunners’ commentary is “divisive, unhelpful, and wrong.”
Obama has blamed the journalists in part for the crazy political atmosphere were are in. He says journalists need to “probe and to question and to dig deeper.” He condemned the disregard of facts, the violent rhetoric, and the ACTUAL violence in political rallies.
He said that it could damage the United States’ standing with the rest of the world:
“It frays the habits of the heart that underpin any civilized society — because how we operate is not just based on laws, it’s based on habits and customs and restraint and respect. It creates this vacuum where baseless assertions go unchallenged, and evidence is optional. And as we’re seeing, it allows hostility in one corner of our politics to infect our broader society. And that, in turn, tarnishes the American brand.”
In November, the Republican candidates actually sent in demands for future debates. They demanded that the questions be easier. They told the group holding the debate that they should not show an empty podium. I guess the candidates are embarrassed to go pee.
These candidates need to get used to answering tough questions if they want the most important job in the country.
Featured image by Daniel Borman via flickr, available under Creative Commons 2.0 license.
