Following the campaign, September 15
From Karin Caifa:
IT’S THE MEDIA, STUPID
When I’ve asked Kucinich supporters and campaign staff why their candidate is lagging in the polls, they unanimously agree that it’s my fault. Well, not my fault directly. But my industry’s fault. The campaign has so embraced this philosophy that the following appears on the official campaign website under the heading “Talking Back to the Media” ...
“Our approach to journalists will always be to treat them with respect. … we understand that negative news about our campaign is not necessarily biased news. On the other hand, there are also ideological pundits and reporters who do not play fair. Some fail to report fairly or objectively on Rep. Kucinich, even at events where he receives the warmest crowd reaction, or on issues he has an important or unique position. Some seem blinded by their pre-conceived notion of who is a ‘frontrunner’ or ‘contender’ or ‘first tier.’ Some insist on relegating Kucinich to footnote status in the belief that it is the job of journalists, not voters, to weed out or narrow the field of candidates …”
Hmmm. I recently did a Google News search, surveying how many print and online pieces each of the nine presidential candidates appeared in and the results were fairly proportional to how the candidates are polling.
Granted, there have been moments on the campaign trail that have made me wonder why Kucinich’s numbers aren’t better. For example, at the Labor Day rally in Des Moines, Kucinich did a live interview for MSNBC and was flanked by about 200 supporters, most of whom had marched with him through Des Moines in the earlier parade. Contrast that with fellow poll cellar-dweller Carol Moseley Braun, who stood alone for her interview. By looking at the crowds, it was easy to tell that Moseley Braun is only at about 1%. But looking at Kucinich’s supporters, you’d think he was right up there with Kerry and Dean.
The same thing happened in Albuquerque a few days later. Many of my embedded colleagues noted their surprise at the crowd Kucinich was able to attract before and after the rally. Again in Baltimore, Kucinich wasn’t called on often by the moderators at the Congressional Black Caucus debate but when he did give a response it was met by loud cheers.
So where does the blame lie?
ARE VOTERS TO BLAME?
Is it the voters? I’ve had many folks tell me, especially in Cleveland and Iowa, that they love Kucinich, but they don’t think he has a chance in the world at becoming president so they’ll cast their vote for Dean.
Is it the campaign? Before throwing his hat into the ring, Kucinich was a little-known congressman from Ohio, one of 435. No leadership position like Dick Gephardt. No statewide election like six other candidates. The slow-and-steady tactic the campaign’s been taking (they’ve just now cracked 40 states in terms of operations) may leave them in the dust. Remember, the once-obscure, now-frontrunner Howard Dean was talking about a presidential bid last summer. Kucinich only got started this spring.
Or is it really the media? Note Howard Dean’s meteoric rise in Iowa and New Hampshire over the last six weeks. It’s not mere coincidence that he appeared on the cover of all three newsweeklies in that period. We, as the media, saw something warm and ran with it, making it hot, hot, hot. Dean’s poll numbers in Iowa in January of this year were where Kucinich’s stand now. If the national media gave this campaign a little more attention, could it too catch fire? Or is this fledgling campaign just looking for a scapegoat?
ON THE TRAIL
When the Kucinich camp said the congressman would make the most of his weekends, they weren’t kidding. This past one, Kucinich traveled from Washington to New Hampshire to Iowa to Texas to California, and he’ll be back in the D.C. area for a breakfast engagement Tuesday morning.
Kucinich will be in Northern California on Monday where he’ll, among other campaign stops, rally against California’s controversial Proposition 54, which would ban the collection of race-related data by the state. California voters are supposed to sound off on the proposal on Oct. 7.
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