New at CJR: The Etch-a-Sketch press

My new post for Columbia Journalism Review examines how the press has covered the Romney/Etch-a-Sketch controversy. Here how it begins:

Yesterday, Etch-a-Sketch became the media’s favorite metaphor for Mitt Romney’s ideological flexibility. But the iconic children’s toy is an equally good representation of the media’s tendency to draw the picture it wants of our political candidates.

Read the whole thing for more.

Comments

[David in Cal]

I certainly agree that this ambiguous comment, not even made by Romney himself, is being wildly overplayed by the media. The media fully deserve the tongue-lashing in Brendan's CJR article.

However, I'm less optimistic that Etch-a-Sketch-gate will be inconsequential. Yes, this one incident may be forgotten by November. However, the media narrative of Romney as someone with no convictions is apt to continue. The media will continue to find or create or mis-represent new incidents that support this narrative. Comics will pick up on the theme. I think it could swing the election.

I can't think of a way to objectively study the impact of a media narrative, but I've been persuaded by Bob Somerby. Somerby has been writing about this sort of thing for years at the Daily Howler. He's convinced me that continuing media adherence to a narrative has a substantial cumulative impact on a candidate.

[Metrichead]

As a non-Romney fan, this still annoys me. Romney did not use the "Etch-A-Sketch" analogy, a campaign aide did.

But campaigns are verbal tete a tetes. Anything to give either Gingrich or Santorum an advantage in the war of words, I suppose.

[David in Cal]

Brendan tweeted a Politifact Truth-O-Meter:
Romney says Obama is “ending Medicare as we know it.” Pants on Fire.

Unfortunately, Politifact's discussion is biased and unprofessional. E.g.,

1. Romney says Obama is allowing Medicare to go bankrupt in less than 15 years. Politifact acknowledges that:

The trust fund, covering inpatient hospital care, home health care and services at skilled nursing facilities and hospices... "are expected to fall short" of expenditures "in all future years," ...The fund is expected to be exhausted by 2024, or possibly as soon as 2016 in a worst-case scenario."

Nevertheless, PolitiFact judges Romney's statement a lie. They observe that the official Trustees' Report doesn't use the word "bankrupt" and that the situation is different when the government runs out of money. These are pathetic excuses. Anyone would understand Romney to be saying that Medicare will not have enough money to pay all its bills in 15 years or less, which is what the Trustees Reports says.

2. Politifact found "half-true" Romney's claim that the Health Law takes $500 billion out of Medicare, although they acknowledge that the Health Law takes $500 billion out of Medicare.

3. Politifact quibbled with Romney's description of the Independent Payment Advisory Board as "unaccountable", because, in principle, Congress can override its decisions. However, I believe it's the case that as a practical matter Congress will seldom, if ever, override the IPAB, so Romney's claim is pretty much correct in practice.

4. Politifact quibbled with Romney's assertion that Obamacare will "destroy Medicare Advantage", although Romney has study to back up his contention.

I could go on, but I think the point is clear. Politifact is not non-partisan. On the contrary, their entire write-up consists of making whatever feeble excuses they could cobble together to defend Obamacare and to call Romney a liar.