More than ever before, this year's presidential race has been covered, and I would suggest covered to death. Whereas you can expect the mainstream media outlets, radio talk shows, and newspapers to cover the race, where things have truly gotten out of hand is when the entertainment media covers the candidates.
Shows like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", The Colbert Report", and others who focus on concocting a blend of comedy and political satire are all too often the source for some voters for information on politics. Candidates taking these shows seriously enough that they put in appearances on them only complicates the matter. With the slick nature of candidate adds, the use of popular musicians, and celebrity endorsements, it becomes hard to actually sift through the pop culture smoke screen to determine what the candidates actually are all about.
We are voting for an image and we can't even be sure what image is the authentic image of the candidate. The mainstream media offers up "news" in such a fashion that you have a hard time knowing if you are hearing about Madonna's divorce on Today or Extra. Getting political coverage on both blurs our understanding of what news is and renders us unable to really learn about the facts involved in the presidential race.
Gone is the declaration of Walter Cronkite declaration that "That's the way it was" is more than long gone, if it was in fact ever really there. Now we are left to doubt that anyone is really presenting "Just the fact."
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