The 2 Regular Guys at CBS2Chicago.com offer the following political lessons within the 2007 MLB playoffs. While my team -- but apparently not Hillary's -- already out, the lessons can be learned and applied to the media and this Championship season -- the 2008 campaign. The following is the 2 Regular Guys post of last week, plus an insightful short video analyzing Playoff Political Hardball:America's pastime has grown into America's obsession. It may be baseball, but it certainly is politics. This time of year both baseball and politics intersect. While we watch the baseball playoffs let us be reminded of these important political lessons:
The Philadelphia Phillies remind us of female advances in politics. Hillary is the front-runner. Female ascendancy in the political arena is no longer big news. Also we are reminded that horse-race journalism characterizes the media coverage. We care most about who is winning the race and less about the issues at play.
The Cleveland Indians remind us of the importance of Ohio in Presidential elections. The 2008 election may come down to voters in this important rust-belt state. The campaigning there will be vigorous.
The Los Angeles Angels are back in the playoff hunt. So too is the importance of religion in politics. Evangelical leaders recently threatened to cast votes for a third party candidate with more conservative credentials. At the same time Hillary has made overtures to various religious leaders. Remember what Madison said, "If men were angels, we would not need government."
The Yankees and Red Sox are in the playoffs again. This should be no surprise. New Englanders and the East Coast establishment have always dominated our political debate. This political season will be no exception. In fact, the two leading candidates (Hillary & Rudy) are Yankees.
And what do the Cubs teach us about politics? In politics you cannot wait until next year.
VIDEO: Baseball Playoff Politics
3 comments:
Doesn't the fact that Hilary stated that she is a yankees fan somewhat hurt her campaigning? What will the diehard southerners think--especially with the terminology she has used?
Why would saying that you support one team over another negatively impact a campaign. The baseball team you root for has NOTHING to do with the type of leader you are. And, according to the polls, Americans agree with me. Hillary is in the lead and clearly the fact that she is a Yankee's fan is not impacting her campaign at all.
I am getting very tired of horserace journalism. When Mr. Wolak told us last summer to watch the Sunday morning political talk shows to get familiar with issues about US and world events, all I could find was people talking about who was ahead in the polls. Very little was being said about the issues.
This “political obsession” is much worse than baseball obsession. Sure the baseball race is on everyone’s mind right now, but very few people care who won the World Series last year and no one cares who will win next year. But the election is more than a year away and journalists are covering it like we are all going to the polls in a few weeks.
It seems that they only cover what interests them, which for right now and the next thirteen months, is the elections. I guess I would not be tired of this if they just spent some time covering the issues that separate the candidates rather than the candidates' numbers.
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