“The Media Is Even Stupider Than The Politicians”
In early October 2015, before the news cycle became entirely consumed by scandal and poll numbers, by 24-hour chatter about Donald Trump’s undersized hands and Hillary Clinton’s private email servers, the presidential election race served up its first troubling sign of the crisis in American journalism.
It happened in Boulder, Colorado, during the third Republican presidential debate, as the line of questioning veered from vacuous to combative. Within 15 minutes, the moderators had asked the candidates to explain their “biggest weakness,” quizzed Donald Trump on his “comic-book version of a presidential campaign,” and prodded Jeb Bush about his falling “stock” in the race. By the time CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla turned to Ted Cruz with a question about his problem-solving ability, the Texas senator was ready to unload.
“Let me say something at the outset,” Cruz fired back. “The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media. This is not a cage match…The questions that are being asked shouldn’t be trying to get people to tear into each other. It should be, ‘What are your substantive solutions to people who are hurting?’”
As Cruz delivered his punchline, a focus group of prospective voters turned their reaction dials in unison — a very good sign for…
