NO BIAS, NO BULL…YEAH, RIGHT

Last night, I saw a reporter on CNN who compared McCain and Obama’s economic plans. I believe his name was Ali.

Ali began his shtick by saying that both McCain and Obama’s economic plans are unrealistic. He also said that that neither candidate would be able to implement their existing economic policies. Fair enough…I tend to agree with this statement, especially in lieu of recent events.

Ali then proceeded to show how much both McCain and Obama’s plans would impact the deficit if either candidate’s plan was implemented.

The result for McCain’s plan showed an increase in the deficit of $302 billion (shame on McCain!), while the net result for Obama increased the deficit by a mere $14 billion (all hail the Messiah!). Accounting is my profession, so I was amused at how these numbers were brazenly presented by CNN under the guise of ‘No Bias, No Bull’.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to determine the end result on the deficit for either candidate’s proposal. One can come up with countless arguments for debunking the figures that were shown (unknown variations in economic growth, risk of terrorist attacks, increased inflation, impact of taxes on company profits, etc.).

Let’s look at one example: payroll taxes. To my knowledge, Obama’s proposed payroll taxes have no upper limit, so the payroll tax can technically go to 100%. How in the heck can a net impact on the deficit be determined if there are no limits on how much payroll tax can be increased under Obama? This shoot-from-the-hip journalism on CNN doesn’t pass the smell test for me...I guess they got their intended message out there, though.

In my view, it’s perfectly fine to declare yourself a conservative, liberal, libertarian, vegetarian, librarian, or whatever. What really gets under my skin is when networks claim to operate fairly but present information in a biased fashion.

To me, bias veiled in objectivity is offensive. Some reporters at CNN operate on a level of hypocrisy that's on par with some nasty things I don't care to mention. Of course the left's ability to rationalize their behavior is legendary, so I don't expect a change in approach.

If CNN and the other networks just admit ON AIR that they’re in the tank for Obama or another candidate, I could accept their arguments at face value. I’d actually respect them more if they did this...this approach would be honest; but let’s cut the $#%#…feigning objectivity when you’re really supporting a candidate undermines any credibility or journalistic integrity. These folks just don’t get it, and probably never will.

FMC