Narrative Masturbation

One part of blogging that challenges me on occasion is coming up with a good title.  I am pretty sure I have Adult Onset ADD (Squirrel!), but in my quiet times, usually when I am walking my 30 minutes to and from work, I set my mind out into the ether to figure things out.   I actually gathered the idea for this post a week or so ago, but I because of my busy week AND because of the lack of a title, I kept putting it off.  However, I've decided to just go with the original one I had, which you can see above...

Anyway, while I think this has always been an issue in elections, I just feel like it is much more blatant this  year, and I am talking about over-dramatizing by the media - that every machination is a turn of the dramatic screw.  Mitt Risks Everything at Convention!  Fails!  Obama's Convention is a Slam Dunk! Insurmountable Lead! Obama will Kick Romney's Ass in the First Debate!  Obama Fails!  Polls Drop!  Dead Heat!  Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah!  This is narrative masturbation at its finest.  The creation of drama for your entertainment and no one else... (though this is really untrue...I'm pretty entertained).

The press gets whipped up into such a fervor over the narrative that, unfortunately, they become the propulsion behind it.  All things being equal, Obama did have a much better convention experience than Romney, with a gigantic assist from Bill Clinton.  Obama got an awesome bounce out of this, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.  While Bill did outpace the NFL opening game, the ratings were still pretty paltry across the board.  So, the "bounce" can really only be attributed to the media buzz afterwards.  However, what the media giveth, they taketh away, and after Obama's lackluster debate performance, they pulled the rug out from under the coverage.  This not to say that Obama was not terrible. He really, truly was, but in the the building up of the plot point that Romney prevailed with his strong delivery and presence, the media neglected the fact that nearly everything he said was a reversal of a previous stance or a blatant lie.  Granted, Obama should have called him on it, but what does it say that we consider someone a winner for the utmost level of deception?  It is really quite ridiculous.

Which brings us to the debate tonight...  The story now is that Obama has been shamed, and while last time he was talking about how much of drag debate prep was, he has now turned into a happy warrior ready to reclaim the vim and vigor for which he is known.  Romney is the conquering hero, waiting to put the final nail his win over Obama.  Obviously, the media hope here is that Obama over-performs  so that the narrative tomorrow will be "Obama Overcomes Adversity to Beat Romney."  I can only hope this is how it happens, because I am really starting to feel like this is a goner for us.  Of course, this is what the media wants me to feel, even though there is empirical evidence to the contrary.  There is still that final debate, but I am sure in the media's "heart of hearts" they would want an Obama win here and a draw in the final.

I guess we will see how tonight turns out.  If nothing else, I suppose "Hillary will Come to the Rescue in 2016."  (And so it beings...)