I watched the replay of the Republican debate tonight on Fox News and it was a very interesting time. There were actual hard questions asked of the candidates which was refreshing in light of the softballs we usually see in these kinds of debates. (Now, the answers were your typical avoidance of anything concrete but that’s another issue…) However, the thing I found most interesting is what happened after the debate was finished.
Fox went to a special edition of “Hannity and Colmes.” As part of this “special” episode they were running a poll asking viewers to choose who did the best in the debate. When Ron Paul came up as the winner in the poll, Sean Hannity threw a fit that almost sounded like a little child who wasn’t getting their way. The contempt that Hannity apparently has for Ron Paul just rubbed me completely the wrong way. Whether Hannity likes it or not the people are the ones voting in this poll and they all aren’t lining up to let Sean Hannity make up their minds for them. If the people watching agreed with what Ron Paul was saying and felt like he was the winner then it’s not the place of Sean Hannity to try and undermine it.
Then we have Paul appear on the show and Sean Hannity attacked him in a disrespectful and condescending manner. When Hannity started saying that he needed to educate Ron Paul on history it put me in a place where I lost all respect for Sean Hannity. This man has moved, in my opinion, from a political commentator that brought up valuable issues to nothing but a mouthpiece for the extreme political right. The attitude I saw from Hannity reminded me of the same kind of attitude I see from those on the far-left who are incapable of discussing issues without branding anyone who doesn’t agree with them as a blind Bush supporter. Hannity saw someone who didn’t match his ideology and pounced upon him without mercy.
When Sean started talking about Ronald Reagan and what Reagan stood for I asked my television “Sean, do you realize the Republicans today are nothing like Ronald Reagan?” I honestly believe the man just can’t see how far right he has gone. Sean Hannity doesn’t represent the average conservative with traditional conservative values any longer.
I know many on the left dislike Alan Colmes and don’t think he’s “liberal” enough. I actually like the man and have had a few conversations with him where I’ve felt like even though we haven’t always agreed on the issues we can debate those issues in a respectful manner. Tonight, I saw that respect with the candidates including Ron Paul that I didn’t see from Sean Hannity. I think if we had more people like Alan Colmes in the political debate versus the Sean Hannities then perhaps we can get to the point where political debate is more than two fringes screaming at the middle so loudly that rational discussion is completely lost.
It’s a shame that we don’t have an actual impartial news source but that’s just the way news will be when people are the ones reporting and making the decisions as to what stories are covered. CNN, MSNBC and other major sources lean toward the Democratic party and the liberal political ideology. Fox News is clearly leaning toward Republicans and conservative ideology. If you’re on the left or right you’ll likely dispute whichever source leans your way but that doesn’t mean the bias isn’t there. There’s nothing wrong with that! I’m just tired of the times it becomes so blatant that it overrides the actual issues like I saw tonight with Sean Hannity.
As for the debate itself, I didn’t see a candidate that jumped out at me as someone I could really support. I came away with positive views of Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. I didn’t see the great job by John McCain that the Fox News focus group claimed he had done. Mitt Romney did not impress me at all and neither did Rudy Giuliani. Mostly, I came away thinking that in 2008 there will not be a Presidential candidate that will represent anything that I believe and that will be good for the country as a whole. I don’t see a single candidate, Republican or Democrat, that truly cares about the average American.
I lost all respect for Hannity quite some time ago. Some kind soul should acquaint Hannity with a dictionary so he can learn the definition of “debate.”
And who was that who was laughing every time Ron Paul was asked a question? Totally juvenile. I would have been equally disgusted had the same thing happened to the candidate I probably dislike most, Mitt Romney.
I believe you’re right–the screeching heads on both sides of the aisle are doing this country a disservice. It’s all become politics, not what’s good for the country.
But, hey. All the hyperbole gets them a bigger paycheck.