The darling of the news media

On March 26th, the New York Times ran an interesting story that fits perfectly in our class. The maverick and the media tells readers how John McCain has become the media’s favorite candidate. Indeed, while McCain started the campaign far behind the other candidates, presently, “the mainstream news media by and large don’t cover Mr. McCain; they canonize him.” According to Neal Gabler, the reason is that “Mr. McCain is an ironist wooing a group of individuals who regard ironic detachment more highly than sincerity or seriousness.” The article describes how McCain has cleverly transformed the relationship between the journalists and him; the (apparent) candor with which he approaches this relationship has allowed him to fraternize with them. As a result, journalist have become part of McCain’s communication team; “since the reporters on the bus liked Mr. McCain too much to report on his gaffes, he really didn’t need protection. His candor was without consequence. It was another blandishment of the press.” According to the author, “McCain can be called the first postmodernist presidential candidate” because of “his acknowledgement of the symbiosis between himself and the press and, more important, his willingness, even eagerness, to let the press in on his own machinations of them.” However, the author of the article highlights McCain’s experience as he knows that candidates are the very leaders of the relationship with the press. In fact, the media may have gotten trapped by McCain; “if in the past he flattered the press by posing as its friend, he is now flattering it by posing as its conspirator, a secret sharer of its cynicism. He is the guy who “gets it.”