Endorse Candidate Here

If a prominent former Secretary of State endorsed John McCain, the right-wing media would undoubtedly herald the support as monumental in the greater picture of the national election. However, the Media Research Center insists that the media are blatantly revealing their liberal bias by covering Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama (http://mrc.org/cyberalerts/2008/cyb20081020.asp#1). Given Powell's differences of opinion with the Bush administration, many pundits anticipated that he would support Obama. Even so, the fact that a Republican and former cabinet memeber would announce his support for the opposition party's candidate is certainly newsworthy.

Powell's endorsement of Obama, regardless of its predictability, is significant in that it adds to the Democratic nominee's credentials. Critics had often wondered whether Obama has enough experience to lead the country; now, a man with years of experience in close proximity to the President has deemed Obama prepared for the job. This is particularly important considering Obama's relative lack of foreign affairs and military experience, since Powell is arguably an expert in both of these fields. To Americans who otherwise agree with Obama but question his preparedness for such a powerful position, Powell's endorsement should put some of their reservations to rest. For these reasons, NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell was justified in saying that Powell's endorsement sent "a very powerful political statement." This is not evidence of Liberal bias, but rather accurate political analysis.

Granted, media coverage of the endorsement might have been a bit excessive; however, the story was not given as much publicity as the Rev. Wright scandal earlier this year. The media in general have been bombarding audiences with superficial stories and events of little consequence. When they finally use their around-the-clock coverage to reiterate the significance of Powell's endorsement, the right wing lambasts them with claims of Liberal bias. Since there has not been a comparably notable endorsement of McCain, Powell's announcement presents a clear example that media coverage cannot always be balanced. If they were to strive for balance, either the media would have to pretend that people who have recently endorsed McCain carry as much weight as Powell, or they would have to ignore the endorsement altogether. In light of Powell's credentials, I applaud the media for covering his endorsement of Obama. Telling a story about Obama supporters does not necessarily mean that the media support Obama.