So I decided to title this as one of National Review guys might just to get the point across. But there is both real reason to criticize the press — and a layer-cake of irony in the way the media cycle has played out over the past 24 hours.
Something of importance actually happens in the world — Iran test-fires missiles. The McCain people sense an opportunity, and for just about the first time in this campaign, organize a couple of those Howard Wolfson fire drill conference calls. Their candidate gets to get off the teleprompters for a few days — and for the record, while I think that McCain engaged in some pretty bad distortions of Obama’s position, he also looked in his element out there.
And then … something of no importance of all happens. Jesse Jackson has a YouTube moment, and that story sucks up all the oxygen in the room.
I would agree with the conventional wisdom that the optics of the story are liable to be favorable to Barack Obama — but that’s in large part because the right-leaning punditry so strongly dislikes Jackson that they’ll torpedo their own candidate’s momentum to try and nail him. Kathryn Jean Lopez practically endorsed Obama today. Pat Buchanan, who also loved the Sasha/Melia interview, sounded on Morning Joe like he was just about ready to vote for him.
I’m not trying to be a party-pooper. It was an hysterically funny moment, like some kind of Larry David gag. It’s good television. But it’s not really news.