The Vig

I missed all of last night’s ABC debate. The reaction last night was swift and immediate. Sullivan echoes my thoughts on the larger picture here.

If you believe that America’s current crisis is not a deep one, if you think that pragmatism alone will be enough to navigate a world on the verge of even more religious warfare, if you believe that today’s ideological polarization is not dangerous, and that what appears dark today is an illusion fostered by the lingering trauma of the Bush presidency, then the argument for Obama is not that strong. Clinton will do. And a Clinton-Giuliani race could be as invigorating as it is utterly predictable.

But if you sense, as I do, that greater danger lies ahead, and that our divisions and recent history have combined to make the American polity and constitutional order increasingly vulnerable, then the calculus of risk changes. Sometimes, when the world is changing rapidly, the greater risk is caution.

For some reason word hasn’t leaked back to the Beltway political class that 2004 is over. Taking marching orders from Sean Hannity and asking “gotcha” questions just doesn’t work and certainly isn’t going to help solve any of the major problems this country faces both at home and abroad.

Another MSM incident this week didn’t get quite the coverage it should have. Bill Simmons, ESPN’s star Page 2 blogger had a podcast interview lined up this week with Obama. That was until the ESPN suits came in and spiked it.

There are lots of conspiracy theories floating around as to the reasoning. ABC’s performance last night certainly didn’t help, but I think Leitch pretty much hit the nail on the head with this comment:

We think it’s more a matter of pulling rank. Some online guy is gonna have Sen. Obama as a guest on his PODCAST? What the hell’s a podcast? Better to wait until Stu Scott can talk to him about Carolina hoops after the convention. Why waste the access on a podcast?

Bingo. ESPN has some great content on their website. It’s a shame they believe it’s all subserviant to their five television networks. It’s not like Obama won’t be doing a Sunday conversation (no doubt with Stu Scott) in August or September. But in the meantime, if Obama is content to show up on some backwater podcast to help break down the NBA playoffs, why on Earth would ESPN object?