Television pundits, commentators, news columnists share the same common trait. They invent and distort for ratings. The bottom of the barrel types, like Limbaugh, Hannity and Colmes, the foul mouthed Ann Coulter, try their best to discredit anyone who is not onboard with the ideals, such as they are, of conservatism. This bunch simply manufactures vicious, ugly lies with which to belittle whoever they believe hasn’t conformed to conservative tenants. The truth is simpler. If they could find a larger liberal audience as fantastically uninformed, naï and willing to accept the label "Ditto Head as flattery and not a testament to their stupidity, they’d change party affiliations in a second. It’s about ratings and money - nothing more. Such is network coverage of the presidential candidates.

Why do we insist on choosing people to lead us who are blindly ambitious and self serving? Who are proven to be liars time after time? Why do we tolerate candidates who don’t run for the exclusive benefit of Americans but are driven by a belief that they somehow deserve high office and once they attain it no longer consider it their obligation or responsibility to serve Americans with honesty and sincerity? Americans can plainly see the results of their political process - how the remedial decisions of their leaders have constricted growth, besmirched the nation’s international reputation, savaged the economy, and perhaps above all, encouraged the divisive feelings among the opposing parties faithful. This loss of camaraderie among Americans has cost the nation dearly in terms of citizen’s contempt for government, and politicians in general.

Americans heard from the Bush campaign that Bush was a good ol’ boy. He was exactly like many white, middle class Americans, and understood what their hopes were - what they believed. Nothing could have been further from the truth but that didn’t matter. In spite of the abundant information that suggested other wise, many Americans would not be swayed from their fondly held belief that Bush was one of them. The shameless media took every opportunity to cast Bush in a favorable light, while disparaging Gore in any dishonest means they thought the public would buy. And buy they did. But finally, and in spite of their efforts, Americans elected Gore.

Network Media’s insincere attempts at reporting news became obvious to many as it ignored the Supreme Courts arrogant and unconstitutional interference in an election that was clearly won by someone who didn’t share the justice’s political affiliation. Americans respect for their highest institutions took another step down as the winner was declared the loser and Americans realized their votes no longer counted.

Why don’t we elect obviously intelligent people? Thinkers, novelists who understand the complexities of human strengths and weaknesses. No matter how anyone feels about lawyers, the fact remains that they are very bright people. They have spent years of careful study examining the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Their minds are trained to a complete understanding of inverse and deductive logic. They are able to effectively argue or discuss whatever issues or questions come before them. Why in the world would Americans elect someone who’s understanding of “My Favorite Goat” is suspect? The good news is, they wouldn’t. The 105th Congress, for the first time in American history, was composed of more businessmen than lawyers. What would any reasonably intelligent person expect them to do? Regulate themselves?

It didn’t take long to find out what a Congress composed of businessmen would do. Reagan pushed deregulation and the S&L’s immediately collapsed, costing taxpayers billions. The businessman Congress gave away the nation’s communication network in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Lower cable prices! Greater competition! Let the market rule! As soon as it was passed the mergers began. Today, Clear Channel owns over 340 radio stations. Verizon & AT&T have merged and today dominate the cellular phone industry. California deregulated their electrical power industry and Californians are still paying for the rip off. Each time that another industry is deregulated the promises are always the same - lower prices through increased competition and if only that pesky government will get the hell out of the way it’s full speed ahead, damned the torpedoes, and everyone gets rich. Except of course, the poor sods stuck with bailing out the next corporate failure.

Today’s housing crisis comes to mind as subprime mortgage loans come due with higher interest rates. Thanks to the deregulated, magic market, 2.2 million homes were foreclosed on last year. This year an estimated 8,000 homes a day are entering into foreclosure proceedings. Congress has voted to give the house building industry 25 billion in tax rebates. Another 4 billion will be spent on refurbishing the foreclosed homes so they may be put on the market. The home owners? They’ll get a grand total of 100 million to pay for counseling to help them deal with the trauma of losing their homes. Earlier this year, Bear Sterns, a Wall Street investment house that’s apparently full of genius investors and money managers, had to be bailed out by the taxpayers to the tune of 30 billion dollars. Oh, yes. Let the free market roll. When corporations fall on their ass, as they so often do, the American tax payer will be there to pick them up. Back to the S&L’s, when the taxpayers saved their bacon, today’s banking lobby, returning the favor, convinced Senate republicans to block a measure that would allow changes in bankruptcy law to help families keep their homes. Is jus’ bidness folks!

Now another election looms large. Republicans consider Hillary the easiest candidate to beat, so Obama will be increasingly subjected to questions of race and this tactic will effectively keep him in a defensive position, unable to discuss the agenda he would initiate if he were elected. Geraldine Ferraro has already demonstrated the tactic to great effect. Before resigning from the Clinton campaign she said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." So, Obama is lucky to be black, and owes his success to that. Geraldine goes on to say that she’s very resentful and angry that she was “attacked” by the Obama camp. Defiantly, said she, “I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?" CNN reports, “The Clinton camp has released a memo insinuating that Barack Obama is playing the race card.” And so the die is cast, as if anyone could have been surprised.

Keep the race card in play in every possible way and Obama is in trouble unless he can force the network media to refocus on the issues. But no one is going to let him do that. Not his republican opponent, and certainly not network media. Watch for them to find a way to remind Americans of Willie Horton. Watch them help Americans remember James Byrd, the Blackman dragged to death behind a pickup truck in Texas. They’ll talk about lynching in the not so old south, and how that could never happen today, thank God. They’ll discuss the fact that a majority of the nation’s criminals are black. These will only be innocent observations, you understand. It will be a strange and distorted version of “If it bleeds, it leads” and it will work to marginalize Obama and his message. Obama will end up looking like a Blackman who’s lucky to be alive, or a Blackman who’s anger and pain is in public evidence, and probably both.

The people who populate the networks are asses. They are not at all disposed to informing, or in any way helping, to provide insight into the choices that Americans must make. They are like rodeo clowns, who provide a diversion to take the audience’s attention away from such events they’d rather it doesn’t see. Such is their dishonesty, and such is their betrayal. Obama will not win the nomination, and barring any serious mistakes, McCain will almost certainly be elected. Hillary will give her concession speech in as conciliatory a way as possible, then she’ll resume her service to New York as its freshman senator, plotting her next run for the prize. Obama will walk away wishing he’d done things differently but sadly, he was doomed from the beginning. The power brokers are not going to let a black JFK into office.