The Daily Novel

There is a long and detailed piece of reportage by Howard Kurtz, a Washington Post staff writer, about how Barack Obama is actually dealing with the press. (It is in his Media Notes slot, but for some reason my program will not allow me to give you the URL) It demonstrates that he is scarcely dealing with them at all. Taking a rather aloof attitude and spending his time encouraging his team NOT to spin. In marked contrast to nearly all the other candidates is this and all previous US elections. It should be must reading for all those interested in this US election.

Kurtz reports, rather than editorialises.

But if his picture is as true as it is compelling, the implications are staggering.

Obama has got from obscurity to his present position without the help of the media pack. By using concentrating on speaking to the people direct. Perhaps because we now live in the age of twenty-four news on television and instant direct access by politicians via the internet to those who want to find out what they stand for, his approach seems to be working.

Far be from me to suggest that the age of the internet means that everyone can influence opinion in this age. On the contrary, the internet is more and more dominated by the old media groups and the new media empires, who now produce such a volume of compelling and seductive content, that the individual viewer has little time left, to browse around looking for interesting obscure bloggers who have something interesting to say.

This is one way in which Obama is quite different than JFK, whose rise was fuelled by his admirers in the east coast media.

I don’t want to say more about this now. Because it behoves oldies like myself to stop and think. Maybe the world has changed much more than we have allowed for. Overwhelmingly America’s youth and young adults are listening to Obama. And for all sorts of reasons, including many I do not know about, think his personality and his message and his proposals is something they can get out of bed for and support.

All this will be a great deal clearer after super Tuesday on 5 February when we will know how many Americans have actually voted for him.

For the present the only thing I am certain of is that this is the most interesting US  election of my lifetime. And, given the size of the world’s problems and America’s still enormous power, the most important election of my lifetime.

You can find the Kurtz article on the Post site. Which is www.washingtonpost.com.