Citizen-Powered Campaign Coverage: When George Stephanopoulos Isn’t Enough

Here’s what we wonder.

Are you as tired of the US presidential campaign as we are?

Or maybe I should frame that another way: Are you as tired of the US presidential campaign coverage as we are?

We are as gossip-prone as anyone, but is this campaign really about the Reverend Jeremiah Wright or whether or not John McCain has a girlfriend on the side?

Or is it about more important – much more important – issues?

You certainly wouldn’t know it, and campaign coverage hit a new low during the Democratic debate prior to the Pennsylvania primary. It wasn’t Hillary or Obama’s fault; Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, the alleged journalists, were impossible to distinguish from correspondents for the National Enquirer … or maybe that was the National Lampoon.

At any rate, the media appear to be missing the main point, which is that Americans are freaked out and want to elect someone in November who will deal rationally with Iraq and the economy, both of which went south while we were watching the so-called “horse race”. At least they got the first word right.

I just got the results of an interesting poll in my Inbox: According to American Pulse, 54.1 per cent of Democrats and 51.4 per cent of Independents (and even 47.5% of republicans) think the US government should spend more money on Social Security and Medicare, and if they need to find the money to pay for it, they should cancel some of the $17.2 billion already allotted in 2008 for pork barrel spending. Maybe not as sexy as who’s zooming whom, but it’s a clear indication of what people are really thinking about.

(If you’re looking for a Democratic candidate to back, you might note that Hillary Clinton is named on 281 earmarks (pet projects tacked on to legislation) compared to 52 for Obama.)

So, if the mainstream media won’t do it, this looks like a job for citizen journalism. I was actually a little pleasantly surprised when I counted the number of stories referring to Obama, (42) Hillary (57), and McCain (201) on Orato.com. As the date of the election (Tuesday, November 4) is now only seven months away, it’s time to add your voice to that number. Join Orato.com correspondents such as Josh Sidman, who recently submitted, Silly Season's Over, Disgusting Season Has Just Begun, just the latest in a string of two dozen stories, mostly about the economy and politics, or David Mixner, who’s most recent piece Presidential Election: The Price Of Clinton's Victory, is the latest of 14 stories on everything from politics to sexual politics.

Our presidential campaign coverage continues today with our latest poll. Who is YOUR candidate: Hillary? Obama? Or McCain? Vote now, and avoid the rush!