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The media seems to constantly play this game with Democrats. Obama's "57 states" was fodder, despite everyone knowing what he was saying. trump does non-stop gaffes. I dare any of these reporters to take the transcript of one of his klan rallies and not find multiple ones. Hell, just yesterday, Rick Santelli thought infecting everyone with COVID-19 was a good idea to help "calm the markets". Advocating the death of, at least, 130,000 Americans to try to help his stock portfolio seems like a pretty big gaffe.

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there really does seem to be de different standard for Dems

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This article about Hillary’s coal gaffe shows how the media will actually distort what a candidate says - make that what a Democratic candidate says - in order to create a juicy “gaffe” story.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/15/16306158/hillary-clinton-hall-of-mirrors

Journalists who took their obligation to make sure voters get the information they need to evaluate candidates would never report on serious proposals in a way that buries the substance in favor of a gotcha story. When they complain about the damage Trump is doing our democracy they should take a good, hard look in the mirror.

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I hate “gaffe” coverage. manufactured “gaffe” coverage is even worse

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I think the focus on the gaffes are a problem for Biden because a lot of people take it as evidence that he is losing it because of his age. The media ought to make it clear that Biden has always done this kind of thing. Younger voters are not always aware of that fact and I have had conversations with some of them explaining that this tendency is not proof of Biden becoming senile. Granted it is hard to see it being a big issue if he is running against Trump but it could hurt him with voters trying to decide between him and Bernie who doesn’t have that problem.

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Incredibly I think it could become big issue even tho he’s running against Trump bc press will simply repeat GOP attacks

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I worked in broadcasting for many years so I have a soft spot for those who do the tough work. However, I am sick to death of the pontificating, opining, judgmental talking heads who have only time to fill with their vacuous commentary. This is how we lose. We never learn.

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agreed. Way too much commentary, much too little news

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I believe that we are in the infancy of a new age of journalism, with fewer and fewer of us consuming MSM as our sole source of information. Podcasts, independent newsletters, and platforms that provide in-depth analysis of important issues, such as ProPublica, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker are rising in favor as we have watched the bias of MSM painfully displayed over 2 presidential cycles and the unchecked normalization of authoritarianism.

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I hope so!

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The mainstream media has been trivializing Democrats for longer than the last two presidential cycles. Chris Matthews is a good example. He and other mainstream media pundits and journalists were deeply unfair and dishonest in their treatment of Al Gore:

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2011/05/26/9654/think-again-the-times-frank-bruni-or-how-to-succeed-in-journalism-without-really-caring-about-issues/

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/10/gore200710

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extremely unfair to Gore, indeed

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oh good, I appreciate it. help spread the word;)

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