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Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

They're not mutually exclusive.

I mean, some people write policy stories. Some write campaign trail stories. Some write both. Some stories are a combination of both. The speech itself was an event.

Would you ask a center fielder if he lost a ball in the lights?

Or would you think that beneath you and just report his fielding percentage?

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

I didn't say it's a reason to vote or not vote for him. I think sometimes the news media plays along and doesn't report what goes on behind the scenes. It's a good question to ask if he had a heater or not.

I don't have a problem reporting something like this or even asking the question. Not every question means "this is the central point of the presidential campaign." I'm sure The Times reporter asked other questions with more gravity, and if not, well, then that's being a People reporter.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

But details matter, Alley. See if you have the heater angle, you can put this headline on the story:

Obama packs heat

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

Now you're just being silly.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

BWUHAHAHAHA! Very well played.

Still, I don't think this is a detail that matters all that much. It's this kind of casual, what-kind-of-guy-is-he-really attitude that led some people to believe they'd rather have a beer-drinking buddy as president than someone who can actually fix things.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

I admit I am uneasy with the mindset you reference in the last sentence, but I don't have a problem with the question about the heater.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

We don't have enough context about what kind of story it was and where he was going with it to make that decision.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

Pringle, if I ask a fielder if the lights got in his eyes, it's because he missed the fly ball. Direct cause-and-effect. If I ask Obama if he used a heater, how does that address whether or not he or his message was received. To me, that's far more important than these "details" everyone keeps highlighting. It tells me nothing about Obama that truly matters.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

Alley you seem to be a little defensive about your guy here.

If Obama can't deal with a question about the heater how is going to deal with things when the campaign really heats up? How will he deal with the pressure of the presidency?

Dowd is very good at drilling down and finding the worst in political canidates. She has a real knack for seeing throught the bonami finish.

This sentence from her column is just about perfect in discribing the day. You end up with perfect picture- Obama looking like one of actors from "Reefer Madness"

"Beyond his smooth-jazz façade, the reassuring baritone and that ensorcelling smile, the 45-year-old had moments of looking conflicted."

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

See, this is a problem we as journalists sometimes fail to see. To us, the detail makes the story, and Obama, something people can relate to. But the average reader looks at the story and goes "WTF? Who cares about a heater? What about health care?"

Journalists far too often overemphasize the importance of how they write as opposed to what they write. We can stand there and marvel at the beauty of a story, but if it fails to focus on what's really important and if it fails to inform, the most incredibly-written piece is still drivel to the readers.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

The analogy isn't perfect. But the point is, when you're covering an event - and a campaign as a whole qualifies as an event - you want to get every detail you can that you didn't directly witness.

There is a tremendous book I read last year on the making of "Blood on the Tracks." Do I need to know that Dylan scrapped all of his New York sessions and re-recorded everything in Minnesota in order to enjoy the album? No. But it still makes for interesting background.

We're making quite a leap here. He asked a question about a heater. All of a sudden, he must be writing a "fluff" piece about "what kind of guy" Obama is?

I'm sorry, but this is Feature Writing 101.

 

Re: Mo Dowd Sticks a Pin in the Obama Balloon

Obama's not my guy, Boom. Personally, I'm not all that fired up about him. What I get defensive about, though, is Dowd's use of that question as an example of Obama's testiness at times.

If you ever saw Real Genius, at the beginning Prof. Hathaway is talking to Mitch's mom and she refers to an episode on some incredibly complex issue. Thinking the mom was going to ask a good scientific question, he was caught off guard when she instead asked "Is that your real hair?"

If I were Obama and I'd just given my speech, I'd probably be pissed too if a reporter focused on a heater instead of my speech. Just what were you paying attention to, Mr. Reporter?