The MSM's Rehabilitation Of Romney Is Going To Ramp Up Pretty Quickly

[stopbush]

They're going to swing the other way with a vengeance. Gone will be the daily reports of his gaffes. Gone will be the harping on his missteps like his saying the auto industry should be allowed to go bankrupt, his lack of an economic plan, his lying when he attacks Obama, etc.

The media - especially TV - makes a killing off political advertising. They know how much money is going to be available, and they are already mapping out their plans to snag as much of that money as possible. They aren't in a competition to break news or offer an objective report. They are competing to sell advertising time. That's what pays the bills and the salaries. Romney alone has already spent $65-million, and he's limping along as a candidate. The media is hooked on the heroin that is ad dollars. They need a fix, and that fix comes once every 4 years, so they need it now.

The MSM needs as close a race as possible to optimize their earnings. That means doing everything in their power to make Romney competitive with Obama. A close race means both sides spending lavishly on advertising. A close race means both sides spending in markets that they thought they wouldn't need to spend in. A close race means that donors keep feeding the beast, and that beast has an insatiable appetite when it comes to the Super Pacs and the guys selling ad space on TV.

Look for the pundits to start morphing their opinions from Romney being a stiff rich guy into Romney growing as a candidate who is suddenly connecting with the people. On his message firming up. On the primary battle making him campaign tough. On the polls narrowing with Romney popping into the lead right before the Republic convention. You'll be seeing the Chuck Todds of the world opining that they can't believe how Romney has grown in just a few months. That will be coupled with any misstep by Obama or any downturn in the economy being hyped like it's the end of the world, because elevating Romney will involve tearing down Obama in equal part.

You read it here first.

[warrior1]

1. Mitt only has 145 delgates.

Obama's gonna kick Willard's ass.

[qazplm]

2. then why wasnt 2008 a close race?

The last month was pretty much an inevitable Obama victory.
Why did Palin get such negative coverage?

I agree that there will be a seeking of false balance, but there's no need for a CT to explain that.

[Puzzledtraveller]

3. Mccain was a no win for the media is why

[qazplm]

7. huh?

Palin was a boon to the media, the coverage, the influx of money. IF the media as the OP said was looking for money, they could have taken it easy on her, which would have created a closer race, and resulted in more money flowing to McCain, and thus the media, which would have also created more money flowing from Obama.

[CJCRANE]

9. I think the media did take it fairly easy on her.

The problem was that she couldn't cope with simple questions, and it soon became obvious that she was bluffing her way through.

[qazplm]

10. I don't think they took it easy on her

and the coverage was anything but flattering. Yes, she made it easy on them because they never even got to the hard questions, she had so much trouble with the easy ones, but the media could have still protected her more if they wanted to.

[Puzzledtraveller]

13. In comparison to Romney's ability

to pull off a win. Mccain never stood a chance. It is a beauty contest afterall, the media knows this.

[stopbush]

8. It's not a CT. It's a business decision.

Also - no Super Pacs in 2008. Had they existed, McCain SPs would have been spending even more on advertising than his campaign did.

Palin got negative coverage because she's an asshole.

[niyad]

4. I was thinking pretty much the same thing on monday--that suddenly, all the coverage is going

to be positive for mittens, and possibly they will start in on frothy.

oh, to have an independent, honourable, ethical, working fourth estate.

[FarLeftFist]

5. In Feb. 2008 Obama's favorability rating was +26, In Feb. 2012 Romney's is -12.

I think you're right about them painting him in a better light for their own ratings but NO ONE can seem to like Romney or get at all enthused about him.

[russspeakeasy]

6. And MSNBC will lead the charge...Follow the money.....

It is ALL professional wrestling..The act and the outcome have already been written.

[FrenchieCat]

11. You are correct.....

and this Super Pac money spent on advertising motivation is exactly the approach of this article written a few months back titled, "Why 2012 will be a close election"....

http://www.democratsforprogress.com/2012/01/21/why-2012-will-be-a-close-election/

[flamingdem]

12. This week they smooched a bit with Santorum

for horse race purposes. Next back to polishing the Romney turd.