Friday Funday: Cheap Shots & Kudos

After two weeks, too much travel, too little sleep, and more politicians in two places than fifty U.N. world summits, the quadrennial political party conventions for the Democratic and Republican parties are done.

If you're one of the approximately 15,000 members of the media who have invaded both Tampa and Charlotte over the last two weeks, we'll be raising our glasses to you this evening, in a collegial salute. Whether you support the conventions or not, most of you in the media were simply trying to produce and publish top-notch work in incredibly trying conditions over the last two weeks.

For those of you who chose the high road and didn't just take the cheap shot, write the trash story, grab the easy footage, or slap together some clickbait for the web, thanks. For those of you who actually tipped your waitstaff - in both cities - twenty percent or more, our thanks go out to you as well.

Not everyone in the media chose the same path these last two weeks.

Some of our colleagues reached for the easy shots these last two weeks. They didn't bust their behinds for the good interviews, didn't push their deadlines to the wall. They reached for the cheap shots of racism, fear, and lies - or they swallowed whole the poison fed to them by the worst members of the political establishment.

Frankly, covering the Republican convention was much harder to do this year than the Democratic convention. The sheer amount of lies pouring from the GOP candidates and pundits this year was not only astounding, but sickening. Contrast that with multiple fact checks from the Democratic convention that effectively said, 'Nothing really to check here.'

In Tampa, the mood was dark, filled with anger and racism, and both attendees and members of the media felt like they were in some kind of demilitarized zone.

In Charlotte, the atmosphere was positive, even jovial. We even know of one particular hole in the wall which hosted both left and right leaning journalists, having a few drinks and talking with one another - though for the safety of their jobs, we won't reveal who those folks were.

No matter whether you're tipping Macallan 18, a Miller or Bud, or a cool iced tea this weekend, if you're a member of the media - or you're someone who enjoys high quality news coverage - we hope you enjoy every last moment of this weekend, preferably away from most media sources.

This is the last chance you'll get to breathe for another ten weeks.

The real campaign begins now.

Burying The Hatchet

No matter how much times change and people change, some things remain the same. On Wednesday, in the midst of a surprisingly positive Democratic National Convention, we were reminded of that old Will Rogers quote, "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."

A small scuffle over some changes to the official Democratic Party Platform happened on the convention floor on Wednesday. Any member of the media, politician, or political pundit who refused to lie to themselves or their audience wasn't truly surprised by this kerfuffle. That said, more than a few media whores - especially those on the highly biased and barely professional right - attempted to make the molehill of a scuffle into a mountain of discontent.

We can assure you, from multiple contacts on the floor of the convention, Wednesday's platform tussle was not a big deal. The fact is, from time to time, we all fight with those we care about, over the topics we care about most. For example, our staff doesn't always agree about who's more to blame for the death of bipartisanship in American government - though the historical and statistical data gives significantly more blame to one side.

Those of us who care deeply about the truth even disagree about facts sometimes, on important topics like jobs, debt and deficits. That doesn't mean we want each other dead.

It was not so long ago that President Clinton himself held a grudge against Barack Obama. We can't say we blame him. Mr. Obama defeated Mr. Clinton's spouse, Hillary Clinton, in one of the most contested presidential primary elections over the last century, just four years ago.

Last night, however, it was clear that President Bill Clinton had chosen to take a different path than those who continue to drag out long-held grudges in the media, or frankly, many of those in the differing factions of each major political party.

President Clinton's primary address at the Democratic National Convention lauded and listed the many achievements of President Obama, and made it clear - there is no question as to where Clinton's support is in this election. Mr. Clinton's spirited and forceful defense of Mr. Obama's policies was not only brilliant, but a brutal smackdown to a Republican Party that has effectively made cooperation a political crime.

"What works in the real world is cooperation," said Clinton, as he praised Obama's history of bipartisan outreach, even while denouncing the scorched earth policies of the right. "Democracy does not have to be a bloodsport."

The barnburner of a speech - the second in two nights at the DNC - was less of a partisan beat down than one might think, though. At his best, President Bill Clinton is still a progressive moderate, the kind of folksy but honest politician who can act more as a referee than as a player.

In short, someone who can confirm the truth that Obama has been a bipartisan President, in an era of extremist Republicans.

There are still those who say the idea of bipartisanship is dying or is dead - that America itself has become so divided along party lines, economic lines, color lines, and any number of other divisions, that we should simply shovel the dirt into the metaphorical coffin, and bury the idea.

As was evident last night at the DNC, if we choose to follow our better angels, as President Clinton did, we may be able to bury something else instead - the hatchet of division.

Take A Flying Leap

While we're trying to stay away from much of the over-saturated coverage of the Democratic National Convention, it was somewhat difficult on Tuesday - and not just because of some of the personal political leanings of our staff.

Unlike the angry and aggressive tone we heard so much last week in Tampa from the Republicans, the atmosphere of the DNC this week has so far been positive. Much of the day's remarks focused on the topics and the details of the many positive changes that have occurred during President Obama's first term. Speakers tended to energize as they talked about policy details they'd like to see happen in a second Obama term, possibly with a Democratic-led Congress.

So far, the DNC is showing and telling in an optimistic way, what they've done to help Americans over the last four years - and the Democratic approach appears to have been a huge hit. Democrats are asking - not demanding - that Americans give them more time to fix the disaster they were handed in 2008. In short, they're asking Americans to trust them - and providing facts to support their claims.

Last week, much of what we heard was Republicans angrily demanding their fellow Americans - especially Middle Class Americans - jump off a cliff, as they presented parts of vague plans with no significant details. What facts Republicans did provide last week were mostly misstatements of fact - lies, in other words - that kept many members of the media busy fact checking all day, every day. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats seem to have no problem mentioning either the name of their chosen presidential candidate, or previous Democratic presidential office holders at this year's convention.

In fact, the real comparison between the two parties' positions already has become clear.

This isn't the comparison based on the false question of "Are you better off" - a question that we and others dispatched swiftly and firmly with facts on Tuesday. This isn't the false comparison to President Carter, either - one that has also been soundly dispatched with facts.

The Democratic Party is obviously taking an optimistic course at their convention this year. They are saying "This is what we need to do!" Then they are telling their crowd, and those watching at home, what steps must be taken to achieve those goals - and what's at stake if they fail to achieve those goals. Much of what we saw and heard from Republicans last week could be most charitably categorized as emotionally driven, anger-laced, ineffective bashing.

It's true that the Democrats have also been comparatively bringing up what their opposition has or hasn't done, or what their opposition has been proposing. Some of those critiques have even been sharp. That hasn't been the main focus of their convention though.

Democrats so far have been focusing on Democrats; what they should do, what they need to do, what they haven't done - what America can do as a nation. There's been no one asking Americans to take a leap of faith into the wild unknown of ideas, without past proof of concept. There hasn't been attack after attack, and lie after lie, either.

So far, those leading the Democratic convention don't seem to have been asking Americans to do much of anything they haven't been willing to first do themselves.

If this positive atmosphere carries through the rest of the week, and the rest of the campaign? To us, the choice will be obvious, on tone alone.

Americans don't want to take a flying leap into the unknown, demanded by someone they don't trust. They want to soar into a real future, led by those they can trust.