Only a few weeks ago, most mainstream media stories on Dr. Paul had a clear, consistent tone of slightly amused dismissal. There’s usually a candidate who gets this treatment in each party, in every election cycle. Look at this guy, goes the sneer, can you believe what he just said on national television?
Trouble is, Ron Paul is breaking the mold of the traditional long-shot candidate. His messages are resonating, and his detractors are finding some real problems as they try to smear him: he actually believes in what he’s saying, his beliefs are grounded in the Constitution, and he’s been very consistent as a legislator in supporting those ideals.
Read this article, from ABC News, and you’ll notice how the mind of the press is beginning to try to adapt to an unexpected development; a true “dark horse” who might actually have a chance to make a difference.
One key indicator of the change in the tone of coverage is the photos chosen to accompany the writing. In the past, these articles on Paul often displayed rather unflattering, frame-grabbed images hand-picked to support the condescending nature of the article. Here’s an example. Now before you call me paranoid, remember that these news sources have hundreds of images to choose from, and believe me, the images are selected as carefully as the words beside them. (The other side does the same thing to Hillary Clinton, with equal malice intent.) But this time, they chose a picture that actually looks statesmanlike.
Getting back to the article I’m talking about, this is the key point: As if it was 1996, the reporter makes a clear philosophical and qualitative separation between “the Internet” and “the real world,” amazingly using exactly those terms. They actually don’t get it yet; this is the real world.
And more power to it.
