Lea Kahn

By: centraljersey.com
LAWRENCE – Politicians prefer simple campaign advertisements and sound bites – but politics is rarely as simple as those ads would make it out to be, and neither are the solutions to the issues facing the legislators.
That was the message MSNBC newscaster David Shuster delivered to about 100 people on Oct. 19 at Rider University. He was invited by the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics to offer his views on the 2010 midterm elections.
To bring home his point, Mr. Shuster pointed to a debate earlier in the day between Christine O’Donnell, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Delaware, and her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons.
Mr. Coons said the U.S. Constitution does not allow religious doctrine to be taught in public schools. Ms. O’Donnell challenged him and asked him where in the Constitution does it say there is a separation of church and state, Mr. Shuster said.
When Mr. Coons informed her that it appears in the First Amendment – "Government shall make no establishment of religion" – she replied that "You’re telling me that’s in the First Amendment," Mr. Shuster said.
"Maybe she never read the Constitution. But that’s the kind of election atmosphere we are facing. You have people who on passion alone win in a (political party) primary," Mr. Shuster said, referring to Ms. O’Donnell.
The other story, Mr. Shuster said, is about California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, a Princeton University graduate and former head of the Internet auction company eBay. She has spent $139 million of her own money in an effort to win the governor’s race. She has also opened more than 1,000 campaign offices across the state in her bid to win the job, he said.
As a result of "incredible passion," a lot of money has been spent on campaigns, Mr. Shuster said. But there has also been a dumbing down of political discourse – throw the bums out, make government smaller, he said.
And if the Republicans do gain control of Congress, they will certainly take action to cut the federal budget, he said. But it’s not that simple, because mandatory programs account for about two-thirds of the budget.
If no one wants to cut billions of dollars from the defense budget, what is there left to cut, he said. Air traffic controllers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, food inspectors? Those are among a handful of areas that make up about one-fifth of the budget, he said.
"There are some very difficult choices," Mr. Shuster said. "That’s where the tension comes in between the politicians and the journalists. The issues are not as simple (as they are made out to be in the campaign)." Mr. Shuster also fielded questions from the audience.
Addressing the issue of media bias, Mr. Shuster said that "cable is a business" and that there is a distinction between newscasters such as himself and program hosts and pundits.
Newscasters "sling both sides," he said, adding that it is possible to find straightforward reporting on cable news stations. It is important to evaluate journalism – is the reporting accurate, compelling, and does it provide context?
Mr. Shuster cited CNN as the only cable news channel that fully investigated the flap earlier this year over remarks made by former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod, who was accused of racism involving a white farm family when she worked for a private agency many years ago.
CNN reviewed the videotape of the entire 45-minute speech that Ms. Sherrod gave, and also interviewed the family that allegedly was discriminated against, he said. The short clip that led to the furor was only a snippet and did not provide the full context, he said.
"Don’t rely on one station (for news). Go to the newspapers and as many sources as you can. There are so many sources of information. We would benefit more if people were more informed. Try to gather as many facts as you can," he said.
Voters have the opportunity to be more informed than ever before, Mr. Shuster said, adding that they are "one click away" from gathering more information through the Internet. The challenge then becomes, "am I going to believe it or not," he said.
Journalists also owe it to themselves and to their audience to be well informed on complex issues such as healthcare and the economy, but they are often too quick to reduce their reporting on the issues to the personalities of the politicians, he said.
Some journalists attribute the passage of health care reform to the personality of President Barack Obama and his background as a community organizer, Mr. Shuster said. They also attribute the legislation’s passage to the personalities of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, he said.
But it is much more complicated than that, and a political scientist would engage in more analysis, he said. There are institutional reasons for the legislation’s passage – the Democrats controlled Congress, for example. There are many different factors that go into a bill’s adoption, but there is a "natural tendency" to explain it on the basis of a politician’s personality, he said.
"There are some really serious policy questions (that politicians must confront)," Mr. Shuster said. "As you approach the election, think beyond the campaign slogans. Try to understand the issues. Demand that journalists ask and answer those questions."