The Limits of Media Bias

Earlier this year, Evan Thomas, Newsweek’s Washington editor, conceded that there was media bias favoring Senator Kerry and speculated that it might be worth a 15-point Democratic advantage. He later amended this estimate, to a mere 5-point advantage. If that second estimate is correct, the Bush-Cheney ticket would, on a level media playing field, have defeated Kerry-Edwards by a margin of 8 points. Given the outbreak of despair among Democrats occasioned by an actual 3-point loss, Terry McAuliffe and the entire DNC would doubtless have committed mass hara-kiri following Kerry’s gracious concession over a glass of hemlock.

It is almost certainly true that the Republican victory should have been larger. My own explanation for this shortfall, however, blames not the media, but President Bush—for failing to make 9/11 an occasion for reviving the traditional understanding of America as a melting pot, as opposed to various multicultural metaphors of salads and mosaics. Such a revival would have exactly matched the national mood of “United We Stand” and entrenched it for the long struggle against terrorism. And though the main purpose of such a cultural strategy would have been to strengthen America, it would also have aided the GOP as a side-effect. Whether they realize it or not—and some of the Bush people seem to see it as a handicap—Republicans are the party of assimilation. Short of enlisting in the armed forces, voting Republican is just about the most assimilated thing an immigrant can do. And stressing the melting-pot concept might have won over entire classes of voters hitherto less concerned about either patriotism or national security. Unlike FDR, however, President Bush made little attempt to turn a moment of patriotic unity into the permanent base for a large governing majority. Bush still won a majority of patriotic voters—including the “security moms”—but it could have been a larger vote and a larger victory.

About the Author

John O’Sullivan

John O’Sullivan is a senior fellow at National Review Institute and a contributing editor of National Review.

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Earlier this year, Evan Thomas, Newsweek’s Washington editor, conceded that there was media bias favoring Senator Kerry and speculated that it might be worth a 15-point Democratic advantage. He later amended this estimate, to a mere 5-point advantage. If that second estimate is correct, the Bush-Cheney ticket would, on a level media playing field, have defeated Kerry-Edwards by a margin of 8 points. Given the outbreak of despair among Democrats occasioned by an actual 3-point loss, Terry McAuliffe and the entire DNC would doubtless have committed mass hara-kiri following Kerry’s gracious concession over a glass of hemlock.

It is almost certainly true that the Republican victory should have been larger. My own explanation for this shortfall, however, blames not the media, but President Bush—for failing to make 9/11 an occasion for reviving the traditional understanding of America as a melting pot, as opposed to various multicultural metaphors of salads and mosaics. Such a revival would have exactly matched the national mood of “United We Stand” and entrenched it for the long struggle against terrorism. And though the main purpose of such a cultural strategy would have been to strengthen America, it would also have aided the GOP as a side-effect. Whether they realize it or not—and some of the Bush people seem to see it as a handicap—Republicans are the party of assimilation. Short of enlisting in the armed forces, voting Republican is just about the most assimilated thing an immigrant can do. And stressing the melting-pot concept might have won over entire classes of voters hitherto less concerned about either patriotism or national security. Unlike FDR, however, President Bush made little attempt to turn a moment of patriotic unity into the permanent base for a large governing majority. Bush still won a majority of patriotic voters—including the “security moms”—but it could have been a larger vote and a larger victory.