2012 Election? Please, not yet..

First, I apologize for the hiatus, but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. I'll keep it brief today.

Lots has happened since I last wrote -- a full month -- and I've been alternately upset and happy with Obama's performance as president. I think the stimulus package was too small and that the president was worried more about bipartisanship than getting the right bill through (as Paul Krugman has pointed out). I was happy with his speech to Congress, and am happy that it looks like finally the US is starting to think about all of us instead of the wealthy few.

One thing makes me roll my eyes: media coverage pointing to the 2012 election. Puh-lease! Didn't we just end a 2-year election process? Bobby Jindal is trotted out as the GOP standard bearer right off the bat, delivers a pathetic response to Obama's congressional addresss, and is just as abruptly dropped as a "front-runner." Now, we see that Mitt Romney has been resurrected by the media as Republican savior for 2012. Wasn't he just spanked by John McCain? And Sarah Palin, don't get me started.

It seems to me the mainstream media just has no clue that things have changed so drastically. Readers don't want an eternal horse-race in politics. We the people are tired of the never ending election. We want the election, certainly, but now it is time to watch (and with Obama, contribute to) the governing of the country. One of the primary reasons we are in this dire economic condition is that mainstream media didn't function as a watchdog to the goings on of the housing and banking industries. Its eyes were easily diverted by Republicans who had no intention of governing or monitoring these industries. Instead, the media were mesmerized into following the tactics of staying in power rather than really assessing how those in power actually govern.

It is evident that the pundits and Washington reporters can't wean themselves from covering the horse-race of an election. It is no wonder newspapers are struggling.