- Robert Reich
by James A. Bacon
Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer and liberal professor/author Robert Reich squared off in a civil and thoughtful debate at the Richmond Forum last night. Neither man changed my thinking but I enjoyed the dialogue immensely. I also walked away with one powerful conviction: The contentious, sound bite-driven format of cable television and the recent Republican “debates” is poisoning this country.
The beauty of the Richmond Forum format is that it provided ample enough time for Krauthammer and Reich to amplify their thoughts (although it did become a running gag during the event that Krauthammer always needed a little more than the time allotted). Further, they were given an opportunity to respond in a meaningful way to one another. There was no name calling. There were no cheap shots. There were no “gotcha” moments. There was no misrepresentation of the other guy’s position. None of the intellectual pollution that passes for thought in cable television was evident.
- Charles Krauthammer
The theme was America’s social contract — can it be sustained? It would surprise no one that I sympathised most with the conservative Krauthammer. But Reich made his case eloquently and advanced a number of propositions that any thoughtful conservative would do well to address. By the end of the event, it also was clear that the two men actually agreed on a goodly amount.
I rarely turn on the television at home but one member of the household seems curiously addicted to MSNBC, with the result I spend a fair amount lot of time watching Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, al Sharpton and (anomalously) Joe Scarborough. The liberal hosts of the first three shows don’t have the faintest idea what conservatives think. They erect straw men of conservative thought and then bash them with ridicule and personal demonization. The same technique describes the pseudo-news comedy routines of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I don’t watch Fox News but based upon my radio exposure to the the likes of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck (though Beck no longer works there), I would surmise that Fox is an ideological photo negative of MSNBC.
One does not come away from those shows enlightened. One is led to draw the conclusion that “the other guys” are frauds, charlatans, dupes, malevolent seekers of power or complete ignoramuses. Not only are they wrong but they are willingly and deceitfully wrong — either that or they are mentally deficient. From my observation, CNN is somewhat more balanced in the views it presents but its talking-heads format still encourages dissemination of daily talking points rather than an enlightening exchange of ideas.
Many others crave a new talk show format. Indeed, a former Virginia legislator of my acquaintance has been working on a business plan for an enterprise that, much like the Richmond Forum, would promote civil debate. I wish him the best of luck. We desperately need a change.
