Keith Olbermann, whose biting, pull-no-punches commentaries on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” have been known to spike the blood pressure of their targets—ask Fox News’ belligerent right-winger Bill O’Reilly—will moderate the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum in Chicago on Aug. 7. The forum, with the seven leading Democratic candidates, will be broadcast live from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. CDT (7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. EDT) on MSNBC and XM Satellite Radio.
Along with questions from Olbermann, candidates also will face questions from union members in the audience and from union members who submitted questions to the Working Families Vote 2008 “Ask the Candidates” contest. So far, union members have submitted more than 1,200 questions, and health care is the biggest issue. Other questions focus on education, the war in Iraq, immigration, jobs and wages and campaign finance.
I can't tell you how excited I am for this. Election coverage so far has focused on the cult of personality, fundraising numbers, trivial matters and just about everything else the media has been able to grasp on to in order to "sell" this election as a pop culture infotainment reality show.
Olbermann, whose journalism credentials include several Emmys and an Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the events and aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, says he is “honored” for the
…opportunity to question the leading Democratic presidential candidates about the key issues of this race. This is a critical time in our nation’s history and I look forward to helping our viewers better understand where each of the candidates stand on the issues.
The forum, says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, will give working families in the Chicago audience and those watching and listening at home the chance to hear
…exactly how these candidates, after eight years of anti-worker policies, plan to return the promise of the American dream to working people….Keith’s wit and political savvy will ensure a lively and substantive discussion about the issues working families care about most.
To paraphrase and add on to what Sweeney said, after eight years of anti-worker, pro-corporate policies that have fucked 99% of the nation, especially those with blue collars, we need to turn our attention to how we right the ship. We need candidates to discuss ideas and plans to decide who truly has workers' and mainstream America at large's backs, who can help "return the promise of the American dream" with true universal healthcare, fair taxes, better schools, trade agreements that benefit everyone and not just CEO's and shareholders, ways to lift people out of poverty, etc etc.
With union members asking the questions, candidates are going to be forced to address these issues. And I hope that those who ask the questions, along with moderator Olbermann (whom I trust the most out of anyone in the MSM to ask real questions and not take bullshit for as answer), press for real answers, not some fucking stock line from a corporatist parading around in populist clothing, or candidates so vague you don't know what the fuck they stand for.
Maybe my criticism isn't so veiled, and you can see right through the generalizations I'm making, but the point is this: politicians get away with this vagueness, this faking of authentic caring, because the media allows them to. They don't ask tough questions about tough issues, because a. it actually takes some work and b. it goes against their corporate ownership's interests. Now that we'll have a direct line of questioning from the people, maybe we can really see where candidates stand and what they propose. Maybe the frontrunners will produce some great ideas and show us something they previously hadn't. I just hope we get the opportunity to actually find out.
I'm for damn sure that the leadoff question won't be about $400 haircuts (ahem, Brian Williams) and the healthcare question won't frame the issue as one of cost and not benefit and differences in specific plans.
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