It’s nearly impossible, and extremely unwise, for politicians as “public figures” to pursue defamation of character lawsuits. Yet, the growing importance of video clips in the political realm raises another new, and potentially more damaging, source of false and derogatory information that can hobble a candidate for public office.
The New York Times’ Tom Zeller has this piece about a video of presumed presidential candidate, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), which some “gremlin” posted to YouTube. In the video, McCain appears to be sleeping…during President Bush’s State of the Union address.
McCain’s rivals and foes have played up this video across the web, highlighting one of the Senator’s greatest weaknesses: his age. The problem is, McCain wasn’t sleeping at all. His head was bowed toward his chest while he was reading something and the camera angle simply made it seem as if he were sleeping. (I had the same reaction when I watched the State of the Union address. I wondered briefly if McCain were asleep but quickly realized he was reading something, as were dozens of other lawmakers in the chamber, something that the McCain campaign was quick to point out via this dueling YouTube video.)
Oh brother. As Zeller notes, the McCain video is one of the first “gotcha” videos in the 2008 presidential campaign, and by all indications, it’s going to be a long, long campaign.
And in that sense, the video brouhaha — a short-lived and misguided brouhaha, considering that he wasn’t sleeping after all — constitutes one of the first “macaca moments” of the 2008 campaign. It is also a sign that Mr. McCain — and every candidate who has, or will, throw a hat into the ring — will have a very, very long road ahead.
Cynthia Brumfield at 7:24 AM|Comments(0)
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