We all know what the Jan. 29 Florida presidential primary has begot, especially on the Democratic side. Candidates have sworn not to do any primary “campaigning” here. But they – or their surrogates – can still come in to the Sunshine State ATM and fundraise. That such a scenario is as ludicrous as it is hypocritical is well documented.
But according to the media, Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who doesn’t have the name recognition of Hillary Clinton, has been particularly hamstrung. And according to conventional wisdom, which is often more conventional than wise, Obama hasn’t, alas, been able to get his message to the state since the “boycott” was announced this summer. This is media mantra. This is nonsense.
You’d have to be comatose or living in a cave to not be privy to any candidate’s message. Especially in the nation’s pre-eminent swing state, where candidate organizations aren’t exactly sitting on their hands. You don’t have to attend a fund-raiser or a town hall meeting to find out where candidates stand. If newspapers, network television, cable talking heads, myriad debates and the blogosphere aren’t enough, than the problem obviously transcends a sham boycott.
Frankly, you’d hope that a candidate wouldn’t want the vote of anyone who, despite being part of the world’s most wired electorate, still couldn’t find a “message.”