Dennis Kucinich and Fox News
Dennis Kucinich, since he appeared on the scene during the 2008 Democratic primaries (I simply never knew about him before that), has become of my favorite politicians. That is really to say that he is in the extreme minority of politicians who I actually think has any merit, at least and especially in terms of basic integrity. His treatment of the issues – which includes both his perspective and his willingness to discuss them comprehensively – has resonated with me in the vast majority of cases. I am dangerously close, even, to saying that I trust him, which is something I offer public figures and power brokers very rarely, and that I am eager to revoke at the first sign of duplicity.
That all said, there is one thing about Kucinich that has confused me. And it is probably less about Kucinich and more about Fox News. The thing is that Fox News, which is so unapologetically right-aligned that it covered former President Bush’s return to Texas while every other network was covering Barack Obama’s inauguration, has had no reservations about hosting interviews with Mr. Kucinich, who is about as far-left a politician as exists anywhere in the U.S. government. When I say “no reservations”, I mean that Kucinich regularly appears on Fox News – at least several times every month.
He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor a few times – where because host Bill O’Reilly is a loud egomaniac who needs to remind viewers that the show carries his name – constantly interrupted him and steered the conversation only in directions he wanted to go. Yet Bill O’Reilly seems to be the exception to the rule when it comes to how Fox News commentators handle Kucinich, with the majority of them giving Kucinich due respect and letting him speak. So while I’d understand the argument that Fox News is doing it just for spin, when applied to O’Reilly, who does it right in front of you, I don’t see any obvious agenda for other commentators.
What’s interesting, too, is that Fox News is virtually the only network that ever gives Kucinich any air time. Even during the Democratic debates in New Hampshire, CNN intentionally seated both Kucinich and Mike Gravel to either corner of the stage, and they were hardly ever called upon to answer questions. It was really a debate between Obama, Clinton, and Edwards, with a few sound bytes from Biden, and perhaps some symbolic acknowledgment of Kucinich and Gravel.
So if CNN, which is considered at least “left-leaning”, both literally and figuratively marginalized Kucinich during the debates, and has offered him zero interviews since then, why would the notoriously right-leaning and propaganda-oriented Fox News give him a lion’s share of air time? Do they do it to be able to support the ridiculous claim of being “fair and balanced”? To boost anti-liberal bias amongst their viewership? Or is there another endgame?
I remember you bringing this up before, and I’ve seen him on Fox a couple of times myself. We can be sure that Fox has some hidden agenda. They know that few are really listening to Kucinich, and that the one’s who are are so few that they’ll never be able to really start something and get him any real attention.
Or Maybe its a “Keep your enemies closer kind of thing.”