Earlier tonight, things finally got underway at the post-Gustav RNC. As the honor guard made its way to the stage, CNN took the live feed, but Fox did not. So while the auditorium stood at attention, Shepard Smith kept talking.
That’s odd enough. But then Fox chose to play, for analysis sake, a new anti-McCain ad from Obama’s camp. So, at a solemn moment, while the floor was silent, some televisions ringing the open hallways surrounding the Xcel center’s seating were blaring lines like “We just can’t afford more of the same.”
A young man wearing an Orange convention volunteer shirt half-heartedly tried to jump up and press the off button. He failed.
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.