Not only is the horse race of politics blown completely out of proportion, but the media fails to explain basic election laws.
Problem #1: Obama has no substance.
The media goes on and on (Hillary's campaign included) that Barack's policies have no substance. Take a look at the campaign website people! If you want to learn more about policies, there's lots of paper there to look at.
Problem #2: Delegate Count.
The news media (sans MSNBC) always includes in their delegate count unpledged superdelegates. This is a very bad system, as we have seen recently, because superdelegates can change their position.
Problem #3: Texas.
The media fails to fully explain Texas's complex popular vote / caucus system for the primaries. Texas's system is very detailed and very complex. However, it is necessary for the news media to make the listeners and readers understand the system before they start generalizing with polls and ideas about who could possibly take the state. Obama is great in caucuses- something that will help in the second part of the Texas primary. The way the caucuses are split (because of Tom Delay gerrymandering), plays up heavily black districts, down playing heavy Latino districts. Polls fail to take this into account at all
Problem #4: Superdelegates.
Superdelegates are tough. Some have already declared who they are supporting. Some have changed their stances. And yet some still have yet to decided. The fact the the news media always fails to present in their analysis of the "struggle for superdelegates" is that Superdelegates are elected officials. When worst comes to worst, of if the convention arrives without a Democratic frontrunner, the superdelegates will back the leader with the highest popular vote or the one that took their district. The Superdelegates are the first people in the National Democratic Party who do not want to see it torn apart at the convention.
Problem #5: Democratic Proportionality.
Based off of the popular vote, seated delegates are rewarded based on proportionality. Therefore, it does not quite matter if a candidate won a state, so much as how close the two candidates were in the polls in that state. Case in point- Nevada. Hillary won the popular vote, Obama got more delegates. More: New Hampshire and Missouri- they both tied for delegates even though Hillary won New Hampshire and Obama won Missouri.
Bottom line... the media would rather turn politics into a cat fight than report the truth in its entirety.
This is why I'd rather read some good blogs where people have actual knowledge of the system even if what they say is biased somewhat, at least it gets me away from the horse race of the news media.
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