Why Cable News is not a good place for a Great Debate

For years, I have been advised not to speak on a subject that I have no knowledge in, no experience with or no idea of.  I heard these suggestions and for many things, they were right.  I would often find myself speaking about something that I did not educate myself about before opening that hole underneath my nose.  I've gotten much better at that now but this same truth should hold for those who are supposed to be much better informed that the public on these matters.  Should not this also apply to them and when they get it wrong, backwards or just plain flub the whole thing, shouldn't others correct that mistake?

For you to make more sense about that to which I speak, I am talking about the constant armchair quarterbacking of the ISIL strategy.  Many are talking about what someone else is doing wrong but none of them pointing out the failing of the other person are making any effort to search for a solution themselves.  They are quite content to just point the finger and those who give them all that camera time to point that finger does not seem obligated to answer back or inquire what their solution would be.

Case in point, let’s takes the comment made by Chuck Todd of MSNBC.  He told Christina Welker that the fault laid with the president because he has not told congress exactly what he wants.  At no time did I hear Mr. Todd come up with a solution to the over-all problem nor did I hear him acknowledge that up to this point, it never really matter what this president or administration want, congress would be too busy detracting from it to ever add anything.  That congress has had more time off during this trying time than on and that the presence of congress is quite fleeting unless you ask them what he is doing wrong and give them a microphone.

Next, I’d like to draw your attention to the comment made by Chris Hayes of MSNBC who stated that Iran and Iraq were partners when he heard the interview of the Iranian President saying that Iran would help Iraq and that America should put boots on the ground and commit ground troops.  I beg to differ with Mr. Hayes but unless I have been studying the wrong documents, Iran and Iraq has been fighting each other for quite a few years now.  They have recently began to cool their jets because now they have a more formidable common enemy.  This also works in America’s favor because the more troops Iran deploys mean the fewer amounts of American troops that others may call for.  The president is right, this is their land, not ours and if they want ISIL gone, defeated and degraded, they need to be the ones doing the heavy lifting.

During that segment, Mr. Hayes interviewed Senator Joe Manchin of Virginia who said that he did not have a problem with air support but he did not want nor liked the idea of any America boot being on the ground there.  When asked, I believe he did say even American advisers which seems smarter than not having them if for no other reason than to insure that the targets spotted are truly ISIL targets.  Let me put it another way.  Image no American spotters on the ground and for one reason or another an Iraq soldier decides to put America in a very precarious situation by calling in bombs of Iranian soldiers that are there to help them.  Now we got an international incident because our bombers bombed the wrong people.  Maybe a foreign spotter decides to trick American pilots and have them fly directly over anti-aircraft batteries. 

Just saying, when considering things that are outside of your control, maybe you should try less finger pointing and more problem solving.  Bottom line, cable news needs to realize that what they report and how they report it determines how educated their viewers will be.  The more lies, innuendos and half-truths you tell, the more lies, innuendos and half-truths will be repeated.  Surely you have more respect of your audience than that, but then I could be wrong.