It's all about money...

CNN Money

    „Obama bundlers raise at least $106M“, „Romney Posts Best Money Month Yet“ „Obama Sees Steep Dropoff in Cash From Major Donors“ are the current headings of USA’s biggest news companies: the USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Everything is about the never ending „horse-race“ between candidates, polls and budget details. They are analyzed, published and explained in detail. Who of the candidates raised the most money, by whom are they funded, how are they raising money, how are they spending it? Those are the questions media sets as an agenda today. It seems like becoming president depends on who appears in US media most often, who has the most powerful impression on voters and who has the best overall appearance in media.

    It is therefore not surprising that Mitt Romney became Obama’s opponent in the 2012 US presidential elections. He is the republican candidate with the biggest budget and according to US media this is all what matters. The budget-race between Obama and Romney can be compared to 2008’s budget-race between the democratic candidates Obama and Hillary Clinton. Political issues that really matter and how each candidate would approach and progress when elected as president are left aside because they are too complex to be catchy and juicy. Take a look at The Wall Street Journal’s Politics & Policy sections: everything one will find is about polls, candidates budget and money.

    Therefore, by setting the agenda that a candidate’s budget is all what matters to becoming president, media outplays important issues like the current US economic situation after the crisis, medi-care problems or unemployment.  This might mislead voters to favor a candidate that is only media’s favorite but may not be suited for the job as US president.

    Candidates without a strong network of supporters and good possibilities of raising a significant amount of money might not even have a chance to be heard by voters, as they cannot display themselves as frequently as candidates having a budget like Romney. Those low-budget candidates are automatically degraded by  media and therefore by the society; the so important voters.