Half of What I Said Will Probably be Cut

Just got back from CCTV- now THAT was an experience.

A driver from Beida took us there, where we had to wait outside for our contact to come meet us. We then walked through two checkpoints of armed guards into a really amazing lobby. TVs, of course, were everywhere. She led us to the newsroom, where we met our host and got put into makeup alongside him. While we were sitting there, he asked questions such as "does Chelsea Clinton have a boyfriend?" and "Why does America want to boycott the Olympics?" We declined to answer the second question.

Once in the studio (really cool- four camera angle setup) we all sat down and he started practicing saying our names. Then, strangely, he pulled a mask out of his pocket and showed it to us. (the following is paraphrased as best as I can remember)

"I carried this around in 2003 during the SARS epidemic. It is too thin, though. It wouldn't do anything."

We gave him confused nods.

"When the SARS started, all the western media started to say terrible things about China, and then, in a very wise decision, the Chinese government decided to fix the problem and become more transparent. So I think that's a good thing."

O...kay...

And then we started the show. We received no instructions as to the format, how he would like us to discuss, or anything else. He asked us for our opinions about things, and we gave them. We were all very reasonable and respectful of each other's opinions, there was no yelling, it was a very nice discussion. It will probably be very boring to watch.

It was clear that he was a big Hillary supporter based on the kinds of questions he asked Katie, who was the Hillary supporter. He asked me a number of questions, all of which I felt were trying to bait me into talking about some sort of ridiculous trumped up non-issue. One that he asked me that I'm almost certain is getting edited out was a two-part question. First, he asked me about Barack and how the nation would feel to have a black president. I told him outright that I felt like the media was focusing on these things which were non-issues instead of the facts, and it was a bad question. He later asked me what I felt about having a woman in the White House, at which point I said "again, I feel like that sort of question is just wrong to ask, because--" but then he cut me off and asked another question.

I realized today that everything I had previously thought about the media was entirely correct. There is no desire at all to talk about actual policies and actions, and every desire to talk about race, gender, flip-flopping, crying, and whatever other nonsense that the media feels will be somewhat sensationalist. The few times that Matt, Katie, or I tried to discuss actual policies, we were cut off very quickly and no follow-up questions were asked.

All in all, it was a reasonably good show- I don't think that I'll come off looking TOO stupid or anything like that (well, depending on how they edit)- but it really does make me lose my faith in the media even more.

Don't listen to what the media tells you. If you really want to be informed, then go to THOMAS (through the Library of Congress) and you can do a quick search for all of the Bills that any of the candidates has ever sponsored. Compare these bills to the bills that other senators sponsor. Check the voting records. See what your candidate REALLY believes in, at least enough to try to pass a law about it. Then, pick your candidate- not based on party lines or media rhetoric, but on action that that candidate has taken with which you agree.

But all that venting aside, I'll be able to post next week sometime a website where you can go and watch the show. You'll be able to tell which panelist I am because I'll be the one starting almost every response with "well I don't actually think that matters--"