It is often said that the only sure winner in American politics is the media. Amid GOP victory parties or the ruined dreams of the Kerry candidacy, the one constant is that the media marches on.

Maybe not this time. Big Media lost big. But it was more than a loss. It was an abdication of authority.

I cannot say that Big Media lost me in 2004. I chose to read, watch, and read different news sources many years ago. Too much of Big Media news reminded me of pre-chewed food. Since I enjoyed hearing both sides so PBS news became my choice. What is amazing is the transformation of the rest of the public this year. The abdication of authority by Big Media has been going on for many years. This year the people noticed that the emperor had no clothes. I cannot tell you how many people mentioned media bias to me. Media bias used to be a strictly Republican lament. Now it was part of the conversations of the common folk. Maybe Big Media news will begin to see their vulnerability to competition and focus their efforts on journalism and less on “king making”.

Unlike America, Europe’s political establishment is hostile to Christianity.

BY ROCCO BUTTIGLIONE
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST

ROME–George W. Bush concluded his election victory speech with “God bless America.” It’s likely that in the European Parliament, the U.S. president would be considered unfit for his job on account of his religious beliefs. Even worse, for Europe’s legislators, would be that he’s not ashamed to express those beliefs so clearly and so publicly.

If you consider that Mr. Bush won re-election in part because of his firm stand on family values and other moral issues, it becomes apparent that Europe and United States are drifting apart not only on foreign policy but also on their vision of a democratic society and of the proper relationship between politics and ethics.

One of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, was convinced that politics needed values it could not produce itself and had to rely on other agencies (mainly the churches) to nurture the virtues civil life needs. The state could therefore not privilege any church in particular but had to maintain a positive attitude to religion in general.

Jean Jacques Rousseau thought, on the contrary, that the state needed a kind of civil religion of its own and the existing churches had to bow to this civil religion by incorporating its commandments in their theology. Many scholars see in this idea of Rousseau’s the seminal principle of totalitarianism. The tradition of Rousseau and of the Jacobins has survived in Europe in less virulent forms than in the not too distant past, but it’s still part of the European political and ideological landscape.

These differing philosophical approaches to religion and politics do not give us, however, the whole truth. In the 1960s, both Europe and the United States lived through a cultural era that belittled traditional values and wanted to prepare the young generation for a world of tomorrow in which individual responsibility, self-sacrifice and other virtues of the past would be needed no more. In this world nobody would need moral convictions. It would be a world without the constraint of limitedness disposable resources. Nobody would need to toil for his bread.

Unfortunately that tomorrow did not come. What came, on the contrary, was the collapse of communism. We still live in a world in which resources are limited, we have to work hard to have our share of them, we need the support of a family and we need the old traditional virtues that had been too easily dismissed. Americans have become aware of this state of affairs sooner than Europeans. This is another explanation of the difference between the two sides of the Atlantic. But we can expect also in Europe a change of attitudes within a comparatively short period of time. Our struggling economy and ageing society can survive and be modernized only if we recover at least some of the values of the past–among them the ethics of hardworking and caring fathers and mothers.

This is difficult to accept in Europe because our intellectuals were always convinced that modernity brings with itself the extinction of religious faith. Now America, the most advanced country in the world, shows us that religion may be and indeed is a fundamental element of a free society and of a modern economy.

Mr. Buttiglione , Italy’s minister of European affairs, last month withdrew his candidacy to become European justice and home affairs commissioner.

I think this is a wonderful piece so I included it in its entirety. This piece provides real insight into the origin of the difference in opinions between Old Europe and America. It also alludes to a belief that traditional values from the time before Europe’s experiments with communism will be necessary for Old Europe to compete in the global economy.

After I voted last Tuesday I went grocery shopping and decided to get my hair cut while I was nearby. The hairdresser was a young woman about eighteen. She saw my “I voted” sticker and proceeded to ecstatically ramble on about her experience of voting for the first time. I was somewhat surprised to find out that she was a Bush supporter. If you believe our national media had the youth vote figured out, she should of been rambling on about Kerry. Later that day when I talked to several kids who work for us. They also voted in their first election. I didn’t ask but they were eager to tell me that they were advid Bush supporters. I guess this should not have surprised me. I work with a lot of high school age kids at our farm and at church. I am frequently reminded that they are far more capable of independent thought than they let on to their parents or teachers. Sometimes their thoughts has shown an amazing depth to their heart. I just find it amazing that they also ignored the predictions from our national media.

It is fascinating to listen to all the talk on TV about why “some” people voted for George Bush. Media bias is still alive and well. Ohio voters seem to be particularly fascinating to them. There is a lot of speculation about the new political power of the religious right. Since I am an Ohio voter and religious who voted for Bush, I find their comments amusing. I have to remind myself that these commentators are paid to show up and make explain these events even if they are clueless. Maybe this time they will make the effort to listen and understand that the people with opposing viewpoints are not stupid. I know that their viewpoints are not stupid but I do disagree with them.

A big win for America, and a loss for the mainstream media.

[Via OpinionJournal.com]

This is a great article by Peggy Noonan that highlights several of the important facets about the Bush win. Like Peggy I was impressed with the graciousness of John Kerry in defeat. It was a tough campaign for both candidates. I was also impressed with how hard John Kerry and the Democratic party worked. Despite their best efforts George Bush increased his percentages in almost every state and received more than 59 million votes. That broke the old record held by Ronald Reagan. Despite the misguided efforts of CBS, NY Times, and others to distort their story selection and writing to promote their political agenda, George Bush received a plurality of the popular vote. It takes a long time to build a good name in business and a short time to ruin it. Many people will continue to think highly of John Kerry in the days to come. Character does count!

It is impossible to read President Bush’s re-election as anything other than a confirmation that this is a center-right country. [Via NYT > Home Page]