The Washington Post's Dan Balz makes a good point: "Has presidential campaign coverage become so lopsidedly tilted toward the instantaneous that reflection, deeper reporting, perspective and the purely informational are being squeezed into a smaller and smaller corner?... We are all focused on the now, and in this presidential cycle, that is measured in minutes rather than hours. There is no news cycle any longer, just a continuum along which information flows in bits and bites and then is recycled repeatedly in a circle that spins at a dizzying speed.Each new piece of information is treated as was the last -- something to chew on until the next piece arrives. A new ad -- good or bad? Another debate -- winners and losers? A charge about a candidates -- followed by an instant reply? An endorsement for one candidate -- trumped by an endorsement for another candidate? A new poll - who's up and who's down? All are part of the grist.All this is quickly absorbed and often soon forgotten. Does anyone remember why it seemed so important when Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani? Or when Sam Brownback gave his support to John McCain. Iowa Republican voters certainly don't seem that impressed, based on the support that Giuliani and McCain have here. Yet the endorsements produced a flood of coverage."
And ideas and principles get lost.
I don't know what can be done about it, however.
