It's the Clinton, stupid.
This article is a little more specific than most of my others, so I hope you don't get lost. Here is some quick setup:
In case you don't follow these things, Democrat candidates are refusing to show up on Fox News for debates. The debate is scheduled, Fox is chosen, time goes by, and when it's politically ripe, the candidate declares they will not show up for anything broadcast on Fox.
The first issue is what everyone focuses on: The fact that Fox is actually centrist, not conservative, and that the largest audience of Independent voters watches Fox News over all other news outlets. The candidates are therefore screwing themselves out of a chance to appear before the very swing voters they're going to need in order to secure the White House (a distant chance anyway, and growing fainter with every stunt).
The second issue, nobody seems able to answer. This stuns me because I believe I have the answer, and it is two-part.
The first part is obvious and disappointing. We're in the primaries. The candidates do not need the swing voters. They need only registered Democrats. Not only that, they need the insane, anger-addict Democrats that, like so many conservatives, want to see their candidates act boldly. They want to see them denounce President Bush, they want to see them canceling appearances on perceived conservative networks, they want to hear tough talk on the war or any other issue that takes their fancy. Independents (and this is why I will probably never be one) do not vote in primary elections. They do not belong to the party in question, so they can't vote for those candidates. After the primaries are over and we have a specific candidate (and my money is still on Hillary winning her nomination, though I would love to lose that bet) they will appear wherever a microphone and a camera are set up and running, regardless of whether or not there is a FOX placard on the side.
The second part is less obvious, and I could be wrong about this. However, we must dig back into the recent past and dredge up two names: Bill Clinton and Chris Wallace. The fact is that Bill went on Fox, and he was not only asked the questions Independents and Republicans want asked (or at least a very few of the tamer ones) but he looked terrible in the eyes of regular Fox viewers.
Remember, Bill Clinton is the brightest star in the Democrat universe. He's not only the pinnacle of their dreams (frightening thought) but considered their slickest talker, their smoothest guy, and unassailable. Slick Willie. The Teflon Man. He was slick and smooth through everything. If he appeared on Fox and looked that bad, there isn't one Democrat candidate that can show up and do better.
The Democrat candidates are in a tough spot, and I don't pity them in the least (they have made their own bed, dug their own hole, etc.) They are going to need to reach the very audience that tunes into Fox. While it is true that some of us are going to watch presidential debates no matter what network they're on, if Fox does get that network, their own base is going to want them to boycott - even an actual presidential debate! But they won't be able to. They may refuse interviews, or not show up on Fox shows, but they're going to miss the swing voters. Unfortunately, they are right - if they do show up on Fox, there is a good chance they're going to have to answer the very questions we want asked.
Sucks to be them.
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