By Ezra
I know I'm supposed to get on The Politico for titling their report on today's Democratic presidential forum "More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Healthcare." I know I should blast them for the dismissive opener that explained, "because you did not want to spend your Saturday sitting in a room for three hours listening to Democratic presidential candidates tell you how they are going to provide universal health care for America, Politico did it for you." But such attacks are disingenuous. I've also joked that healthcare is boring. And, to The Politico's credit, they had a reporter at the forum, and they actually reported the substance of each candidate's comments.
However, that blithe dismissal of public interest in policy reporting is, I'm coming to believe, a self-fulfilling prophecy. The media tells Americans that issues like health care are too complicated for them to understand and too dull for them to take interest in, and the public gets the message. Tell everyone that something is dull, and they believe you.
