Political Whack-a-Mole?

It's been amazing watching the media play "Whack-a-Mole" with the Republican candidates. For example, as I write this there are people on CNBC castigating Newt Gingrich over his history in congress and his history with Freddie Mac, and these same people couldn't remember his name two months ago. Now that his polling numbers have risen they can't talk about anyone else. You'd think Rick Perry was erased from history, and if you bring up Ron Paul they'd look like a deer in the headlights trying to figure out who you were talking about.

I find the process a bit bothersome. I understand the media trying to answer legitimate questions about the candidates that people want to know, but what I am hearing is media attacks on whoever happens to be ahead in the polls this week - hence my "Whack-a-Mole" characterization.

Rick Perry was lambasted for a week over not being able to recall - on the spur of the moment - which Federal agencies he had earlier said he wanted to eliminate. Herman Cain's comments about Libya were rebroadcast over and over and over ad nauseum while he was still a candidate. Heard anything about him lately? President Obama's mislabeling of Veteran's Day as "Memorial Day" and his repeated mispronunciation of "corpsman" were heard only on a Fox News piece about the lack of media coverage of his mistakes. I mean, can you imagine the coverage if Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney said they had visited "all 57 states"...as President Obama did?! The point not being that saying "57 states" was all that big a deal, but that none of the other stuff they make such a big deal over is actually a big deal either. Everybody gets a word or two wrong now and then; everyone has trouble remembering the occasional detail at the spur of the moment. NONE of these are significant, but if CNN and others can be believed these things are the essence of what it required for someone to be qualified to be President...unless they are a Democrat. Then it's no big deal.

I'd rather decide who is President of the country by evaluating their stance on issues. Deciding if I agree with the Federal Agencies he would cut rather than basing my decision on whether or not he can list them alphabetically, or finding out more about what he will do for the country next year rather than rehashing what he did 15 years ago. I also know that President Obama doesn't actually think there are 57 states, and quite frankly I think Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are rather similar holidays myself.

The question is, why are any of these other trivial things so important in the eyes of the media?

'Nuff said.