TUESDAY and Wednesday were not any less entertaining than a marathon basketball game with the winning shot still making its way to the basket, in slow motion, of course. Voters celebrated and grumbled, students put off papers to watch the nail-biting decision, and behind it all stood a few TV news anchors whose words were the focus of every household in America. Then it came, "Ladies and Gentleman, we have just confirmed that George W. Bush will be our new president," and just like that, we had a new president. Not because the voters said so, but because Dan Rather did.
On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the media went beyond its usual subtle powers of persuasion and came out in the open as an influence few could have imagined. In essence, it single-handedly appointed a man to become the leader of the free world and within the same hour demoted him to average Joe Citizen status.
I use the word appointed because, theoretically, the democratic election process was far from complete by 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. Not all of the votes were counted, hence, the decision of the American people was not official. In 1992 and 1996 making official the final say of the people was a matter of formality. In a race determined by a few thousand votes, it is a matter of necessity.
Not only had no one been elected officially at 2 a.m., the exit polls determined by the Voter News Service, a private organization, only "projected" a victory for Bush. It's disturbing that newspapers and television anchors were so quick to remark " ... and Bush is our new president." It is even more disturbing to think that we all believed them.
The "roller coaster" of an election night certainly was exciting, not only because of the rapid changes in "projected leads" that the media was so quick to point out but also because of the swerving reactions of the American people. Let's take a quick overview of the night to recap its dramatics:
Around 7 p.m.: Media agencies declare that Gore has won the electoral swing state of Florida. Gore supporters rejoice at the pending victory.
Half an hour later: Florida is taken away from Gore and thrown back in the toss-up pile. Bush supporters rejoice at the pending victory.
Around 9 p.m.: Student at Clemons Library yells "Hoo yeah, Gore takes Cali', that's my boy." Cell phones start ringing. Gore is projected to win with his lead.
Around 10 p.m.: Bush wins a few more key states. He is projected to win with his lead.
Around 3 a.m.: Bush is declared president. The New York Times prints on its Web site the headline "Bush Captures White House." Gore calls Bush to tell him what a great guy he is. Gleeful Bush supporters outside Lambeth Apartments scream and pass out cigars.
Around 4 a.m.: The headlines change. The presidency is taken away from Bush. Gore decides he doesn't want to be that nice, and calls Bush on the phone to tell him he really doesn't want to lose after all. Bush supporters extinguish their cigars and Gore supporters come out of hiding. The battle ensues.
Essentially, the long night was about CNN.com and its exit polls. It's a sad truth that the media on Election Night controlled the election more than the people did. If you're still not convinced, talk to the Bush supporters standing outside the Governor's mansion who started celebrating at the news of their man being elected, only to go home a couple hours later with no idea of what had just happened. The media told them what to believe, and they did.
Even though the media was proved wrong this time, for a brief few hours it had the entire country convinced that it was right.
In a race that has allowed the media to play the role of the "third candidate" - the media having recently been promoted from its former position as the "fourth estate" - the race was far from devoid of the merging of entertainment and politics. Personalities were analyzed to the point of absurdity, voters were inundated with polls, and every second of every hour each of the two candidates was monitored, recorded, and monitored some more. So, obviously one would expect that Election Day would finally allow the voter to hide himself behind the protection of that curtain and vote in solitude. Think again.
For example, critics from both parties argue that calling the swing state of Florida so prematurely may have affected voters in the West Coast, where polls were still open.
So, just once, while you are watching the evening news or CNN, take a step back and look at the role the media plays in our daily lives. Try to fathom and digest the notion that on a bustling Tuesday evening, the so called "fourth estate" chose, on our behalf, the President of the United States before our voices had been fully heard. On the other hand, our democracy is not all at a loss as we may have found the cure for that long debated problem of political apathy. Prime-time election coverage viewership for ABC, CBS and NBC was up 16 percent from 1996.
All we need to do next time is make sure the networks call the race a week in advance and then watch the surprises unwind, and the party begin.
(Faraz Rana's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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