I’ve seen this exact phrase: “moral values” on every news organization that I know of, since the election. It’s been on cnn, sfgate, salon – hell, it’s even on Google News. It’s being widely spread that Bush won the election on “moral values,” but I’m wondering whether this is just an RNC talking point that no one’s attributing to the RNC.

First of all, Bush didn’t win on “moral values” – here’s a guy who lied about taking us to war. He’s an ex-coke head, he’s been convicted of a DUI. Abortions have been on the rise, poverty’s been on the rise, the number of uninsured people is on the rise, the environment’s under assault, we’re killing thousands of innocent people, and discriminating against millions at home. This is not the legacy of a president who believes in moral values such as say, the sanctity of life, helping the helpless, loving thy neighbor, etc. I don’t know what sort of “moral values” favors the CEO of Enron over the people he victimized, or believes say, that Martha Stewart is more guilty than Bernie Ebbers, or that invading a sovereign nation that’s never invaded us, and killing hundreds of thousands of its citizens is moral, but whatever that system of belief is, I daresay that calling it “moral values” is as Orwellian as the Clear Skies Initiative.

What bothers me the most is that the media – even outlets like Salon, are simply parrotting the phrase “moral values” without defining what it is. Why? Because the people who supposedly voted for Bush based on his “moral values” don’t even know what moral values are. Are his moral values the same moral values you hold? Seriously? How do you know? His actions clearly speak otherwise.

Anyway. I would have thought after 2000, that our media would grow a sense of fairness, and responsibility. I would have thought that after botching the coverage pre-Iraq War, they’d have gotten more careful, and thoughtful. Ha. Silly fucking me.