Throughout the presidential race, WhoWhatWhy will be providing you with unbiased investigative journalism about the most important democratic exercise in America. Instead of the “horse races” and “beauty contests” served up by traditional media, we will be working to reveal the truth behind the hype.
By “hype” we mean the kind of coverage that infused the first Barack Obama campaign with expectations of “hope” and “change.” Six years later, the empire abroad is bigger, the surveillance state is stronger and a handful of very wealthy people are even wealthier.
Our coverage will be anchored in reality: a president’s de facto power to create large-scale change is limited. Any candidate who makes it to the top will invariably be burdened by obligations to some of the special interests, players and self-perpetuating networks that dominate our political system.
It’s not all gloom and doom, however. As history has shown (though seldom in recent decades), a bold person of character, armed with strong political skills and enough cash, can sometimes navigate the shark-infested waters with their agenda partially intact.
That’s why we’ll be trying to figure out—and spell out for our readers—what the candidates are made of and what they might actually do, if elected. So here’s our presidential election coverage platform:
* Why is a U.S. president’s real power much more limited than is commonly believed? What capacities do presidents truly have to effect change? How successful have previous presidents been in making good on their campaign promises and why—and how should that shape our expectations of the next American president?
* How honest are U.S. elections? We’ll look at vote suppression and the threat of vote counting fraud around the country. We’ll explain who did what in the past, what’s likely to happen this time around, and what you can do to minimize hijacking of the process on Election Day.
* Who are the kingmakers? Election coverage routinely examines donor lists, and tut-tuts about ever-growing campaign war chests. But we’ll focus on the few who gain the most, figuring out their game plan and what their seats at the presidential table may mean for the country.
* And much more…
This ambitious program cannot succeed without your help. Our readers are an integral part of the family here at WhoWhatWhy, and we’re eager to hear your ideas. We’re also looking to connect with:
* Government insiders committed to telling the truth
* Experienced political editors
* Charitable contributors– Your donations (of whatever size) start the process of cleaning up our system.
Photo Montage by DonkeyHotey, based on the following images:
Prosperity Poster – Wikimedia, Vote Stevenson – Labor’s Committee for Stevenson & Sparkman campaign/Wikimedia,Romney Great – Romney for President Comm/Wikimedia, Kennedy Poster – InSapphoWeTrust/Wikimedia, Clinton/Gore – Quartermaster/Wikimedia, McGovern For President – Lionel Martinez/Wikimedia, Ford Button – Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum/Wikimedia, We Need Change – Craig ONeal/Wikimedia, Nixons The One – Nixon Agnew Campaign/Wikimedia, Yes We Can – Quinn Dombrowski/Wikimedia, Reagan Material – Randy Robertson/Flickr, Bush Punching Bag – Ludovic Bertron/Flickr, Bush Quayle – David Amsler/Flickr, FDR Poster-Cliff/Flickr
