Japan: Bias

According to the Special to the Daily Yomiuri, one of Japan's leading conservative papers, Obama and Clinton are losing and destroying their party, while McCain and the Republicans will probably win the November presidential elections. The article explains that Clinton lost because she's too negative and will alienate the Obama supporters, so she can't possibly win in the general election. In addition, the article claims that she just doesn't have enough delegates because Obama has such a large lead (144 pledged delagates). Then it explains how she managed to save her "near death campaign" during last weeks primaries. Obama, on the other hand, must be able to show voters that he can face the attacks or drop out of the race, the article advises. Furthermore, the writer tells the readers that Obama's fatal flaw is that he doesn't attack Hilary's history, record, or credibility, not to mention her private life and 35-years of experience. In fact, the article says that Obama should "puncture her carefully constructed public persona and remind voters of past scandals and problems." Lastly, the article reiterates how the democratic infighting over the nomination will split the party leading to a Republican victory. It even gives the "likely results" of the remaining primaries, saying everything won't be settled until the Democratic convention in August.

I must say that this article epitomises bias both ideological and structural. I should mention that the writer of the article is a man and as listed at the end of the piece "a distinguished fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation and professor of political science at the University of Waterloo." As a conservative paper, the Yomiuri would obviously choose to publish articles that are framed in a light that supports the conservatives regardless of the fact that its the conservatives of another nation. Moreover, the article is quite opinionated. More like something one would see on late night television in the US than journalistic reporting. For instance, the article includes phrases such as "It's the delegate math, stupid,""she can 'win' only using skulduggery at the Democratic convention that will alienate the mass of Obama supporters without whose votes she cannot possibly prevail in the presidential election itself," "The controversy over the North American Free Trade Agreement--"wink, wink" to Canadians,""her temperament and demeanor are presidential given her gushing, hectoring, mocking and complaining personas; and puncturing her claims to lifelong experience as a fairy tale,"and "Any party so politically inept and organizationally incompetent deserves to lose. The Republicans can neither believe their luck nor contain their glee." The frame on this article obviously favors McCain and the Republicans with its ridicule of Hilary, Obama, and the Democratic Party. Following the article's logic, Hilary is a overly agressive, emotional woman; Obama is a cowardly, unready man, who is riding on his non-white exoticness, and the Democratics will fail in the presidential elections because of all the infighting, depite the fact that 40% of voters would still vote for either candidate. On a last note, there are also no references or citations for the "likely results" that the article lists what so ever. Considering US newspapers have been citing the record number of new voting -participants in the primaries, especially as an advantage to the Democrats since their two candidates are a change from the white and male McCain.