How did the Massachusetts Senate race end up so close?

1. The Right Wing Noise Machine. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, the Right Wing Noise Machine attacks Democrats and liberals. Their leaders are FOX and Rush Limbaugh, but there is an army behind them. To them, everything Democrats do is wrong and evil. And if the facts don't agree with their paranoia, then facts be damned. They never issue corrections or apologies, they just smear. It's who they are, it's what they do, and Democrats let them do it.

2. The Corporate Media amplifier. The "FOX Effect" extends far beyond FOX studios. Right-wing Republican Joe Scarborough gets 3 hours every morning on "liberal" MSNBC to echo FOX smears. The "gang of 4" in the White House Press Corps - Jake Tapper (ABC), Chip Reid (CBS), Chuck Todd (NBC), and Ed Henry (CNN) - throws every FOX smear directly into the face of Robert Gibbs. Just ask Van Jones.

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As imagined by Dave Lindorff

My Fellow Americans.

I stand before you a chastened president. I made a mistake. Two mistakes really. (wild applause from Republican side)

I thought that Congress could do its job and through the
deliberative process, produce a health care reform plan that would win
broad support across the aisle and among all of you. But I’m afraid
that I was wrong. Health care is an enormous industry—maybe the biggest
and most powerful industry in the country—and it has far too much power
in Washington. Literally thousands of lobbyists, carrying tens of
billions of dollars in campaign contributions—have invaded these halls (and my house!) (relieved laughter)
and distorted the process, and in the end have stymied reform. (some hissing)

Meanwhile, I have realized that the answer has been staring us in the face all along.

On Thursday, Dick Cheney will give a major speech at Neocon Central, a.k.a. the American Enterprise Institute. One hour later, President Obama will give a major speech on foreign policy at an as-yet unknown location.

Coincidence? Absolutely not, and Robert Gibbs is lying when he says it is. The White House saw Cheney's speech on its radar, decided the President needed to respond in real time, and quickly scheduled a speech.

What will Cheney say? Exactly what he's been saying for months years: "Torture saved America. Ending torture endangers America."

What will Obama say? Exactly what he's been saying for weeks: "Whatever Torture accomplished, we can accomplish without Torture."

Unfortunately these positions are nothing more than bumper sticker slogans. After years of debate, when will the American people get the hard facts so they can come to their own conclusions?