John Edwards Makes A Good Call

Via Daily Kos, John Edwards' campaign manager confirms:

We will not be participating in the Fox debate. We're going to make lots of appearances in Nevada, including debates. By the end of March, we will have attended three presidential forums in Nevada - and there are already at least three proposed Nevada debates. We're definitely going to debate in Nevada, but we don't see why this needs to be one of them.

This is a good move by the Edwards campaign. Fox is not a legitimate news outlet, it's a GOP propaganda tool; taking part in the debate is being complicit with its "fair and balanced" act.

Fox News doesn't deserve face time, much less serious attention from any liberal. The other Democratic contenders and even the party leadership should follow Edwards' example. Digby excellently outlines why:

Evidently, the thinking is that Fox viewers are just naive babes in the woods who can be turned into Democrats if only they can hear Democrats debate. Let's suppose their average viewer, a 63 year old white conservative Republican male tunes in to his usual programming and instead finds a woman, a black man, a trial lawyer, a New England senator, a peace candidate from Ohio and the man who gave the Pentagon papers to the NY Times debating. And let's further suppose he listens intently and is intrigued by what he hears. These Democrats are making a lot of sense. What's going on?

Assuming that ridiculous scenario is plausible, the question is, will they still be intrigued once their favorite Fox commentators weigh in with their analysis right after the debate?

I would go further and say that Fox News deserves both a boycott and a complete Democratic Party blackout. The Bush White House has always whipped the complacent media into line by controlling its access. The Dems should go even further with Fox News which will not change its stripes anytime soon, if ever. Cutting off its access will once and for all reveal Fox News for the one-trick pony that it really is.

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