Well put. Sadly, the horse race/popularity contest is more dramatic, more interesting, and easier to follow than important policy details. And the more polarized our discussion becomes, the easier it is to rationalize a focus on “making sure the good guys win” over figuring out policy details which might change our view regarding what it is good to do, or even who the good guys are.
In terms of concrete solutions, I wonder if the best approach is satirizing excessive meta-ness. (One possible example of how this might be done: “How will voters react to Clinton campaign messaging in response to Trump’s tweet about the New York Times’ take on how voters are reacting to the latest Clinton email bombshell? Tune in now to find out, it’s important!” Another possible example.) It’s a rather cynical solution, essentially giving in and saying that a well thought out argument like the one you wrote here isn’t memetically fit enough to change behavior substantially amongst the pundit class. But I have a feeling that skewering meta by dialing it up to 11 could be quite effective if done by someone wittier than I am. (It’s possible I’ve been reading Twitter too much lately...)
Well put. Sadly, the horse race/popularity contest is more dramatic, more interesting, and easier to follow than important policy details. And the more polarized our discussion becomes, the easier it is to rationalize a focus on “making sure the good guys win” over figuring out policy details which might change our view regarding what it is good to do, or even who the good guys are.
In terms of concrete solutions, I wonder if the best approach is satirizing excessive meta-ness. (One possible example of how this might be done: “How will voters react to Clinton campaign messaging in response to Trump’s tweet about the New York Times’ take on how voters are reacting to the latest Clinton email bombshell? Tune in now to find out, it’s important!” Another possible example.) It’s a rather cynical solution, essentially giving in and saying that a well thought out argument like the one you wrote here isn’t memetically fit enough to change behavior substantially amongst the pundit class. But I have a feeling that skewering meta by dialing it up to 11 could be quite effective if done by someone wittier than I am. (It’s possible I’ve been reading Twitter too much lately...)