Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"Dewey Defeats Truman," Harbinger of 2008?














By John W. Lillpop


Sixty years ago, America held a presidential election that most pundits forecast as a win for Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman who ascended to the presidency when Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945.

Even back then, the media could not be trusted to do their jobs by reporting the news. So it was that the first edition of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948 blared that, "Dewey Defeats Truman," which is still noteworthy because it was exactly backwards from the actual results.

Tribune reporter Arthur Sears Henning also reported that the Republicans had captured both the House and the Senate and could be counted on to have their way with the minority-party Democrats. That was also dead wrong.

Here in 2008, the mainstream media has all but declared, "Obama Defeats McCain," two weeks before most voting even starts. Doom and gloom is also forecast for Republican fortunes in the U.S. Congress.

Is lightning about to strike again? Has the media, in cahoots with Obama and the left, jumped the gun, ALA 1948? Is Barack Obama the 2008 version of Thomas E. Dewey?

Will Republicans have the last, and most gratifying, laugh two weeks hence?