Tempers Are Not Just Frayed Among Politicians And Partisans In Campaign 2008

Fuses are exceedingly short among cable talking heads as well. Did MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough walk off the set — or did he merely choose not to participate any more in an on-the-air discussion with progressive talk’s rising radio and cable star Rachel Maddow? Details and the video are HERE.

Even if Scarborough did walk off, it’s unlikely to hurt his standing with his network. Scarborough is a unique and authentic talent. He’s a former pol and former professional Republican talking head who broke out of the pack due to his independent viewpoints and the fact he comes across so well on television. Maddow is also a major talent: not all radio types do well on television and she comes across as an assertive and thoughtful progressive who represents her side exceedingly well.

But look at this event as a sample of what’s going on this election year. Tempers are frayed on all sides and discussion often deteriorates into shouting and anger. Scarborough’s point was he won’t do screamfest talk shows a la Crossfire and Maddow’s point was that he was interrupting her while she was giving her take on events. You decide..

Expect this motif to get much worse after the Democrats choose a candidate. Right now (as can be seen in the blogosphere) there is a three way split between people who support Republican Senator John McCain, and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. McCain is an increasingly strong candidate — someone who appeals to independents, Democrats and is now successfully shoring up the GOP’s longtime winning coalition.

If trends continue, by August GOPers will realize they have an authentic chance to win a once-seemingly-unwinnable Presidential election and Democrats will realize once a candidate is picked that they could well blow winning a once-seemingly-easy Presidential election. If you think tempers are frayed now…and given how America’s political culture increasingly sparks anger and confrontation…fasten your seat belts.