My National Politics Question

I know that this deals with New Orleans issues. But, dammit, New Orleans is a national issue (even if the president doesn't think so). Therefore, I have to bring this up. This has been building up in me for weeks and months. And when I have watched the way the TV news channels have covered the 2008 presidential race, and then watched the way the TV news channels have covered the responses to the State of the Union Address and President Bush's request for more troops in Iraq, I have only gotten angrier and angrier. So here it is.

We are more than 18 months from the next presidential election.
There have been no caucuses or primaries.
There have been no debates.
There have been no speeches.
There has been no real substantive discussion of the issues, outside of Iraq.
Hell, nobody can say yet with absolute certainty what the real issues will be in the next election.

And yet, the media has already decided that only four people can be elected president in 2008. And ONLY those four people are being allowed the time to speak.

The media has already decided that either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will go up against John McCain or Rudy Giuliani.

I'm sure that John Edwards or Mitt Romney would have like to have talked on national television about what they saw last night. Hell, even Newt Gingrich or John Kerry might have even had something to say, even though I probably wouldn't have wanted to hear it.

Who decided that these and other people are not relevant? And why did every morning news show and most of the 24-hour news channels have Barack Obama live to talk about things? Who decided that he gets the bully pulpit? I don't even have a grasp of what he stands for yet, and yet he is the favorite?

My wife (who is fairly well educated) didn't even know who Barack Obama was until I told her a couple of weeks ago. But either he or Hillary will be the Democratic candidate (according to them).

Only the people with the highest Q-score get to be on television. What the hell is this? American Idol or a presidential election?

I find it interesting that the so-called "national media" have already decided who the four finalists will be. And, how convenient. Two of them are from New York.