GOP Race Not Down to Romney and Perry

There are times when even I want to round up as many members of the media as possible, put them all in a Noah's Ark-type boat and set them off to sail in the hopes of never seeing them again.

Watching, listening to and reading all of the media reports about the GOP nomination essentially being a two-man race between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry has set my blood to boiling. Here we sit, four months before the first ballot is cast, and, already, my comrades in the media have thrown everyone else overboard and declared that it's really between these two.

Rep. Michele Bachmann's win in the Ames Straw Poll, which is in fact a bought-and-paid-for contest, seems like it took place three years ago, rather than less than a month ago. The conventional wisdom says that Romney has been the frontrunner since he entered the race; he has an economics background and can raise a lot of money.

Then, guess who shows up with a Texas-sized swagger? Perry. He comes from a big state, has access to big bucks, has big-movie-star looks and talks a big game.

Uh-oh! That's it! We now have our perfect match-up.

Really?

Look, I get the polls. And yes, it could come down to the two of them. But our actions are utterly shameful when we choose to negate every other candidate solely because we, the media, have determined that he or she can't be elected.

Bachmann? Too crazy. Paul? A space cadet. Newt Gingrich? A retread. Jon Huntsman? Too moderate. Rick Santorum? Too preachy.

The problem with these pre-determined winners and losers is that our coverage is slanted toward those who we think stand the best chance at winning, thereby denying all other candidates the opportunity to put their messages forward.

The danger we face today is this: So many more sources are covering politics, and the echo chamber gets so loud that the voices of the folks who really matter — the voters — get drowned out by the all-knowing sages in Washington, D.C.

I've given one of the establishment folks I always see and hear the nickname "The Oracle." I often say that we exist in his Matrix.

When he speaks, it's as if God has appeared in the flesh.

Give me a break.

A lot can happen over a four-month period. All of the candidates will be put through the ringer, and it's the voters who must sift through the madness to make an informed decision. I just don't believe we're helping this process along by narrowing the field, making our own calls and then continuing this ridiculous game of hype in an attempt to draft others into the race.

Seriously, why do we even bother asking former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani if he's going to run? Folks, the man ran one of the worst campaigns in eons in 2008. If it weren't for former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, Giuliani's campaign would have earned the title "worst of the worst."

We continue to chase Sarah Palin around the country, even if she's just stopping by a museum. Our actions have become atrocious.

Too many of us in the media want to make our status more important than it is. And it's clear that this decision to narrow the GOP field fits our agenda — not that of the people.

If there's one thing 2008 taught us with the election of President Barack Obama, it was to throw conventional wisdom out the window. Maybe the only way we do that is by throwing out all of these professional, Washingtonian political reporters and commentators who make it more about them than the American voter.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN analyst and author of the book "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House as Originally Reported by Roland S. Martin." Please visit his website at RolandSMartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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