The political media’s fantasy of an “unified” America defies reality

For a moment there, we were all relieved. We had that in common.

You could even call it a moment of national unity.

But the country’s top media figures, so driven by their relentless need to not take sides no matter what, have tried desperately to extend that into some sort of longer-lasting political coming-together.

And the result is that some of the coverage of the fire-and-brimstone Republican National Convention has been perverse. News anchors, in particular, are trying desperately to show that the GOP is moderating itself, when what's happening is the exact opposite.

In the wake of the shooting, the phrase of choice in the media – even after Trump’s would-be assassin was identified as a conservative – was that both sides needed to “lower the temperature”. As if that had anything to do with it.

But that’s a hopeless task when the one thing both parties agree on (though for different reasons) is that this election’s stakes are existential. (The Republicans nonsensically warn  of civilizational collapse; the Democrats accurately warn of dictatorship.) And it’s a ridiculous ask when only one of the two parties has engaged in threats of political violence.

Two days after getting shot in the ear, Trump quickly turned around and defined his idea of unity: Dismissing all the indictments against him. And that same day, Biden shook off NBC anchor Lester Holt’s implication that his rhetoric might be too hot. “How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden asked. “Do you just not say anything ’cause it may incite somebody?”

There is no such thing as unity in American politics today. The only way Republicans want to unify the country is under Trump as paramount leader, with absolute and unchecked power to reshape the government and the lives of its citizens.

And by that standard, the Republican National Convention has been a roaring success. As Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch wrote on Thursday,  its central theme was “The deification of Donald J. Trump.” No more, no less.

There is one crucial litmus test for political unity, and that is whether both parties will renounce the use of political violence. One already has. The other won’t, because a repeat of Jan. 6 but on a much larger scare is a crucial Plan B in case they lose the election.

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Please forgive the recent paucity of posting. I’ve been going through some stuff.