I am locked in a race with someone who is continually described almost in Homeric fashion. The reason I say that is because Homer had this way of attaching epithets to all the characters, so he would never say Achilles, it would always have to be 'Valorous, Brave Achilles' or something, or 'Swift Footed Achilles' and things of this kind. He would never say Odysseus, it was always 'Manly Wild Odysseus' or something; he would always have a little name in front. And you've noticed that my opponent Barack Obama, the media always puts a little epithet in front of him. 'The Democrat Rising Star, Barack Obama,' 'Rising Star Barack Obama.' And they tell me that they are not biased. I'm locked in a little battle with the Illinois media right now, because I've had the nerve to identify them as minions of the Democrat party. And they are all upset with me about this--but I have this bad habit of opening my eyes and seeing what's in front of them.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Keyes compares media coverage of Barack Obama to Homeric epithets in literature. He alleges the media biases in his favor and calls them minions of the Democrat party.
- In plain terms
- He says media describes Obama with praise like ancient poets described heroes. He calls them biased Democrats.
- What can you take from it?
- Challenge media framing of political opponents.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does media shape politics?
- Is media always biased?
Another view
Epithet use does not prove systemic bias.
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