Quit taking the easy way out

Recess has a wide purview-and today, with the rest of these pages full of fine art, music, film and interior design, I'm taking a stab at media criticism. With luck, I can be like David Carr-become a cokehead, go to rehab and later write for The New York Times. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Here in the recess Situation Room, the wires are buzzing and tension is high. We're all following the biggest story of the day. No, not Billary at the convention; not the Russian devils going down to Georgia; and not Chinese manipulation of the Olympics (let's face it, with the demographics of this section, we're in on the act).

What we're talking about is Daddy Yankee's unprecedented endorsement of John McCain.

Now, many of you may be shocked, but it takes an experienced, internationally well-versed journalist such as myself, the august and wise editor of a college newspaper arts section, to explain this.

Look no further than the values. For example, John McCain is well known as a fanatic of the hip-hop music. Word is he's going to start checking it out on MySpace, as soon as he learns how to use a computer.

Or perhaps Daddy Yankee-who has reached his third decade-can associate with McCain, who's recently been preempting jokes about his age. Now, you may say that the gentleman from Arizona has nearly 40 years on the gentleman from Puerto Rico, but relevance in hip-hop is even more fleeting than politics. Ask Big Daddy Kane, If you can find him.

The would-be wits over at The Wall Street Journal, a publication that we hear frequently aspires to match recess' gravitas, have gone for the cheap gag. They point out that Daddy Yankee sometimes raps about "Gasolina," and John McCain also speaks about gasoline frequently. To be honest, however, McCain's proposals-though bold and innovative-simply aren't as danceable as Daddy Yankee's.

But I digress. The point is, the WSJ needs to quit taking the easy way out. Surely, these people understand the importance of this election, the issues at stake for America in a changing world. For them to resort to cheap punning at a time like this is disappointing. It's a sign of the degradation of the nation's newspapers. I, for one, am stumped as to how the Journal has fallen this far.