I always think its funny when the folks inside the establishment press tut-tut political hardball, because of the notion of preserving some mythical ideal that has never existed.
We have only occasionally had a press willing to question those in power, and it certainly isn’t coming back now. If anything, this episode exposes how the “liberal” New York Times and their fellow travellers worked hand in hand with the Cons in service of their precious “scoops”, leading to dead soldiers on the battlefield.
I think that, like a lot of liberals, the Times editors imagined the Bush team to be so ruthless as to be capable of anything even taking down a critic by wrecking his wife’s career and endangering the lives of American spies abroad.
Hahahaahaaa!!!
Okay, so that isn’t actually funny: I think that handjob was actually being serious. I guess this is what passes for insight over at Slate.
Anyway, what the ‘writer’ of that muck fails to comprehend is that the Bushies are that ruthless, but being ruthless is about all they’re actually capable of. They only get away with it because they are extremely skilled at telling the weed-benders, Dixiecrats, and College Republican types what they want to hear. That’s like saying one is extremely skilled at catching flies in Chicago in November (if they’re still alive, they’re veeeerrrry slow), but I digress.
The really sad thing is that the Dems seem unable or unwilling to best these cornpone fascists. I don’t know if it’s because the Dems are that corrupt and weak, or because the majority of the electorate is that mean and stupid. Could be both, I reckon. Yeesh.
Or maybe the Dems are patiently making some popcorn and awaiting the announcement from the special prosecuting attorney regarding indictments. There are plenty of people (like me) who have beliefs about who is guilty or innocent. Once indictments are, or are not handed down, we can see what the Dems have to say.
The depressing thing is that when (or if) another Democrat makes it into the White House, the same guys that are now wringing their hands about respecting the office of president and no politicizing tragedy are going to go back to the same dirty tricks they were doing for 8 years during the Clinton administration, and the only people complaining will be the only people that complain now, guys like Oliver and MediaMatters and so on, and the conservatives will have the same stupid “What, us?” looks on their faces and accuse the media of liberal bias, despite the inherent stupidity of the idea that mainstream media outlets, all of which are owned by rich conservatives, would allow liberal bias on their networks.
If anyone is to blame for the degradation of press autonomy, it’s the editors and reporters themselves. Don’t place the responsibility on the shoulders of administration critics.
Editors are supposed to reign-in renegade reporters. Jayson Blair’s exploits should have resulted in a cleansing of the colon at NYT. It is inexcusable that Miller was allowed to take the concept of embedded reporters(dangerous in-of-itself) and ratchet it up to Minister of Propaganda. with no real supervision, and apparently no editing.
Too many in the Washington Press Corps have cozy relationships with the powerful. It is incestuous and dangerous. Put the blame where it belongs;
the so-called Liberal Media. (translation—too liberal for conservatives, after all, John McCain is a RINO and too liberal for their taste)
What’s interesting is that the Republican investigations against Clinton were pushed mainly by GOoPers in Congress, or lawsuits, while the current investigations against DeLay, the Plame affair, Frist, Safavian — are carried out by law enforcement, the FBI, SEC, DoJ. It’s not like Democrats in congress have any subpoena power or anything. The whole Bush charade is falling apart by itself and the press is starting to act like they no longer fear retaliation from Rove.
Wait a minute, Buma. Didn’t you catch Limbaugh being interviewed by an “objective” Sean Hannity? Rush cleared it all up–it’s all agenda driven.
When Fox news resorts to drug infested Limbaugh in a “rare” interview to make the case for Rove, the end is near.
Conservatives. Body count apologists. Slime.
Get out.
JK
What I meant is that some wingers are already promising to go after the next Democratic president as blood sport, AS IF the current GOP problems are somehow to be blamed on Democrats. We are spectators of a collossal train wreck, but hardly the cause of the wreck itself. Of course, the GOP will retaliate against Dems whenever they can regardless. It’s that mindset that’s their problem.
This is all because some nine-year-old girl beat up little Karl Rove in 1960 because he put a Nixon bumper sticker on the basket of his bicycle, and he’s been retaliating ever since.
Is this where he says ‘Rosebud’ at the beginning of the film?