Whose To Blame For This Disaster?

Shakespeare’s Sister has an excellent take on where a great deal of the responsibility for George Bush's presidency lies.

It isn't Karl Rove, the religious right, NASCAR dads, suburban demographics, the Southern Strategy or the fact that Bush can occasionally speak a phrase in Spanish.

No. George Bush stole the 2000 election and eked out a slim victory in 2004, because the nation's press gave him a free pass.

"On top of everything else Katrina left in her wake, we now see that apparently, George the Lesser is not, in fact, the down-home, folksy, steely-eyed Glorious Leader the fawning Washington press have heretofore made him out to be.

While the press corps have been deferential to presidents in the past, in this case it is not out of respect for the man or his office nor for the greater good of the country. It is outright lying; the creation of a false image of one man while sparing no amount of ink to permanently damage the reputation of another (see: Al Gore, John Kerry) with no thought as to the consequences to the nation, just so they could maintain “access.”

...If any good is to come from Katrina, it may be that this storm has revealed not only the appalling lack of competence systemwide throughout our current government, but also the total collapse of the Fourth Estate’s sense of focus and responsibility to the public."

I don't care which piece of crap Australian millionaire owns which newspapers and television network. I don't care that the major networks have turned their news division over to the sleaze merchants who package reality shows and sitcoms.

I do care that "pundits" like David Brooks and Cokie Roberts are considered "journalists". I do care that the government does a better job of packaging fake news stories than most local television stations do putting together real news. I do care that the White House has no problems giving press credentials to Jeff Gannon, while treating Helen Thomas with disrespect.

But, caring doesn't fix anything