Despite his lies and incompetence, Bush remains more popular with elite
media than Clinton or any other political leader who sought to save us
from the Iraq catastrophe. Why won't they connect the dots?
The willingness of our most powerful media companies to defer to
pressure from the White House is deeply disconcerting. In the name of
national security, the Bush team repeatedly demonstrates its contempt
for the media and for normative standards of truth.
The 9/11 Commission's startling follow-up report that savages the Bush Administration's inadequate efforts to protect the country from terrorism was met by the media with a collective yawn. And so we remain vulnerable, amazed and, if sensate, terrified.
With professionals at the top forced out and replaced by GOP
fundraisers, the right-wing takeover of the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting is now plain to see. Though CPB's Inspector General has
exposed former chair Kenneth Tomlinson's ethical transgressions, what
else are they hiding?
Lack of candor is not surprising from Bush or Ahmad Chalabi, but why does the New York Times continue to struggle with the truth about Judith Miller? The Gray Lady might solve the problem by banning anonymous Administration sources in its news reports. If they're going to lie to us anyway, why not under their own names?
With leading Republicans facing the slammer and Bush in a tailspin,
fate has given liberals a huge opportunity. Americans already
share our values--we need a new language to help connect peoples'
deepest needs to the liberal vision.
As the Bush Administration's incompetence turns Iraq into a terrorist
training camp, Americans should look to FDR, who waged war for
unavoidable threats, not ideology, while still fostering good will
among US allies.
New Orleans was not an unpredictable disaster--it was
a model for the incompetence of the Bush Administration. And when the
next disaster comes, we will all be under water.