Office of the Independent Blogger

Alright, I am back to blogging on a full-time basis. I turned nineteen this weekend and am ready to return to my old daily routine, as I have re-adjusted to life in my Chicago apartment after a summer of travel and entertainment. The first story I’ll be commenting on is this one about the White House forging a letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda. It is not getting much coverage in the mainstream press at this point but it is written by one of journalism’s best, Ron Suskind, and has added credibility because it cites a conversation between George Tenet and director of clandestine operations Rob Richer where Tenet says “Listen Marine, you’re not going to like this, but here goes” and then informs him of the White House request. I do not know whether or not this is true, although I am inclined to believe it, but I want to write about people’s partisan doubts.

Through the Clinton years, the President and his faithful criticized the press for their constant digging into his affairs, professional and personal, and George W. Bush is similarly critical of modern journalists. There are numerous Bush partisans responding to this article by arguing that it can’t be true because it’s taken so long to come out, or wondering why it is coming out at this point in the Presidency, or admitting, in some way, that it is true but doubting whether or not it should be taken seriously because the press have been “digging” after Bush since he came into office. I hear these criticisms and think, “Why is that a bad thing?”

The media’s job is to dig and dig and dig at all hours of the day to serve as a fourth pillar of government, the “corrective” branch. Politicians often complain about the press, and so do their partisans, but there is nothing more necessary in our society than a perpetual police force in the press. I’ll feel that way when I serve in politics, too.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).