We Need Quick Learners
Obama has been called the Democrats' Ronald Reagan because he has the personality to sell the public on programs it might reject on their merits. (In Reagan's case, it was supply-side economics. In Obama's, it would be national healthcare.)
Except that, unlike Reagan, Obama's actually smart -- to imply that there's no substance behind the image is typical Reader backhanding. Despite McClelland's snide Reader-style digs salt-and-peppered throughout the piece, what still emerges from it is that Obama learned from his mistakes and -- he admitted to them and, most importantly, didn't repeat them.
All the more reason why we could use somebody like that in the White House, no?
And another star on the article ripping on that NYT reporter who is a shoddy journalist...
Commissars Are Never Wrong
There are numerous explanations for that, but one that ought not be overlooked is simple arrogance. Some national journalists simply believe that they are immune from criticism because they are more knowlegeable and wiser than their critics.
I agree, although I'd probably say "most" instead of "some" -- part of what's gutted journalism in this country is the emergence of journalists as a political class unto themselves (and probably fuels their sniping of Internet information gathering -- whether blogs, or YouTube, etc. -- anything that gets information out there in ways that they're not a part of is "bad information").
The Press has become a uniquely-situated institution, straddling three arenas: Businesspeople, celebrities, policymakers (indirectly, in their ability to draw attention to things and get people to think about whatever it is they cover -- and what they don't cover gets ignored). I don't think we have journalists in America anymore; we have commissars. "Pravda-like" is right.
The celebrity angle is probably the most recent and startling corrupting influence. A celebrity journalist is eventually going to have to choose which they value more -- their journalistic integrity or their celebrity; the former path is thankless drudgery, the latter brings fame and fortune.
No wonder we have so few journalists, anymore.
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