I think that in the absence of a responsible national media, the blogs play an important role in trying to shed light on various issues, including the bona fides of so-called White House correspondents as well as tackling questions overlooked or ignored by the national journalists. I also believe that the nature of the profession has changed to the detriment of good investigative journalism. No longer is there a quest for the truth so much as there is this apparent need to present both sides of an issue even if one is nothing but lies and distortions. Giving the same value to fiction as to fact in the interest of so-called fairness is to mislead the American people and the press has become party to that.
Dear Editor,
Howard Dean, the Presumptive Chair of the Democratic Party is not likely to condone the politics of personal destruction which the GOP seems inclined to use against those who oppose their policies.
However, it is unlikely that this will inhibit those who have gotten used to this practice and managed to destroy the career of Senator Daschle and the presidential campaign of John Kerry and are already targeting the new Senate minority Leader, Harry Reid.
So the question for ordinary Americans is how to put a stop to behavior that's protected by law (public persons can't sue for slander) and the right of free speech and freedom of the press. How do they counteract the lying, which all the major media seem determined to promote?
Anyone who's been paying attention has probably noticed that Democracy for America has made a good start in organizing witnesses to the truth. Let's hope that as Dean transitions to the Democratic Party, that organization too will become a potent force in letting Americans know what's really going on in the political arena.