an interesting trend to follow: the reawakening of the mainstream press. the administration has been v. clever in finding ways to neuter the media's ability to question their policies, vide the plame case and newsweek's koran-flushing story. the end result has been an erring on the side of caution that directly contradicts the idea of submitting facts to a candid world. this year, the new york times has apologized for not asking tough questions about the iraq war; the ap admits to "dropping the ball" on the downing street memos, and usa today expressed regrets over the same.

it began w/ cindy sheehan, but this was a correction and was therefore liable to overcompensation. now, though, they've found their issue; they've found something that stinks of things far worse than partisan politics, something that the american people can get behind: katrina. anderson cooper gave it to mary landrieu (cooper was the only mainstream media person i saw ask sheehan about some of her more radical statements); jack cafferty tore everyone involved a new one; even the conservative union leader (never mind the name) attacked bush for his "aloofness" and tony blankley, of all people, wrote a critical editorial of the administration in the washington times on friday. this morning, tim russert laid into michael chertoff. it is a righteous anger, targeted on the katrina response but fuelled by something deeper, something beyond ideology--the realization that they've been asleep at the wheel. something, in other words, i will be keeping an eye on this wednesday.

posted by fred [link] 10:53 AM 0 comments -----