L.A. Times: PlameGate Is About The Press
I’ve been quite vocal about my belief that the true story of PlameGate is the cozy relationship between reporters and government officials. It’s not an original thought with me, but it’s not the mainstream view – yet. In a column for the L.A. Times, Tim Rutten, however, has come out strongly in favor of just such an interpretation:
Whatever impact the scandal surrounding the leak of former CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity ultimately has on the Bush administration, it continues to spread through the Washington press corps like a toxic plume.
As it does, it discredits not only individual reporters and damages their news organizations but also an entire style of reporting that has come to dominate the way Americans are informed — or misinformed — concerning their government’s conduct.
This week’s casualty was the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, who, as it turns out, has concealed for 17 months the fact that a Bush administration official he still refuses to name to his readers leaked Plame’s identity to him before the vice president’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby — now under indictment for perjury — named the then-covert agent to New York Times reporter Judy Miller and others.
Of course, this being the L.A. Times, the editorial then spins off on a Bush-bashing bonanza that blames the Administration for manipulating the poor ol’ defenseless press corp.
I ask you: if I grant that the Administration is using the press, just for the sake of argument, who is more morally culpable: the user or the journalist who allows himself to be used? That’s the world’s oldest profession, if you know what I mean…
Things may be breaking against Wilson
http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/952
Also, did you here about zarqawi?
http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/953
Cheers,
AJStrata
You appear to be reasonable. I enjoy the website/layout.
I am neither A Republican nor a Democrat.
RE: the mantra alleging the media is liberal; virtually every network owner or controlling partner of the mass media are conservatives, some endorsing the PNAC philosophy of spreading democracy whether a country wants our system or not.
There is only so much liberal bias that can be broadcast these days. When Dan Rather stupidly used forged documents to attempt to get out a truth about George Bush, (and he DID spend a year in Florida running a GOP campaign, along with other lengthy leaves never granted to fellow Guardsmen, the Republican widow still lives in FL)the meat of the message was lost.
Rather, the conservative, imflammatory type journalism is spreading. The use of media to spread rumor about a genuine war hero to assure Bush’s win…John McCain did not deserve that! How does your party rationalize that?
Come on Sparky, if the “Big Dogs” are cons, then that’s what ultimately gets out. If the big dogs want tax cuts, that’s what happens. IN WAR TIME?!?
Forget abortion. It’s restricted in 30? states + or -; forget Mexicans, they didn’t bomb WTC; they don’t come in on H1B visas and take living wage jobs…forget gay marriage, it’s not a marriage…and that’s their business, as long as they’re not advocating it in a classroom.
Look at the what’s left of America’s globally envied, middle class and ask yourself, are THEY better of than they were 4 years ago?
And please don’t hide behind that “golobal economy”, times change, it’s an information society, whoo, whoo, whoo…
America is STILL the BIGGEST dog on the block and whatever corporate standard we had set 20 years ago would’ve stayed the standard. With the death of ethics in business and no enforcement of laws already on the books to keep the playing field honest, America’s workers have been shafted.
I love my country.
It is breaking my heart at the anger and division I see.
The time has come for a bifurcated White House if this does not change.
Anne, thanks for the comments. The ‘media’ is not liberal, you are correct – the media is not a monolithic entity, it is controlled by individuals. However, numerous academic, non-partisan surveys have shown that far more journalists consider themselves liberals than conservatives, but that’s neither here nor there.
I’m sure you love your country, and I hope you’ll stick around and contribute to the dialogue here…I am not one of this rabid attack dogs who thinks John Murtha is a traitor, and I respect John McCain immensely…though I sometimes personalize my attacks (after all, I do a Weekly Jackass feature), I try to limit that sort of thing to only the most deserving, nasty, and unfairly partisan targets…anyway, we try to have real discussions here and you’re always welcome.
“whether a country wants our system or not.”
Democracy’s not “our” system. Democracy, in some form or other, is the system of about 3/4 of the countries in the world, including many that a generation or two ago were thought incapable of it.
If you go back far enough, say, 75 or 100 years, plenty of (in the context of the time) progressive people thought *Catholics* didn’t want/couldn’t handle democracy.
You’re right, the 2000 Bush campaign did McCain dirty. Here at Decision ’08 (if I may, MC), we don’t like that sort of thing, no matter who’s doing it. McCain’s not my first choice next time around (that’d be Giuliani, just so you know), but if it comes down to McCain vs. a designated Bush successor (oooh, just to pick a name at random, let’s say Allen), I’ll be voting, agitating, maybe even working for McCain.
You’re also right that most of the owners of media organs are conservative (but what about Ted Turner?). The owners are in it to make money, which has overlap but not 100% congruence with the GOP agenda. The employees, however, do tend to come down, again and again, on one side of the issues.
It’s not that the media is necessarily *liberal* as opposed to conservative. It’s that they’re *Democratic* as opposed to Republican. Which has a lot to do with the ideological polarization between the parties, which is a very new (post-sixties) phenomenon.
I don’t really care for FOX *or* CNN, the Journal *or* the Times, the DNC *or* the GOP. None of them have 100% of the truth, none of them are 100% wrong. To really be an informed and engaged citizen you’ve got to seek out information through other means, which includes international news, The Nation (always good for a laugh) – but also bloggers, and even the Voice of America! Let a thousand flowers bloom.
Keep coming back. By debating each other we’ll come to a better understand of our own and each other’s positions. And have a joyous Thanksgiving.