Political Rant
For the record, my basic objection to President Bush and his administration is not his policies, but rather the lack of candor. It’s the unwillingness to take responsibility for failures and the refusal to provide raw, un-spun, unflattering information, especially in regard to the situation in Iraq.
Future generations will judge Mr. Bush against presidents like Truman, who made it clear that “The Buck Stops Here”, or Kennedy, who took public, personal responsibility for the Bay Of Pigs fiasco. These leaders understood that it was more important for people to trust the Office of the President, than for them to have a good impression of the person holding that office. Trust is built and maintained by acknowledging the truth, even when it isn’t flattering or convenient.
Look, if you’re one of those people who prefers to believe that the “Media”, driven by bias and sensationalism, are making things look significantly worse than they are, consider a few things. The “Media” is not a monolithic entity. It is a collection of individuals and groups who compete with each other to provide you with information. Each reporter, newspaper, news channel and news website wants to be the first to release the story to the public, and sometimes they get it wrong. But the others are all too happy to correct their mistakes because that too is news.
Remember Dan Rather and his 60 Minutes story about Bush’s service with the Texas Air National Guard? Three other news sources exposed the documents it was based on as false, and as a result, CBS fired the story producer and asked three other producers to resign. Mr. Rather himself stepped down from his anchor position shortly thereafter. That’s accountability. And that’s why most people trust “the news” more than they trust a White House press release.
Today I found some unusual words of praise for Bush’s pick to head the CIA, General Hayden, in a Washington Post column. The author, William M. Arkin, was surprised by Hayden’s refreshing candor and implied criticism of the White House he works for. It perfectly illustrates the fact that people want to hear it like it is, and respect those who tell it that way.
May 20th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
Yep, I couldnt agree more, excellent post.
As for a Hayden, he’s probably just fine as head of CIA. But I also suspect that he’s a “good soldier”, which doesnt make him a bad person, but does make him follow orders of the President, who definitely is.
I guess, to be honest, the only problem I really have with Hayden, and every other nominee that Bush has ever had, is that Bush has nominated him, and I dont trust Dubya far enough to even touch him in order to throw him.