Letters to the Editor
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Hear Hear
I'd like to second the opinion, expressed by Russell Durbin above, that Scherer's article fails to distinguish between pure 'spin' and substantive political argument.
Reporting on opposing strategies simply as strategies--without evaluating their underlying truth-claims--seems to me to be irresoponsible. I think we should go back to the old practice of calling 'spin' only that which attempts to cover up facts to which most reasonable people would agree. Calling everything 'spin' suggests that there can be no truth that supercedes political boundaries--or that as a nation, we're so into being liberals or conservatives or whatever that we aren't interested in things like fairness and reality. I think the people as a whole still make the distinction; but I think journalists tend to lose sight of it, and get sucked into permanent horse-racing.