This letter is associated with the following article:
Letters
Saturday, April 14, 2007 12:00 AM

Various items

Read other letters about this article

  • Saturday, April 14, 2007 04:24 PM

    O'Donnell was doing her job

    I often agree with Glenn's criticisms of the Bush administration, but as a journalism critic he is often all wet. The post above about the O'Donnell/Leahy interview is one of those times. I say this even though I am much more sympathetic to Leahy's case here than to that of the White House,

    What O'Donnell did was to quote the White House position to Leahy and challenge him to respond. She did not endorses it as her own, and that is clear from the context. This is a common journalistic technique when covering political antagonists -- "Mr. X, your opponent, says such-and-such about this matter. What do you say back?" And, after watching to the YouTube video several times, I completely disagree with Glenn's characterization that she was asking the questions "angrily."

    It is just as much O'Donnell's job to get into Leahy's face and ask aggressive questions as it is to get into Tony Snow's face and do so.

Most Active Letters Threads

600

Obama's exceedingly familiar justifications for escalation

The "new" approach to Afghanistan touted by White House officials seems quite old
543

The crazy, irrational beliefs of Muslims

Tom Friedman explains the real problem: stupid Muslims think the U.S. is about war and aggression.
437

The face of rotted Washington

Evan Bayh demands more debt-financed war - fought by others - while boasting that he's a stern "deficit hawk."
206

Bigotry wins in Switzerland

By voting to ban the construction of minarets, Switzerland apes the most extreme intolerance in the Muslim world
147

Mike Huckabee's fatally bad judgment

Brutality by another Huck-pardoned criminal suggests the 2012 GOP hopeful listened more to pastors than prosecutors

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon