Letters to the Editor

Journalists and their good friends in the White House The wall between the government and the establishment media barely even exists in theory any longer. Glenn Greenwald [2008-08-20]

• Re Clinton and the media

  Glenn,

  While I agree with you that it's far too simplistic to label the Washington press corps as "love GOP - hate Dems," I do remember Clinton's very first days in office when the press corps went after Stephanopoulus and the communications dept. with attack dog force--I still remember how hopeful people were at the beginning of Clinton's administration and I think the media's aim was to take him down several pegs, let him know who was boss. Two of my aunts worked for Sen. Scoop Jackson until he died and I went to visit them in DC after Carter was elected but before he took office-during Thanksgiving. Boy, you could cut the tension in DC with a knife. I asked my aunt what was up and she said that everyone was scared because Carter was an outsider and he didn't owe anyone in DC anything and he was going to bring in so many of his own people, a whole bunch of outsiders. She said, "Mark my words, they (including the press) will do everything they can to make him look bad--that's how they get control over him."

  In DC, it's all about power, who has it and who doesn't and the kind of perks you can get for yourself, who you know. In the pre-Rove character assassination days, before the partisan hatchet jobs got so out of hand, it was very much "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." This had good and bad aspects, certainly the tone was much more civil, while the politics may have been almost as underhanded.

  So the issue is, who is an insider and who is not. I think that explains some of the ambivalence towards Obama--he is kind of an insider so the media is somewhat positive towards him but he hasn't been there very long so he's not a REAL insider plus he's talking about change, so that in itself is really scary to them--how much does he mean it? They're basically on McCain's side but after the debacle of the Bush years, there is really no guarantee the Repubs won't pay the price. The media can't tell what the future holds so they're like a pack of dogs sniffing the wind, trying to figure which way this is going to play out. And the media doesn't seem to be too involved in protecting Bush's personal image too much lately, just protecting the power structure he put in place.

  You're doing such important work, Glenn. I think the MSM is one of the biggest threats to democracy today--if we can't clean up the situation, I really fear for the future of our country.

  -- mikeyfil
  [Read mikeyfil's other letters]
  Permalink Flag Wednesday, August 20, 2008 09:32 AM
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