No Mas for the Operatives

Well, there I was trying to get some information on a Saturday morning. I subscribe to XM and tuned to “potus” dial 130. Usually, there is some discussion of politics which is an area that interest me. Who is on the air? None other than Karl Rove. Of all the people given air time he is the last to offer anything objective. On another station, I caught the ending of a discussion with Marvin Kalb. His point was the media and the politicians and their minions are too close, and it is not serving the First Amendment.

These two incidents caused me to think. Has any operative or candidate ever said anything off message? The handlers have mastered the art of the interview. How many times have you heard a question posed to one of these politicians and the answer has nothing to do with the question? Many times a compliant interviewer will move on. Even if pushed the candidate or operative will go on and on till they win the tete a tete. Enough already.

Let us separate the press from the politician. It is not getting at the truth if all we are going to get is the same old baloney. I know that the press will have to work harder, but heck isn't there an inherent responsibility to get at truth.

Getting back to Rove and his ilk, they continue to propagandize at every opportunity. Their insights are designed for a specific purpose and that is to promote their agenda. Their blatant attempts at manipulating public opinion defy description. The sad thing is to see the media kowtow to their pronouncements as if they were actually insights or legitimate observations. How many times at both conventions was blather presented as insight?

The darker more nefarious and certainly troublesome phenomenon is the movement of press folks from the dark corner of governments to the studios. There are any number of current personalities who owe their start to politicians. The press folks for politicians are not objective observers. Their job is to manipulate and manage news. One wonders about the ease of the flow from one role to the other. The late Tony Snow moved from the rankest of conservative bastions to the press room of the White House. I recall the talking heads all commenting this would be a boost for the presidency. Curious, that the other poor fellow Scott McClennan was lambasted by those who graduated from propagandists to political commentators. The lesson is simple. Outsiders need not breach the current movement between the so called legitimate press and the offices of public affairs.

What does that mean? There is no room for anyone who tells the truth about an administration who were all about managing the news to act on their devious, if not criminal, plans? Loyalty is one thing; exposing lies and their damn lairs is an act that should be lauded. More ludicrous is to allow propaganda to be aired as if it is information.