..out of the dark

Observe:

Edsall: "So at that juncture, when the president is simply repeating himself, what is the function of a newspaper?"

Pincus: "I guess you don't print it."

Edsall: "What do you do instead?"

Pincus: "You ought to have your own agenda. We had no problem printing Walter Reed[the prize-winning Washington Post expose of substandard conditions for wounded Iraq war veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington] because it was something so outrageous. Walter Reed is a metaphor. Walter Reed is a metaphor to show this administration talks about how important the war is, et cetera, et cetera, but here's an illustration, at Walter Reed they don't take care of the people that got hurt. I mean, I've got a story going now about refugees. There are four and a half million refugees and the President doesn't talk about it because it undermines the idea that we've freed this country."

I.e., focus on the president, and find the president's theories at fault through practical application. This has become a political question in the US - whether you believe in the ultimate resolution of the conflict or not. That is a matter of policy, now.


edit:
http://husseini.org/2008/03/iraq-winter-soldier-hearings-s.html

Other institutions have similarly failed. The Nation magazine's "Washington Correspondent" (John Nichols) is based in Wisconsin.
(...)
Nor is the failure limited to U.S.-based independent media. Al-Jazeera (both Arabic and English) has scores of staffers in Washington, but not one gets into the White House to ask a tough question. Al-Jazeera reporters in Afghanistan and Iraq have braved U.S. missiles, but Al-Jazeera reporters in Washington have not braved White House news conferences.

Similarly, the BBC and CBC and tons of other media from around the world simply report out of Washington, but do not really change the landscape.

It should be obvious that many of these journalists and outlets have done good work -- I'm pointing to a broad, institutional -- really, perhaps cultural -- failure.

Oh, deary me. Cultural failure. Sounds serious. Excuse me while I gorge myself on the stream of bitter- sweet tears and an uncontrollably rising laughter.