“If you want to redeem your honor...”

Someone once said that there are three things a news journalist must accomplish early in this career, in order to be worthy of his profession; he must write an obituary, report on a fire, and cover a local election. In the present day, even the popularity of sans-commentary C-SPAN channels, is not enough to offset the advent of the "news analyst." The latter is not really a journalist, so much as someone with an opinion who is telegenic enough to pull it off.

Most of them are in the tank for Barack Obama. Whether glowing over his charisma upon entering the room, or describing a feeling going up their leg, they are ill-equipped to give a fair and balanced view of the day's events. It's all well and good to have your own opinion. It is a disgrace to one's livelihood to allow it to affect your own judgment, as you purport to tell the world "just the facts, ma'am."

But as long as it does, there are people in Washington who will say the stupidest things imaginable, knowing full well they will get away with it. The same Congressman who, only a few years ago, had no problem with letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac run around loose in the name of "affordable housing," knows that he loses no political advantage by encouraging the raising of taxes.

They also know that the average American is being duped into blaming the President for every decision coming out of Washington, even though he may have labored hard to accomplish the very opposite. The fact is that the Founding Fathers gave the Congress the power to ultimately make or break the Chief Executive's every decision. People who get their political analysis from someone whose only credentials for telling the news, is the quality of their wardrobes and makeup artists, will never get this, and it is a shame.

Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist. In a recent opinion piece, he challenges both while decrying the state of his chosen profession:

If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.

Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation’s prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a fair share of the blame at Obama’s door.

You still have to wonder if anyone is listening. They're too busy watching "The View."
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