www.csmonitor.com/2003/1028/p09s01-codc.html
It turns out that it's not the Democrats, not really anyway. The press, particularly the Washington press, has created a "filter" that's blocking the good news from getting out, the president says. He insists that positive stories abound in Iraq and in the US economy. But you in the public aren't being allowed to hear about it. And if you could hear about it, you'd feel a lot better about the direction of the country. Presidents have long sought to reach beyond the Washington press corps to take their message directly to the people. More than 80 years ago, President Woodrow Wilson went on a whistle-stop tour to try to generate public support for the League of Nations. In terms of strategy, the new White House approach is something of a no-brainer. The press ranks just below trial lawyers, telemarketers, and the French as a favorite piata for surly Americans. And then there's the chance to suggest that the press leans left politically and simply can't be fair in its reporting. This argument, in case you haven't talked to Anne Coulter recently, was put forward again last week by the president's mom. It's lonely at the top, particularly if you have the misfortune of being a Republican. But even with the odds and the media- industrial complex stacked against him, the president is soldiering on, or so the story goes. This is all very interesting, even compelling, save for one small problem. When one looks at the facts, the argument just doesn't hold up. In fact, up until the last few months, one could argue that the Bush administration has had a relatively easy time of it with the press. Most of the potential "scandals" the press could have latched on to - Enron, Halliburton, etc. But now, as much as the president wants good news reported, there simply isn't a lot to be had at the moment. The nation's former surplus is now a record deficit, thanks in large part to tax cuts the president advocated. School principals and parents are unhappy with the education reform he pushed for and then underfunded. States aren't pleased that they're seeing more federal mandates, some of which involve homeland security, without seeing more money coming their way. On top of all of this is Iraq, where the president maintains the press isn't reporting on the major progress being made. Of course, not all of these problems are completely the president's fault - though some unmistakably bear his stamp of responsibility - but that's the negative side of sitting in the Oval Office, just as the positive side comes when one gets credit for things one has nothing to do with. If the president has any questions about this aspect of the office he holds, he'd be well advised to talk with his father, who watched his ratings hit the 90 percent range before plummeting quickly to the 40s. Much the president's support is based on the fact that people find him to be personally likeable. Like it or not, that's increasingly the nature of politics in America. And you can call it a filter, if you like, or you can call it bias, but the news, of late, is not good. You can rail against the messenger all you want, but when the message is bad, it doesn't sound like defending yourself, it sounds like whining.
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