> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
... > > The State of the Union is irrelevant to this example. > But it is not irrelevant because this is THE major policy speech > that the president makes every year. This speech is worked on > with the most care and intensity by the president's staff. It is > givin to a joint session of congress. It is unique and important. > Statements in this speech must or should be above speculation. In > short it is not just another speech. Yes, and there is no more serious decision a nation can make -- none -- than the decision to go to war. I'm dismayed that Bush apologists are willing to belittle the importance of the State of the Union address and the gravity of the decision that was being advocated. At the same time, I'll sadly add that virtually every modern president has lied in order to persuade the public that it must go to war. There's nothing partisan about it, I suppose, it's politics as usual, and if there's any institution to be damned for allowing it to happen, it's the media, which has failed every time to take a really critical look at the justifications for war. I do believe that this administration thought it would get away with offering poorly investigated intelligence in the State of the Union address because the press would swallow it, at least for long enough to get us into the war. And they were right -- in fact, at its worst, the media pundits were fanning the flames by branding anyone who questioned the decision for war as unpatriotic. Going back to the 16 words, they were spoken by the most important leader in the world, in his most important speech, on the most important decision our nation can possibly make. If that isn't the time for those in power to get the facts right, there is no such time. And if those are not the circumstances in which citizens and the press deserve -- and should demand -- solid evidence, there is no such time. Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
