The Last Mysteries

It seems that the MSM is obsessed with showing us how sausages are made. It does not matter if the subject is of high importance or trivial-the election of a Pope or the Oscars-the coverage always has a healthy dose of speculation about the politics of the process.

It relies on speculation because the press really does not have much information on what really happens and what the participants are thinking. No surprise then that their predictions are often wrong. What is undeniable, however, is that the effect of their coverage is to demystify the subject matter and to diminish the participants. When only cynical questions are asked the players end up looking craven, opportunistic, and hypocritical.

Only two targets are spared this relentless battering. Journalists are always selfless professionals trying to find the truth in the public's interest. MSNBC does not analyze the agenda behind a given story at CBS, they assume that the reporter was just pursuing an interesting and important subject. When was the last time Howie Kurtz dissected the front page of the New York Times by looking at the personal motives and political objectives of the editors and reporters?

Liberal groups and politicians are also given general protection. Tom Delay's actions and speeches are always analyzed in terms of their political instrumentality; they can never reflect deeply held beliefs. Contrast this with Teddy Kennedy. When he denounced Judge Robert Bork, that was portrayed as a clarion call to the liberal conscience. The crude politicsof the demagoguery is rarely mentioned.