Glenn Greenwald takes on the "vapid, petty Beltway mind" here and comes to this conclusion:
But it is just undeniably true that a significant reason why so many of our media stars seek to "cover" only the most vapid and shallow gossip and why they mindlessly recite pre-packaged government propaganda is because -- to phrase this as politely as possible -- they simply lack the faculties to do anything else, and are completely bereft of even a molecule of critical thought or the ability to subject what they are told -- particularly when it comes from their admired operatives and Serious Officials -- to any skpeticism at all.
I agreed with him over a year ago:
The Richard Cohen column that is what, three days old? has been covered so completely by blogtopia (hail skippy), that coverage of the coverage has become an inside joke. I've been very busy with on-the-ground primary business around here so every time I sat down to write something, I saw that it had already been said elsewhere. But there's one point that I have yet to see made and that's this: the Richard Cohens out there are scared to death (and so lashing out) because they know that the days of being able to write about nothing and call it pundrity are coming to a steady albeit very slow end.
The Angry Left of Cohen's fearful imaginings isn't just angry it's also very, very smart and most often experienced in the field in which it writes. The traditional pundits, on the other hand, are more suited to gossip than political analysis. Where does that leave them when the news moves away from semen-stained dresses and into the real world? They can't write about Plame or Libby because over at FDL and Talk Left, they've got real lawyers, who happen to be talented writers, covering that beat. They can't write about First Amendment issues because over at Glenn Greenwald's place there's another lawyer, a First Amendment expert, doing a better job then they could ever imagine doing. They can't write about labor issues - okay, they don't want to write about labor issues - but if they did, why bother when Jordan Barab and Nathan Newman are there to do it so. much. better. Public health? Effect Measure, written by public health professionals, has got that covered. The list goes on and on and includes Ezra, who, when he wanted to write about health policy, taught himself health policy. Can you see Richard Cohen et al taking the time to learn about anything before they write about it? Let's just say that if they do, the evidence of the effort is not compelling.
The problem, of course, is that the Cohens are stuck back in the nineties, when political pundrity was slightly less difficult than finding double entendres for "blow" or typing up the lastest Starr Investigations official unofficial leak. Now they're faced with a president who is breaking real laws, important laws, at such an astounding rate and with such a confounding combination of inventiveness and sheer arrogance that it takes thoughtful people, preferably wth law degrees, to sort it all out.
These poor pundits aren't getting the helpful hand from Patrick Fitzgerald that they were so used to getting from Starr's people. That means they're faced with reading through motions and asking the right questions. And, since the crimes are real this time instead of imagined and because they don't hinge on the emotional impact of extramarital oral sex on the nation but instead on the integrity of our Constitution, they can't rely so much on truthiness when writing about them. Precision is key. But precision takes so much time and energy. Damn those bloggers who seem to do it all so effortlessly.
I was reading through some of the transcripts of the pro-war WaPo's online political chats yesterday. I can't remember the one I'm thinking of right now. I'll try to find the link later. But one of the questions was about wheter the newest Watergate scandal will get any traction. The reporter du jour responded that it seemed like it would because this is the kind of scandal Americans can get their teeth into. I submit that the American people can get their teeth into and their heads around any crisis facing the country if the facts of it are presented to them clearly and repeatedly. It's the powers that be behind the corporate media in whom I have no faith.
So rather than lash back at the Cohens and the Milbanks, who seem to have nothing but contempt for their readers, their questions and their contributions to the public discourse, pity them. Their job just got a lot harder almost over night. It must be something like being the victim of outsourcing. They need some re-training is all, some therapeutic clicking around to remember how it's done. For their sakes though they should go slowly. You don't want them discovering places like Doghouse's, Kathy's, the Hippo's, Thomas', Jude's, Paperwight's, First Draft, the Green Knight, Jeff's, PSoTD's, Norbizness', the Heretik's, the Fat Lady's, Shari's, Riggs', Greenhammer's and Chris' too soon. I really don't think they could take it.
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