| In Recent Scandals, a Rethinking Of Capital's Conventional Wisdom
By John F. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 12, 2005; Page A01
In the decades after Watergate, Washington figures in legal or political hot water heard some familiar words of wisdom: The coverup is almost always worse than the crime. Never hunker down. Above all, never lie. Lately, though, the evidence is mounting that this tried-and-true advice may no longer be true. Recent evidence suggests that hunkering down can sometimes work just fine, in a political and news media environment that has changed significantly in recent years. Examples include legal controversies involving prominent Democrats as well as the Bush White House. Even people who got caught in falsehoods have resolved their cases with no apparent penalty for the deception. ..snip.. During Watergate, President Richard M. Nixon was forced to resign when fellow Republicans denounced his coverup as unacceptable. In the current political climate, some critics believe, Democrats and Republicans know that no matter how much the opposition brays, colleagues from a politician's own party are unlikely to join in. According to Allison, this means there is "less incentive to do anything other than hunker down." |
OK. This is just truly bizarre.
A writer for the Washington Post is writing about scandals in the post-Watergate era. "Something has changed," they say. "In the Watergate era, it was impossible to ride out the storm. But now, it happens all the time. Gee, this is news! I wonder what is going on? Let's write an analysis piece!"
Erm... hello? Would someone please get these people a mirror?
Scandal politics hasn't changed because politics has changed. Scandal politics has changed because the media has changed! The media no longer sticks with a story for longer than 3 days. It no longer does the serious and hard work of investigative journalism. It no longer is willing to stand up and question authority, whatever its political affiliation.
Don't these people understand? It's not scandals that bring down politicians. It's the people. But without the media there to tell us when things go wrong, without their efforts to uncover the dirt in the first place... duh! Of course they make no difference.
Good god. Of all papers it come in the Washington Post. Is this what passes for "journalism" these days?
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