Helen Thomas’s “enlightened” colleagues are sad, oh so very sad, about the departure of their “friend.” Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell seem to be trying out eulogies as they look back admiringly on her long (way too long) career. (Remember, P.J. O’Rourke says we should plan ahead!) Todd, who has a flair for making the ridiculous sound serious, intones:
And you know the definition of reporter and columnist has gotten, the lines have been blurred now for over a decade. It gets even worse in this case in distinguishing the two. And this was something that was a topic, frankly that I think a lot, in the White House Correspondents Association, everybody was kind of avoiding.
It’s not the anti-Semitism they should have been keeping an eye on, says the man from MSNBC (you can’t make this up), but all those opinion makers masquerading as newsmen.
But if you want unintentional hilarity, nothing beats the Gray Lady, which coos: “Especially in her latter years as a journalist, she posed questions in a provocative and opinionated manner that was highly unusual for a member of the White House press corps.” Er, I think maybe Dana Perino and Ari Fleischer among others have a different take on that one.
Meanwhile, we should be thankful for a final blast of sanity from Robert Zelnick, who reminds us:
Her bias regarding Israel has long been known to anyone — including this commentator — who has spent five minutes in her company. Also no secret has the more skillfully administered appeals to bigotry of Pat Buchanan, who can’t seem to resist disparaging remarks about the excessive representation of Jews in appointive positions, especially the Supreme Court.
(The rest of his comments on the flotilla are worth a read as well.)
It seems that what “sophisticated” media circles abhor and what would result in ostracism – e.g., racism, anti-gay bias — does not include anti-Semitism. Remember that the next time the liberal media lectures us on diversity and bigotry.
A stable, democratic Pakistan would be good for Pakistan and good for the world. We can only hope.
The watchful eye will be that of general kiani, who holds the real focus of power, and who seems to be a sensible, stable patriot, and pro-democrat as well. The politicians just seem to be unable to keep their fingers out of the public purse. Some transparency might help, but let’s hope for the best.
Musharraf ran an authoritarian state, but he was not a tyrant. Whatever his faults, he was on our side and with a picture of Ataturk on his wall.
I fear once Pakistan’s democrats get into the business of playing to the emotions of their countrymen we will yet look back at the general’s administration longingly.
Among other things Asif Ali Zardari, the most likely new prime minister, he is Benazir Bhutto widower, has a history of mental problems. Lots of Pakistanis ostensibly compos mentis, seem problematic to me; but now that.
Hey Gordon,have you seen this? it’s a discussion about AQ and the Taliban’s execution of US assets/informants in Pakistan.
http://www.washingtonindependent.com/141/taliban-al-qaeda-unchecked-in-pakistan
RCAR, this is very interesting. Thanks for the lead.
Gordon,
You’re not going to garner much attention for Pakistan unless you can somehow tie it to Palin’s daughter’s love child or else to Palin’s daughter’s fiance’s facebook page.
That said, four readers care about Pakistan despite the fact that it already has nuclear weapons which are guarded by the folks who tried to assassinate whatshisname, that little fellow who always wears the dapper lambs fetus skin hat in Afghanistan.
Sully, thanks for the great career advice.
Yet despite apparent lack of interest in Pakistan, I will continue to write about the country because it is crucial to the resolution of so many important matters.
I do hope you’re right that large numbers of Pakistanis are now fed up with the twisted notion of democracy that has prevailed in the past. A question: how strong are the fundamentalist forces in Pakistan proper(not including the tribal autonomous regions)? They are capable of some horrible acts of violence, but would they, in a free society with elections, a free press etc. have much appeal to large numbers of Pakistanis?
Stuart Rose, polls I have seen shown that moderates still predominate outside the tribal areas. With Musharraf out of the way, I suspect that extremists will lose ground over time. It is crucial, however, that the next group of leaders establish some measure of stability in short order. Given past rivalries, this will not be easy.