Diseducation and Congress
I would put this in the humor category, but then, it's really not that funny. Media bigotry has never been more in evidence in the coverage of recent American politics than it is in the current flap over the firing of a handful of federal prosecutors by the Bush administration. Democrats in charge in Congress and their flagrant allies in the news media are out to use these firings as a whip to drive Karl Rove out of office.
Do these people have a leg to stand on?
No.
President Clinton, over the course of his administration, fired over one hundred and twenty federal prosecutors. Ninety-three of them were fired at one time for no cause at all, an unprecedented political toll in recent presidential politics. This, interestingly, raised no hackles in the press who scream so loudly today.
Were these Bush administration firings illegal? No one is saying they were. They are merely being used as a pretext for congressional hearings, jeering, and saber-rattling. The coverage, though is accomplished with the same breathless tone that would accompany a terrorist bombing in Washington, D.C.
Why?
Simple. The Press know that most of us DON'T know what the president's powers are. They are willing to keep us ignorant of such things and use that ignorance as a nose-ring to lead us to the conclusion that the administration has been following a corrupt course. Were we to make such a conclusion and then compare history with the Clinton administration it would be clear that they were vastly more corrupt, but the press will not volunteer that information for us, will they?
This is actually the fault of the president. He should be up front and come out in as many venues as possible to say he fired these people for political purposes, period. They serve at his pleasure. If he doesn't like the cut of their collars he can fire them for fashion insensitivity if he so desires. President Bush must not allow the congress to intimidate him into running the administration by their proxy.
Keep Karl Rove. Keep Alberto Gonzales. Stick it in the press's eye. Tell the American people what powers the president has over the offices he runs. An educated public is not the Democrats' friend. They will shut up to eliminate the controversy that threatens to educate us.
