INTERESTING TIMES….John Podhoretz is a charter member of the lunatic right, but even he thinks that Hurricane Katrina might have provoked a sea change in both the way the press treats George Bush as well as the way his own staff treats him:
What’s interesting about the stories [in Time and Newsweek] is that they suggest there’s been a change at the Bush White House because they feature unnamed sources saying nasty things about the president. One of the remarkable aspects of this White House has been the fanatical loyalty its people have displayed toward Bush ? even talking to friendly journalists like me, it’s been nearly impossible to get past the feel-good spin. If that’s really changing, if staffers are beginning to separate themselves from their boss emotionally and indulge in on-background carping and cavilling, then two things are true. 1) Bush is about to suffer the agony that has afflicted all previous recent administrations ? the “who said that!” rages that distract our leaders and make them feel isolated in their jobs. 2) News stories are about to get a whole lot more interesting, and White House reporters are going to stop complaining about how hard it is to cover Bush.
Hmmm. What’s that old Chinese proverb about interesting times? With that in mind, I think it would be very nice indeed if news stories about Bush suddenly got “a whole lot more interesting.”
