A Boston Tea Party …(How The Hell Did That Happen)

(Imagine the theme from the TV show “Mission Impossible”)

Your mission George, should you decide to accept it is, to convince the American people that progress is actually being made in Iraq. You will need to take on the mainstream media types directly. If they are allowed to continue to define the results in Iraq in their biased way the war may be in jeopardy. As usual, should you fail in this mission the government will disavow any knowledge of it. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, George.

This week President Bush decided to stop sending out his press secretary to face the yapping cha-wow-wows known as the mainstream media. He stood in the firing line and answered the accusatory questions with firm, direct, and honest answers. For a brief shining moment he played offense at its very best. The negative questions kept coming and he remained poised and heartfelt. The remainder of the week has had the media back on its heels trying to justify its actions to the American public.

The President stated publicly what conservative talk show hosts and soldiers have been saying quite some time. The media has brought an agenda to its reporting of this war for far to long. Negative stories outnumbered positive war stories three or four to one. I challenge anyone to name five positive stories the media has covered other than the elections in Iraq. Those stories exist but fail to get any coverage. The American soldiers who have committed acts of heroism should be household names in this country but instead go unnoticed. Imagine if the opposite were true and positive stories outnumbered negative ones by the same ratio of three to one. America would have a very different perspective of the war.

Most people in this country base their views of the war on what they see or read. It is the responsibility of the media to cover the entire story of the war and not just half of it. Personal bias is not part of a reporter’s job description. I don’t care what Helen Thomas or David Gregory thinks. I just want the facts and by that I mean ALL the facts. The President must continue to challenge the media to present every aspect of this war. The press conference this week showed someone acting as a leader. If he can display that leadership more than just periodically his poll rating will go up.

A suggestion for his next press conference would be to surround himself with military medal honorees and tell their stories of heroism. He could then ask the media why these soldier’s stories had not been covered on a national basis. It is a national embarrassment that we don’t know more about the progress being made in Iraq. When we win this war America is going to ask “how the hell did that happen”? The media has painted a picture of mission impossible.