The State Mansion of Alaska should have a trophy room for the great American lady in residence. The newest piece should be the stuffed head of ABC”s Charles Gibson who came after Sarah with the red-faced, bleary eyes of a sagging reporter who”s mail is delivered at a bar behind the ABC New York office. A more pompous, puffed-up, barn-sized ego never interrogated a prisoner for the Third Reich.
“What do you have to say of the Bush doctrine?” was Charlie”s big one. You just knew he crafted it for days. Sarah hesitated because she knew there was more than one policy called “The Bush Doctrine.” She responded with a question to determine which of them Charlie meant.
Dr. Charles Krauthammer was the first to call the George W. Bush withdrawal from the ABM and Kyoto treaties “Bush Doctrine.” After 9/11 we heard about the “War on Terror,” Bush Doctrine number two. Iraq”s invasion gave us Bush Doctrine number three according to the scribes and finally his State of the Union expression for “Spreading democracy” was number four according to the folks who buy ink by the barrel.
Bleary-eyed Charles Gibson was either so incompetent he knew not of three of the doctrines or tried to throw Sarah a flaming potato. This is “gotcha journalism” of the kind practiced by people who missed the Gestapo and found no place for their talents. Conversations with these folks will leave you wondering who writes their stuff.
Sometime after WWII real reporting died in America. It is only the compelling television screen”s mind-numbing that keeps the decedent masters of the vacuum tube on their barstools. The Gibson/Palin master tape belongs in the TV Broadcast Hall of Fame”s “End of the Era” exhibit.
Adrian Vance
Lakeport
