If there was a sin against the public interest, it was in the desire to retain control over what was a still-chaotic situation. But it is a minor sin. There was no coverup, nothing to cover up. There was no scandal. It hardly merited the quite overwrought charges of excessive secrecy, imperial arrogance, abuse of power and other choice selections from the lexicon of Nixoniana.
Secrecy? This was hardly an affair of state. And it was hardly going to be kept secret. Arrogance? The media laying these charges are the same media that just last week unilaterally decided that the public’s right to know did not extend to seeing cartoons that had aroused half the world, burned a small part of it and deeply affected the American national interest. Having arrogated to themselves the judgment of what a free people should be allowed to see regarding an issue that is literally burning, they then go ballistic over a few hours’ delay in revealing an accident with only the most trivial connection to the nation’s interest or purpose.
Exactly. As one radio talk show host I listen to mentioned, if there had been a terrorist attack this week, it probably would’ve made page 2 of the New York Times since there wouldn’t have been space given all the coverage of this “important” national story.
At the most, this was a public relations mistake on the part of Cheney’s office. Maybe, just maybe, they should’ve gotten a statement out to the press earlier that they did. In the end, though, this remains the same non-story it was at the beginning of the week.
Technorati Tag: Dick Cheney
