strib's short cuts

[question everything]

Those pesky principles

"Deep down, many Americans are prone to think that it is results, not principles, that matter. Some of us find worrying over abstract principles like truth to be boring and irrelevant nitpicking, best left to the nerds who watch C-Span and worry about whether the death penalty is 'fair.' "

Michael P. Lynch, from his book "True to Life: Why Truth Matters," as excerpted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 10.


What Kerry needs

"John Kerry has begun to make the case that the president's adherence to failed policies shows not strength of character, but weakness. To turn that critique into victory, however, Mr. Kerry must show some character, too -- by being honest as well as bold."

Washington Monthly editor Paul Glastris, writing in the New York Times.



Held to a higher standard

"So now a variety of bloggers, political operatives, talk-show hosts and right-wing pundit-types want to know when Dan Rather will resign over the Killian memos.

"I assume that these same worthies will be calling for President Bush to resign any day now, right?

"The parallels are obvious when you think about it, and on many levels. I mean, surely, if Rather should resign because '60 Minutes II' got snowed by a source and ran a story on documents that turned out to be fraudulent, then Bush should resign after he and his administration made false claims about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs based on documents that turned out to be fraudulent. Right? Especially since those claims helped get us into a war in which over 1,000 Americans have died. (Rather's mistake was considerably less costly.)

"I'll await the calls for Bush's head, but without much suspense."

Nick Confessore, the American Prospect Online.


http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/4999123.html