a member of the media does the right thing

(Laughter.) The senator now says we’d have to pass some international truth standard. The truth is we should never turn America’s national security decisions over to international bodies or leaders of other countries. (Applause.) -Dubya

In an article about this Bush quote William Saletan in Slate closes with this paragraph:

I know I’ve been hard on the president lately. I’d like to say something nice about him. I’d like to be “fair and balanced.” But my first responsibility as a reporter is to the truth. When one candidate tells half the truth, and the other says the truth doesn’t matter, it becomes irresponsible for me or any other journalist not to report that by that standard—the standard of respecting the truth standard—one candidate is head and shoulders above the other.

God damn, I’ve been wishing for more people in the media to say this. The constant attempts at staying balanced means that any one side can do and say ridiculous things and no matter how absurd the media will just reply with things like “analysts doubt the administrations assertions”.

I’ve also been day-dreaming about media folks breaking down and just blurting out “I can’t take it anymore, vote for Kerry!”