And none of the three broadcast networks quoted President Bush's refusal to answer a question about whether he sent Andy Card and Alberto Gonzales on a possibly illegal and certainly inappropriate trip to John Ashcroft's hospital room. Nor did The Washington Post(though the paper mentioned it in an editorial) or USA Today or theChicago Tribune or the Los Angeles Times or countless other news organizations.
Journalism may be the first draft of history, but that does not mean its practitioners are immune from history's judgment. Those who fail to do everything they can to educate the public about presidential lawlessness relating to torture and domestic spying will find that judgment can be harsh.
But can we wait that long? Or will it then be too late to undo the damage done by a lawless and torture-happy administration (inadvertently aided and abetted by an insufficiently vigorous press corps) to the ideals and values that distinguish us from the enemy we claim to oppose?
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