<$BlogRSDUrl$>

My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2005-01-12

This Didn't Take Long

The next morning, and the WaPo is already taking shots at the President's new nominee to head Homeland Security:

Michael Chertoff, President Bush's nominee to be secretary of homeland security, is widely hailed for his intellectual heft and tireless work habits as a federal prosecutor and judge. But he also faces criticism as an architect of some of the most controversial elements of the Bush administration's domestic war on terrorism that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. . . .

"We're very concerned that Judge Chertoff views immigration solely through the lens of national security and counterterrorism, and that his record on counterterrorism needs to be closely examined," said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, a civil liberties group.

Of course, the only other group cited as critical of Chertoff is the ACLU, so. . .

What concerns me is that advocacy groups are now the vanguard of journalistic influence-makers, and that the journalists are going straight to them for talking points before they even introduce the candidate. This is a subtle type of advocacy that paints the candidate--and the administration--into a corner and on the defensive from the get-go.

Not that it surprises me; just concerns. . .
Posted by: Michael / 1/12/2005 01:25:00 AM

Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?