Tilting at Windmills

Washington Monthly, March, 2004 by Charles Peters

Believe him or not

"Don't worry, just tell me what you know, and I promise never to tell who told me," is the siren song that a reporter uses to lure sources into talking. Should you trust the journalist? If he's Michael Brick of The New York Times, I would urge caution.

In a recent article about bars that still permit customers to smoke despite the city's recent prohibition, Brick tells how in preparation for the article, "Bartenders were interviewed with the assurance that they not be named and that identifying details of their establishment would not be revealed." Later in the article, he tells about "a bright and festively ornamented bar in Brooklyn where a tight group of regulars gather nightly to drink away the day's frustration, to work crossword puzzles and argue about word derivations. It is perhaps the only etymology bar in the city."

Susan and Sentelle

Susan McDougal recently sought reimbursement from the government for the $354,000 legal bill she ran up while she was being hounded by Ken Starr. McDougal may not have been the most innocent of lambs, but it is clear that the Start Gestapo would not have pursued her had it not been for her friendship with the Clintons. The pictures of her in shackles are an embarrassment to American justice. But her plea for reimbursement has been turned down, reports The Washington Post, by "a panel led by U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David B. Sentelle." The Post neglected to note that Sentelle, after consulting with his patrons, Republican Sens. Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth, led the panel that appointed Ken Starr as the independent counsel who went after McDougal. Nor did the Post mention that soon thereafter Mrs. Sentelle was rewarded with a job in Sen. Faircloth's office. The latter fact has been so underreporterd by the press that when I once mentioned it on C-SPAN, the very well-informed Brian Lamb--the man devours newspapers--gave me a look of disbelief and asked: "Are you sure about that?"

Brave union leader

A headline I never thought I would see: "Union urges faster removal of incompetent teachers." But there it was in the Jan. 15 New York Times, above a story by David Herszenhorn that began:

"The New York City teachers' union proposed yesterday cutting to six months the time it takes to remove incompetent teachers, speeding a process that can now drag on for years."

Judging from past experience, Randi Weingarten, the union's leader, will face pressure from her less-talented members to forget about this proposal. But if she does follow through, she'll be guaranteed a place in my Hall of Fame.

The county scandal

One of the grandest public inefficiencies in America is the multitude of county governments. West Virginia has 55, an average of one for every 30,000 people. Each has its courts, sheriff, assessor, and other county functionaries with staffs and offices. Within each county there are also towns with mayors, city councils, police chiefs, and fire departments. Among the unhappy consequences are lots of officials with little to do. State Sen. Brooks McCabe, with the support of Gov. Bob Wise, is trying to do something about this insanity. Every state should be doing the same, because the problem is nationwide. The reason behind the present county system was explained by one official to Kris Wise of the Charleston Daily Mail: "When counties first began, the idea was to have the courthouse be no more than a day's walk or buggy ride away. Things have changed, but the structure hasn't."

The gotcha game

When Peter Jennings, during the final New Hampshire debate, asked John Edwards to "tell us what you know about the practice of Islam that would reassure Muslims throughout the world that President Edwards understands their religion," for a moment I suspected that Jennings was playing gotcha, trying to show up the hick from North Carolina. But, I told myself, maybe Jennings is seriously interested. After all, we should know about Islam. But then, a little later, my suspicion returned when Jennings asked Edwards this about the Defense of Marriage Act: "Senator Kerry was one of the 14 senators who voted against it. I'd like to know from you whether or not you think he was right or wrong and why."

Edwards was not, as Jennings acknowledged, in the Senate when the act was passed. But beyond that, how many people, including the reporters on the panel, before they had been briefed by their researchers, had more than a faint idea about what the Defense of Marriage Act says? Most of us knew little more than that it was anti-gay.

But that didn't stop Brit Hume from following Jennings with a series of questions about the act, clearly trying to bait Edwards into an embarrassing answer. Edwards gamely started out trying to deal with the questions, but finally, exasperated, he said: "Why don't we talk about what's happening in the country? For example, there's been no discussion of 35 million Americans who live in poverty every day. Millions of Americans work full time for a minimum wage and live in poverty."