Dear Readers,

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Oct 27, 2003

Byline: Paul M. Rodriguez, INSIGHT

Dear Readers,

Contrary to naysayers mostly on the left, the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger was an exercise in one of the oldest (if sometimes messiest) of American ideals: Power to the people! Yes, a rich Republican started the "spectacle" by organizing the recall-petition drive, but more than 1 million people signed the petition, including sizable numbers of Democrats and independents. On top of this - and again, contrary to naysayers - a historic turnout of Republicans, Democrats, independents, blacks and Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for the movie star. That's democracy, not conspiracy.

What brings this to mind are rumors and loser complaints masked as commentary or news about how the California recall was hijacked. Poppycock. The same can be said of the so-called "scandal" at the Bush White House about leaking the name of former ambassador Joe Wilson's wife. Assuming that nationally syndicated columnist Robert Novak is telling the truth (and there's no reason to doubt that), he was investigating Wilson to find out more about the man who had written a scathing op-ed in the Wall Street Journal accusing the White House of misleading Americans about Iraq's intentions to purchase uranium "yellow cake" from Niger. Novak wrote a column in mid-June that raised questions about Wilson and suspicions that his wife, a CIA employee, was behind an earlier Wilson trip to Niger where he couldn't find that Iraq had sought uranium. Novak also named the woman, which we believe was most unfortunate, because in a subsequent column he revealed he had been asked not to name her.

What's been missing from the yammering to launch Watergate-type hearings is not only a review of why newspapers ran Novak's column, seemingly without question, but also this important fact: It was the CIA that confirmed her employment! Novak says two administration people casually mentioned she worked at the CIA but not until the CIA itself confirmed it and said it would compromise her position did Novak know for certain who she was.

It's also clear that someone snitched to Novak - and, we've learned, to at least six prominent newsmen - prior to the CIA confirmation. Whether this was illegal or just stupid will be determined, as it should be. But, curiously, other newsmen (and their outlets) failed to explain why they didn't name the woman to help put context on this sordid controversy that includes an overlooked and significant question: Why did the CIA sanction the outing of this woman? Talk about motives and conspiracies.

The point here is the importance of putting news into context so that you can figure out what's going on and spot any hidden spin in headlines. You can agree or disagree with a story, but at least you should have access to the facts to make informed decisions. That's what the stories inside offer, from Timothy W. Maier's fascinating cover story about exhuming bodies to Jennifer G. Hickey's always razor-sharp washington diary to J. Michael Waller's in-depth report on a suspected terrorist financier to the article on Peter Paul et al. We've assembled a provocative mix of stories to get your juices flowing in the time-honored tradition of a free press. The result is a people empowered. We've also looked closely at Wesley Clark, Ed Gillespie and the controversial new school in New York City for homosexual kids. These stories - and all the others, including Stephen Goode's "Baseball 101" - are topical, insightful and good companions to the lively debate found in the fair comment and symposium sections Douglas Burton has assembled.

Take your time reading all this and then let us know your thoughts. While you're at it, let me know what we can do better in print (or online) to help you cut through the noise of what others too often pass off as news.

From Washington, I'm your newsman in the bunker. God bless.

Paul M. Rodriguez