Rumsfeld, much thanks to Bush's continued support of this despicable man, may have helped do one key things that may one day make America a better country.
First, look at the uproar made by the Right in regards to the whole controversial "conversation" with the troops. It was not so much the question posed by the soldier to Rumsfeld that was controversial, but rather how the soldier got the question to begin with. Ooh, the media used that poor boy to ask him a question they knew they could never ask Rummy, and the media, along with the soldier, should be condemned for that, not Rummy.
Such idiocy does not deserve mere mentioning, but I do so only to bring about a bigger point: if anything, if the Right is even partially correct about this, then they helped expose to the world a big flaw in our media. Having been so in bed with the government and cheerleading their every move, they are forced to get soldiers to ask them the questions they really want answered. In essence, the media has lost pretty much all its power, power now left for the rest of us to claim.
There is a reason why "blog" was the #1 word for 2004 - it is because blogs are the new wave of the future for inquisitive, innovative, no-nonsense media and journalism. Have we really needed to give a soldier a question in the manner that one journalist did? Not to my knowledge. We have always put forth our own questions and our own demands for answers. It's been the mainstream media, the main conduit, that hasn't bothered to return our calls much less take our questions. The reason simply is that our media today cannot afford to ask tough questions to our government officials for fear of losing power.
The sad paradox is that by that reason alone, they have already lost it.
Power is essentially the ability to exert one's influence over another by force or some other means. Since when has our media had such an influence in government today? For every Keith Obbermann take down on the Ohio election results, we have one Dan Rather recant at the behest of right-wing propaganda machines and politicians. Why do you think the public, despite their duplicity in succumbing to whatever the mainstream media tells them, has such a low opinion of the overall media in this country?
It's simple: nobody has a high opinion of anyone being somebody's bitch. The media of today no longer has that ability to make the government talk about what it's doing to its citizenry; it only has the ability to take the daily ram up the ass it gets from them.
That's why the Right made such a big deal about the journalist rather than the question. When you are someone's bitch, you are always their bitch, 24/7. You don't deviate from the script - you do what you are told, only what you are told. If you don't, you get pounded for not being a good bitch.
I agree with the diarist who said that Democrats of today are like abuse spouses who haven't found the nerve to rebel against the abuser. Democrats need to look at today's media and that whole episode involving Rummy to understand what their future will be unless they stand up to the Right Wing Propaganda Machine (RWPM). Our Founding Fathers understood why the press had to be a watchdog of the government: the day they become the cheerleader is the day they become the bitch. Once that happens, it is very hard to regain any sort of stature without some major change. The problem is that our media is so large and so in bed with lobbyists and the government that it cannot do that major change.
The thing is most of the blogs of today already see that and are aggressively assuming the watchdog role the press was supposed to embody. We take no prisoners, and for most of us, forget all the political correctness about keeping hidden our own political stances. I have a feeling that during the next presidential election, it will be the blogs that will control the coverage. If we stick to our guns and ensure that our voices be heard, then the media will have no choice but to listen to us and allow our viewpoints to be articulated.
As you can see here, implying that the media may very well be our bitches as well before it's all said and done, it's too late for the mainstream media. They had their chance numerous times. Now all their power is delegated by our government. The only power they have is the control over local TV and radio markets, but even those are being labeled obsolete, just like AM was labeled when FM came along. With satellite radio and internet access now the rising dominating force of communications, the whole Rummy/soldier spectacle may be the ultimate indicator that the mainstream media of today could be left in the dust before this decade's over.