Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin's last column appeared today in the newspaper he served so well and which has served him so badly.
In five years and a bit over 1,000 columns under the White House Watch banner, Froomkin did what far too few inside-the-Beltway journalists did.....he refused to accept lies at face value and he pointed out the clear contradictions between spin and reality coming from the administration in power for much of his tenure.
In his final message via the Post, Froomkin spelled out the mountain of lies and deceit which poured from the bush White House:
When I look back on the Bush years, I think of the lies. There were so many. Lies about the war and lies to cover up the lies about the war. Lies about torture and surveillance. Lies about Valerie Plame. Vice President Dick Cheney's lies, criminally prosecutable but for his chief of staff Scooter Libby's lies. I also think about the extraordinary and fundamentally cancerous expansion of executive power that led to violations of our laws and our principles.
He also pays tribute to those members of the journalism corps.....reporters and bloggers....whose coverage stood out
The handful of people who did exceptional investigative reporting during this era really deserve our gratitude: People such as Ron Suskind, Seymour Hersh, Jane Mayer, Murray Waas, Michael Massing, Mark Danner, Barton Gellman and Jo Becker, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau (better late than never), Dana Priest, Walter Pincus, Charlie Savage and Philippe Sands; there was also some fine investigative blogging over at Talking Points Memo and by Marcy Wheeler.
And in an entirely delicious bit of rapier-like esviceration, he called attention to those whose work fell short:
Notably not on this list: The likes of Bob Woodward and Tim Russert. Hopefully, the next time the nation faces a grave national security crisis, we will listen to the people who were right, not the people who were wrong, and heed those who reported the truth, not those who served as stenographers to liars.
Froomkin says he is going to take a few weeks off before announcing his next assignment. For those who want to know as soon as he announces, send him a note at froomkin@gmail.com.
Best of luck Dan. You were one of the brightest parts of the Post's offerings and unfortunately, the paper's waning star is much diminished by your departure. You were right.....over and over and over, and obviously, that has been a continued embarrassment to the many on the masthead whose foibles and failures you have exposed.