I’m sure this is the answer:  But it’s increasingly clear that sympathy is not enough. It’s not only money and better policy that are missing in these circles; it’s norms. The health of society is primarily determined by the habits and virtues of its citizens. In many parts of America there are no minimally agreed upon standards for what it means to be a father. There are no basic codes and rules woven into daily life, which people can absorb unconsciously and follow automatically. Reintroducing norms will require, first, a moral vocabulary. These norms weren’t destroyed because of people with … Continue reading David Brooks Thinks We Need to Out-Judge Poverty

No shit, David Gregory:  On top of the ratings meltdown, Gregory had found himself mired in embarrassing on-air flaps. He violated Washington, D.C.’s gun laws by waving a 30-round magazinein front of the camera during an interview with the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre. And he was widely criticized for musing about whether Glenn Greenwald should be prosecuted for having “aided and abetted” NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Gregory had never been a natural heir to Tim Russert, even by his own admission. According to a former staffer, when Gregory got the job in 2008, he told a Russert producer, “I think one of … Continue reading Today in Political Reporters Who Hate Reporting on Politics and Politicians

Jeb Bush, the new seriousness!  Bush’s speech wasn’t exactly a barn burner. His delivery was rushed and unconvincing, though he was more at ease during the question period. He was criticized for a lack of specificity. But Bush offered something far more important than specificity. He offered a sense of his political style and temperament, which in itself presents a grownup and civil alternative to the Giuliani-style pestilence that has plagued the Republic for the past 25 years. Are you kidding me? I mean it, are you kidding? Joke Line (who in case you needed reminding is a truly horrible … Continue reading Joe Klein Knows What’s Really Important: THE TONE

WIN THE MORNING:  The journalists who raised the red flags on O’Reilly’s statements — David Corn and Daniel Schulman, of Mother Jones — started at a disadvantage. These weren’t war veterans who felt wronged by O’Reilly’s portrayal of events. They were liberal reporters at an admittedly liberal magazine going after the paragon of right-wing punditry. No matter what goods they had on O’Reilly, it would be easy for him to dismiss these detractors as left-wing zealots bent on his destruction (which he did.) Yeah! They’re liberals at a liberal magazine with liberal leanings and liberal tendencies and they probably smoke liberal weed and have … Continue reading The Facts Don’t Matter if You’re Liberal, Guys!

If these people worked on mimeograph machines, or their job was just to stand in the town square yelling the news at people, they would still find a way to fuck it up:  Circulation was falling fast when I joined the paper in September 2010, and I suspect this panicked the owners. Waves of sackings started, and the management made it plain that it believed the future of the British press to be digital. Murdoch MacLennan, the chief executive, invited me to lunch at the Goring Hotel near Buckingham Palace, where Telegraph executives like to do their business. I urged him not … Continue reading Newspapers Don’t Need Help From the Internet to Kill Journalism