Rant

Over the weekend it was tough to find relief from the Ronald Reagan lovefest. Yes, it's big news when a former president dies, and yes, Reagan was a major figure. But it was galling to see newsmen fall all over themselves to praise the guy. If I hear one more time how much the Gipper loved jelly beans...

I thought NPR might put Reagan in proper perspective. After all, plenty of rotten stuff occurred on Reagan's long watch. Anyone remember Iran-Contra? How about the U.S. alliance with a madman named Saddam Hussein, who used chemical weapons with nary a complaint from the White House? How about that record budget deficit he piled up? Then there was that little thing where he fired 12,000 air traffic controllers. But no. NPR, you see, has abandoned its anti-establishment, no-fluff past. Studies show it, no less. NPR has recently secured a firm position a notch to the right of center. If there were any doubt about that, the radio network's fawning Reagan death coverage eliminated it. NPR gushed about Reagan's great sense of humor, his storytelling skills, his reputation as the "Great Communicator." It chatted with all his old buddies, who reveled in Reagan nostalgia. Ick. If that was the tone of NPR's coverage, I can only imagine what was happening on Fox News.--Geoff Schumacher