Intemperate Speech a Cause for Concern

I wish our President were a little more self-controlled in his speech, but it seems to me that there is a significant difference between, on the one hand, a man — even a President — who is prone to spouting off ungraciously, and, on the other hand, virtually an entire national press and punditry united in making scurrilous and unfounded accusations against the duly elected President.

One intemperate man is an unfortunate demonstration of flawed character. The nation’s press engaging in a concerted effort to promote a false narrative is something else, and, for those who actually value the idea of democracy, something much more significant. (After all, if the Russians’ modest efforts to influence the election are a serious concern, how much more serious must be concern about the influence of a grossly biased and inaccurate — or even deceptive — mainstream press?)

It is the fashion to erupt in righteous fury with every clumsy, inarticulate, or just plain rude comment from our President. I’m still waiting for the expressions of outrage from the public, and contrition from the press, that should follow two years of false accusations of treasonous complicity with a hostile foreign power.

We strain at boorish gnats, while swallowing the mendacious machinations of a corrupt Fourth Estate. Trump will be gone in five years. The smugly corrupt press and opinion-making elite will still be with us. That is a legitimate reason for some righteous fury.