Dispatches From When The Country Went Crazy: Chapter III

Digby reminds me of this seminal Matt Taibbi article on one of the final pre-war press conferences:

Particularly revolting was the spectacle of the cream of the national press corps submitting politely to the indignity of obviously pre-approved questions, with Bush not even bothering to conceal that the affair was scripted.

Abandoning the time-honored pretense of spontaneity, Bush chose the order of questioners not by scanning the room and picking out raised hands, but by looking down and reading from a predetermined list. Reporters, nonetheless, raised their hands in between questions–as though hoping to suddenly catch the president’s attention.

In other words, not only were reporters going out of their way to make sure their softballs were pre-approved, but they even went so far as to act on Bush’s behalf, raising their hands and jockeying in their seats in order to better give the appearance of a spontaneous news conference.

This is sort of a long way of nudging folks to check out Bill Moyers' documentary on the pre-war reporting. Today, the Democrats will pass a bill demanding withdrawal, and soon, George W. Bush will veto it. We are in a war that, despite the overwhelming opposition of the American people, our president won't let us end. How much better a world we'd have had it never started. And without the press's sycophancy, maybe it wouldn't have. Now is a time to look back, not in sadness, but in anger.

Related: Great moments in punditry.