The dark arts

Glenn Greenwald pens another mighty essay, this time on the latest "Free Scooter" rant by Richard Cohen.

One could write media criticisms for the next several years and not come close to capturing the essence of our Beltway media the way Cohen did in this single paragraph:

With the sentencing of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Fitzgerald has apparently finished his work, which was, not to put too fine a point on it, to make a mountain out of a molehill. At the urging of the liberal press (especially the New York Times), he was appointed to look into a run-of-the-mill leak and wound up prosecuting not the leaker -- Richard Armitage of the State Department -- but Libby, convicted in the end of lying. This is not an entirely trivial matter since government officials should not lie to grand juries, but neither should they be called to account for practicing the dark art of politics. As with sex or real estate, it is often best to keep the lights off.

That really is the central belief of our Beltway press, captured so brilliantly by Cohen in this perfect nutshell. When it comes to the behavior of our highest and most powerful government officials, our Beltway media preaches, "it is often best to keep the lights off." If that isn't the perfect motto for our bold, intrepid, hard-nosed political press, then nothing is.

That is the motto that should be inscribed at the top of Fred Hiatt's Editorial Page in pretty calligraphy. And let us acknowledge what a truly superb job they have been doing in keeping the lights off.

You really must read the whole thing. The past six years have been an intriguing glimpse into the collective mind of the Washington establishment, coinciding so nicely with the arrival of King George II. The mindset is one of elitism and clubishness. Serious men and women all, they see their duties and responsibilities to be crushing, but ones that must be done outside the sight of an ignorant public. That came through again and again in the "Free Scooter" letters to Judge Walton. Regardless of what we used to call "political affiliation (and we now realize that their real affiliation is to their own powerful kind)," the letter writers consistently referred to Libby's immense responsibility to keep America safe -- a responsibility so great that it far outweighted such niceties as telling the truth to FBI agents and Grand Juries.

Cohen now goes even further. In practicing "the dark art of politics," said practitioners should be permitted to practice without the nosy oversight of the rubes, the dirty fucking hippies, and "the antiwar left."

And, by the way, it wasn't the urging of the "liberal press, (especially The New York Times)," the investigation began at the urging of the CIA.

If Cohen isn't awarded a Golden Wanker for this, there truly is no justice. Mona Charen seconds my emotion.

Richard Cohen on Libby [Mona Charen]

The Post's Richard Cohen zeroes in on the hypocrisy of the press on the Libby matter (always a good topic). This is quite an impassioned argument for sparing Libby and coming from a lib should be praised.