Opinion:

Struggling

I'm struggling to write an essay/post that has been germinating for a while now, and in attempting to get this damn thing out of my head and into writing I have been reading other weblogs to stimulate my mind. On the right-leaning weblogs I've seen endless ranting about how the news media is obviously biased towards the Democrats, as exemplified by the forged memo imbroglio. After getting my fill of that, I turn to the left-leaning weblogs, where I see widespread accusations that the media has an obvious Conservative bias.

Holy mirror-image, Batman!!!!

Perhaps the news media appears biased to both sides because politics has become so distorted that any examination of it becomes an exercise in trying to extract a true image from a fun-house mirror. Joe Gandelman (The Moderate Voice) posted a link at Dean's World today to an editorial by Doug Bandow, described as a Reaganite conservative, at Salon.com of all places. The editorial is well worth reading, despite having to watch an ad for a "day pass" to Salon, not the least of which because it raises the question of whether conservatives "believe in anything other than power? Are they serious about their rhetoric on limited, constitutionally restrained government?" This is a question that can legitimately be asked of liberals as well, given the apparent motivations behind the forged memos.

Perhaps mirror-image is the wrong imagery. When crunch time comes in the quest for power, both sides throw their ideals out the window, both sides say and do whatever it takes to get and keep power. Not a mirror-image at all, for in a mirror right is left, and left is right. More like twins. During this election, we are forced to choose between a man who apparently has no principles upon which to base his policies, and a man who's policies do not conform with his stated principles.

It is past time to demand better of our political parties and our government.