Sam Smith: Battle Of The Bulge

SAM SMITH - The failure of the archaic media to evince more than a passing interest in the matter of the bulge in George Bush's back is an excellent example of a preeminent characteristic of the contemporary press: cowardice.

For a reporter to press the matter would be to risk ridicule and/or censure from one's boss, colleagues and sources, in this case including those working in the White House. It is simpler and safer to either ignore the matter or to ridicule it oneself.

For such reasons, I learned long ago to stay from the Washington press corps, knowing that it has much the same deadening effect on one's curiosity and thought as being in any fraternity based on aggressively common presumptions.

Of course, the difference with the media, as opposed, say, to a fundamental religious community, is that the former is supposed to be curious and skeptical. The suppression of inquisitiveness should be considered by journalists a mortal sin; instead they increasingly see it as their professional salvation.

Let us, in this case, assume that the bulge in Bush's back is where he likes to store the paperback he's reading or, in the alternative, is the result of some bad tailoring. In both cases, the explanation is totally benign. Fine, but the White House press corps is large enough to find this out and report it, which it owes the public whenever a question like this is widely raised. At the very least we might learn that the president, contrary to widespread impression, actually reads something albeit being somewhat eccentric in his stowage habits.

What is not acceptable is to dismiss it as a "rumor," which it isn't: the bulge is clearly there. Nor can one use the archaic reporter's favorite excuse these days and blame it on the blogs. And it is certainly more interesting and relevant than whether John Kerry should have mentioned the Cheney's daughter.

But to pursue this story risks ridicule at every level, which is why so much news gets ignored. The press isn't biased so much as it is afraid.

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