The 90's will be politically characterized as an era of smear campaigns and the political spin. Politics have become more visibly viscous than they were in the past and the press is eager to get stories, no matter the cost.
I would be willing to predict that the next president (either Dem or Rep)will face similar the same atmosphere. We are in the age where campaign contributions can be huge, whether it be Bernard Schwartz giving to the Dems or the Tobacco companies giving to the Reps. It is one reason most individuals, including myself, have begun to tone out what happens in Washington.
The press in the Loral/China situation has done a rather poor job of reporting what actually happened, and most people on the street think that Loral sold nuclear secrets to the Chinese. Satellite companies and businesses are largely misunderstood by the public anyway, so the people don't know any better. Chris Matthews on Hardball has done a particularly poor job on reporting the events, and has not presented Loral and Hughes positions on the story at all. An unbiased press has the obligation to present both sides (when they are available, I agree that with Clinton, both sides have not always been available). Loral and Hughes have categorically stated what happened in the 96 explosion and the resulting investigation, and actually, the government has stated no opinion whatsoever on what happened. We have only heard leaks in the press, etc. No direct account from the government on whether they believe secrets were transferred.
The fact that the grand jury has been investigating for 2 years and have not named Loral or Hughes as targets of the investigation should tell something.
For those who subscribe to the Online WSJ, they have a couple of articles that are starting to sort the facts out more and are worth a read. Evidently the White House has turned over documents regarding the granting of the waiver for a China launch of a SS/L satellite, and it was a pretty normal process. We will see how the press reports.
My first and last political statement. |
