Ayatollah Khomeini

Mike Wallace: The Death Of A Journalistic Icon

This coming Sunday, CBS’s Sixty Minutes, the longest news “magazine” in television history (since 1968), will pay tribute to its longest lasting correspondent, and a true journalistic icon, Mike Wallace.

Wallace died last weekend at the age of 93, after having served with CBS News for more than half a century, and being one of the originators of Sixty Minutes, which set a standard for journalism that has not been matched anywhere for hard hitting, investigative, and controversial news coverage.

Mike Wallace was famous, or infamous depending on who was giving an opinion, for aggressive, challenging and persistent questioning of famous, and not so famous, people, including Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, and every American President since Gerald Ford.

Wallace was not shy or reserved in any form, and that was what was most admirable about him. He made a lot of enemies, and wore their hatred as a badge of honor.

He represented the best in American journalism, believing that his job was to expose evil, wrong doing, and scandal, no matter where or who it fell on. He never apologized for his hard hitting style, and became a model for future journalism.

Journalists are not what they are to glorify or cover up for those who govern in any nation. They are not there to support wrong doing, or be concerned about attacks by politicians or foreign leaders. They are not there to do the whim of an employer, and are not to play politics themselves. Wallace was always true to his principles and beliefs.

Journalists are there to promote truth, and inform the public of that truth!

Mike Wallace set a standard for others that will not easily be matched in the future, but we are far better for his commitment to his profession! He will not be forgotten!

The Change In The Democratic Party Image On Foreign Policy: From JFK To Obama

Ever since the failure of John F. Kennedy to overthrow Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs fiasco in April, 1961, Democratic Presidents have had to carry the burden of being perceived as weak and ineffective in foreign policy.

Of course, this is not totally the truth as John F. Kennedy negotiated very skillfully through the Cuban Missile Crisis a year after the Bay of Pigs, but the concept stuck to the party image.

In so many cases, it proved to be true in many people’s minds.

Lyndon Johnson escalated our involvement in Vietnam, and could not resolve the conflict in a satisfactory manner, and was forced out of the race for the Presidency in 1968 as a result.

Jimmy Carter was unable to accomplish the goal of rescuing the 52 hostages being held in Iran after the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. and the humiliation of those hostages being held for 444 days still rankles many Americans.

Carter’s inability to stop Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, and the problems involved in the Cuban wave of immigrants to Florida, known as the Mariel Boat Lift, also doomed his image.

Bill Clinton’s constant threats to intervene in Bosnia with air power, a total of eleven threats, before actual intervention in a successful way, also doomed him as being perceived as weak and ineffective.

The fact that JFK not only handled the Cuban Missile Crisis expertly, but also brought about the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, is forgotten.

The fact that Carter brought about the Panama Canal Treaty and the Egyptian Israeli Camp David Accords is forgotten.

The fact that Bill Clinton brought about the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the fighting in Bosnia; the successful intervention in Kosovo by NATO; and the peace arrangement in Northern Ireland is also forgotten.

And, of course, the fact that Barack Obama overcame the Somali Pirates seizure of a merchant ship in 2009 is also forgotten, conveniently.

But now, with the death of Osama Bin Laden, and the gathering of much evidence that should help the apprehending of more Al Qaeda terrorist operatives, suddenly the reputation of Democratic Presidents may be undergoing a renaissance!

It will be very difficult for the Republican Party to sully the reputation of Barack Obama, as they have been doing for the past two plus years, as a result of this gutsy, courageous, daring decision by Obama to take a chance, realizing it could have been total failure, but demonstrating resolve and commitment to the principle of fighting terrorism wherever it is!

So from April 17, 1961 to the first day of May 2011, exactly fifty years and two weeks apart, the image of the Democrats has now been transformed for the good of the future of the “party of the people”!