I don’t expect U.S. News & World Report to turn over a new leaf by abandoning unsourced stories full of unattributed opinion, but I credit editor Brian Kelly for admitting in the latest issue that his magazine’s past Bush bashing might have missed the mark.
Remember, this was the magazine that asked in a spring 2007 cover story subheadline: “Is He Resolute ? or Delusional?”
In the 15 months since then, a lot of things haven’t improved for
the president. His approval rating hovers near historic lows. His hopes
to push through reforms on immigration, education, and energy appear to
be dashed. But the war has seen a remarkable turnaround, in large part
because of the hard decisions he made. Historians will sift the Bush
legacy for years?as will we?but at this point it’s fair to say that the
first draft of history will show that he had the fortitude to execute
one very tough call, and so far the country’s better off for it.I raise this because, as a rule, journalists aren’t very good about
looking back at their work. We’re genetically programmed to sniff out
the next story. But on big issues, I think we owe it to our readers to
revisit our reporting and examine our performance from time to time. Or
at least tell you how the story turned out. This seemed like one of
those times.
