The oldest rule in press-management, and one of the hardest to obey, is that when news is really bad, you need to get it out really fast. The Bridge of San Luis Rey . The U.S. pressure started under Dwight Eisenhower, and eight presidents later Fidel Castro is still there. The political scene is full of people who, by ordinary standards of embarrassment and shame, might well decide to find life intolerable. I think it has to do with a fear of being left out, even of being old.
Reporters naturally squirm when cast in the role of ethicists.
The first duty of any campaign is to be smart and win, but politicians become hacks when they think of winning as their ultimate duty too. Historically we admire leaders who stand for something beyond the least it takes for victory. But years from now his will seem the more prophetic statement. Perhaps there is a different group whose wrath the author fears even more. The mistake of Buchanan's opponents is to act as if any question about the impact of trade is so outrageous that it cannot even be raised.