At the same time, news consumers ought to be fair about their own biases. When I wrote stories about Clinton, some readers constantly complained that I was too easy on him. They seemed to want nothing less than news articles to label him a lying scumbag in every fourth paragraph. If you believe that George W. Bush is unintelligent, lazy, deceptive or whatever, mainstream news accounts probably will never seem tough enough. If you think Bush is exceptionally wise, insightful and energetic, you'll probably think the press is going too hard on him.
Trade is more important than war.
That would have made the diplomatic situation much, much tougher. Apparently his discomfort in answering even the most innocuous of questions is contagious. I've read two pieces by journalists describing how embarrassed they were for him. I felt that way about his answers in the third debate particularly. Thanks for writing.