title: Speaking Truth to Power Becomes Sucking Up to Power
authors: Daniel J. Flynn, E. Donald Elliott, Geoff Shepard, J.T. Young, John C. Wohlstetter, Philip Leigh
content: Despite a past Democratic nominee inventing the internet , the current party standard bearer struggles terribly with gizmos , gadgets , and other doohickeys associated with interweb technology .
  Hackers CC the emails of since-removed DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz , Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta , and current DNC chair Donna Brazile to , well , everyone . But Hillary Clinton wants us to believe that foreign hackers overlooked her inclusion of classified documents on a private server . They just targeted all of her friends and ignored her .
  Sure , and she “ lost ” those 13 missing Blackberry devices the FBI wanted , too .
  One secretary of state ’ s indiscretion is the same presidential candidate ’ s discretion . She failed to protect classified documents in an effort to protect herself . Freedom of Information Act requests and Congressional subpoenas for public records prove terrible nuisances to one ’ s political ambitions . Best for the candidate to keep her doings secret — from her government but none of the others .
  Clinton corrupted her office . So , too , do her well-wishers in the Fourth Estate who misheard “ speaking truth to power ” in journalism school as “ sucking up to power . ”
  “ From time to time I get the questions in advance , ” Donna Brazile informed Clinton campaign manager John Podesta . Brazile , supposedly impartial as both a CNN employee and DNC official , provided Clinton ’ s campaign manager with the text of a question on the death penalty asked the next day at a CNN debate between Mrs. Clinton and Bernie Sanders . She allegedly received the question from TV One ’ s Roland Martin , also supposedly impartial as a moderator of the town hall-style debate .
  Donald Trump juxtaposed Charles Van Doren receiving the answers on rigged 1950s game show Twenty One , which The Apprentice host misidentified as The $ 64,000 Question , with Clinton receiving the heads up for the town-hall test . It ’ s called cheating , and Van Doren resigned from his position at Columbia University in disgrace after owning up to participating in such a fraud . One suspects that a job at CNN , or some other network , awaits Brazile when the campaign ends .
  It turns out that the rube in the red “ Make America Great Again ” trucker hat shouting “ Clinton News Network ” at Trump rallies offered the most insightful analysis of Election 2016 . When Trump cited the media as “ dishonest ” and “ corrupt ” in calling the election “ rigged ” at Wednesday ’ s debate he came off as a premature sore loser and more significantly stripped himself of the “ winner ” aura that has served him well since the primaries . Like many political figures , he misspoke but spoke truth .
  Lest CNN rigging debates for Clinton leaves an impression of malfeasance occurring at a lone , low-rated cable network , WikiLeaks offers a trove of emails revealing the message coordination between the press and the politicians .
  Politico ’ s chief political correspondent Glenn Thrush , correctly identifying himself as a “ hack , ” sent an article on Clinton to her campaign manager for vetting with the plaintive petition “ please don ’ t share or tell anyone I did this. ” Haim Saban , co-owner of Univision , advised the Clinton campaign to more aggressively counter Trump ’ s stance on immigration . John Harwood , a moderator of a Republican debate last year , seconded Obama ’ s notion of the “ opposition party veering off the rails ” in one email to Podesta . “ Amazing , ” the CNBC reporter and New York Times contributor wrote to Podesta in another , “ that some people still think it ’ s worth burning so much interview time with person most likely to be next president on her emails . ”
  Podesta himself , barring incoming emails about benevolent extraterrestrials helping to alleviate global warming , comes across as more grounded and less rabid than the campaign ’ s votaries in the media . You can ’ t blame the campaign manager for cultivating the cultish journalists for his cause . And one sympathizes with him in his efforts dodging and ducking a stalking David Brock , a man with many “ eccentricities ” that Podesta speculates falls into the “ unhinged narcissist ” category . But when the guy with the UFO tic looks like the sanest one in the chatroom , well , you can fill in the rest .
  Journalists predictably report on their own shady emails with even less zeal than they reported on Hillary Clinton ’ s not-so-shielded ones . “ Remember , it ’ s illegal to possess these stolen documents , ” CNN ’ s Chris Cuomo — strange how Kennedys , Cuomos , Clintons , and other members of Democratic Party royal families land so many jobs in the media — misinformed viewers last week about WikiLeaks releases . “ It ’ s different for the media , so everything you ’ re learning about this , you ’ re learning from us . ”
  And there lies the problem . When the guys in the striped shirts drop their whistles to push the ball over the goal line , the star player on the opposing team , and his fans in the stands , might just yell “ rigged. ” And the malefactors might just blame anyone — even the Russians — for their own misdeeds .
content_original: Despite a past Democratic nominee inventing the internet, the current party standard bearer struggles terribly with gizmos, gadgets, and other doohickeys associated with interweb technology.
  
  Hackers CC the emails of since-removed DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and current DNC chair Donna Brazile to, well, everyone. But Hillary Clinton wants us to believe that foreign hackers overlooked her inclusion of classified documents on a private server. They just targeted all of her friends and ignored her.
  
  Sure, and she “lost” those 13 missing Blackberry devices the FBI wanted, too.
  
  One secretary of state’s indiscretion is the same presidential candidate’s discretion. She failed to protect classified documents in an effort to protect herself. Freedom of Information Act requests and Congressional subpoenas for public records prove terrible nuisances to one’s political ambitions. Best for the candidate to keep her doings secret — from her government but none of the others.
  
  Clinton corrupted her office. So, too, do her well-wishers in the Fourth Estate who misheard “speaking truth to power” in journalism school as “sucking up to power.”
  
  “From time to time I get the questions in advance,” Donna Brazile informed Clinton campaign manager John Podesta. Brazile, supposedly impartial as both a CNN employee and DNC official, provided Clinton’s campaign manager with the text of a question on the death penalty asked the next day at a CNN debate between Mrs. Clinton and Bernie Sanders. She allegedly received the question from TV One’s Roland Martin, also supposedly impartial as a moderator of the town hall-style debate.
  
  Donald Trump juxtaposed Charles Van Doren receiving the answers on rigged 1950s game show Twenty One, which The Apprentice host misidentified as The $64,000 Question, with Clinton receiving the heads up for the town-hall test. It’s called cheating, and Van Doren resigned from his position at Columbia University in disgrace after owning up to participating in such a fraud. One suspects that a job at CNN, or some other network, awaits Brazile when the campaign ends.
  
  It turns out that the rube in the red “Make America Great Again” trucker hat shouting “Clinton News Network” at Trump rallies offered the most insightful analysis of Election 2016. When Trump cited the media as “dishonest” and “corrupt” in calling the election “rigged” at Wednesday’s debate he came off as a premature sore loser and more significantly stripped himself of the “winner” aura that has served him well since the primaries. Like many political figures, he misspoke but spoke truth.
  
  Lest CNN rigging debates for Clinton leaves an impression of malfeasance occurring at a lone, low-rated cable network, WikiLeaks offers a trove of emails revealing the message coordination between the press and the politicians.
  
  Politico’s chief political correspondent Glenn Thrush, correctly identifying himself as a “hack,” sent an article on Clinton to her campaign manager for vetting with the plaintive petition “please don’t share or tell anyone I did this.” Haim Saban, co-owner of Univision, advised the Clinton campaign to more aggressively counter Trump’s stance on immigration. John Harwood, a moderator of a Republican debate last year, seconded Obama’s notion of the “opposition party veering off the rails” in one email to Podesta. “Amazing,” the CNBC reporter and New York Times contributor wrote to Podesta in another, “that some people still think it’s worth burning so much interview time with person most likely to be next president on her emails.”
  
  Podesta himself, barring incoming emails about benevolent extraterrestrials helping to alleviate global warming, comes across as more grounded and less rabid than the campaign’s votaries in the media. You can’t blame the campaign manager for cultivating the cultish journalists for his cause. And one sympathizes with him in his efforts dodging and ducking a stalking David Brock, a man with many “eccentricities” that Podesta speculates falls into the “unhinged narcissist” category. But when the guy with the UFO tic looks like the sanest one in the chatroom, well, you can fill in the rest.
  
  Journalists predictably report on their own shady emails with even less zeal than they reported on Hillary Clinton’s not-so-shielded ones. “Remember, it’s illegal to possess these stolen documents,” CNN’s Chris Cuomo — strange how Kennedys, Cuomos, Clintons, and other members of Democratic Party royal families land so many jobs in the media — misinformed viewers last week about WikiLeaks releases. “It’s different for the media, so everything you’re learning about this, you’re learning from us.”
  
  And there lies the problem. When the guys in the striped shirts drop their whistles to push the ball over the goal line, the star player on the opposing team, and his fans in the stands, might just yell “rigged.” And the malefactors might just blame anyone — even the Russians — for their own misdeeds.