Well Eric, the thing I wonder is are there a lot of Americans that just are unaware of these stories and so when we post a question or statement such as this, it just seems as if we are bashing the administration.

So, perhaps in some cases no reply is based on thinking we're posting nonsense because they have heard nothing about it. Plus it appears quite obvious we are unhappy with the Bush administration and the administration has run a giant campaign to paint anyone that's unhappy as simply a "Bush hater."

For my part, I'm trying not to assume that everyone knows or has read the same things I have. Let's face it, for a country with supposedly a "liberal media" there seems to be little to no coverage of Downing Street, Gannon/Guckert, or Plamegate. The fact that the media when they do say something about it seems to fail to even bring up the most obvious questions and points about it makes me...well...sort of nervous. I don't want to be thought of as a wacko but I'll say that the fact that the London bombings seemed to come at the moment when the Plamegate story was just starting to heat up and may have garnered a little bit of front page space or air time did occur to me. Now, the media has a whole new terror episode to focus on and it's obviously front page material...it has been on the front page of all my papers since it occurred. Now, I'm not saying Karl Rove planned the London bombings to prevent his involvement in outing a CIA agent from getting more media exposure but I am saying that the Bush administration seems to hit the lottery any time they need to distract the public from an ugly story about their apparent dirty dealings. They seem to be some pretty lucky bastards.

In this case, Pat has replied to both questions now and I didn't really mean to pick on him but of the folks that support Bush here he seems one of the stronger advocates. Kevin G pretty much boiled his support down to the abortion issue, Marc seems to be a pretty down to earth guy about things and likely would find the Gannon/Guckert show an issue, and I don't even think you could call Dale a "Bush supporter" I just think he finds a lot of the arguments here one sided and hysterical. Not that I'm speaking for Dale, Marc, or Kevin G that's pretty much how I interpret what they have said in the past.

I guess the big question is how much has anyone seen or read about Downing Street, Plamegate, or Gannon/Guckert? How much of what they have seen has simply been dismissed as "Bush bashing" and how has the mainstream media done in covering any of these stories in general? Keeping those questions in mind, I don't think I can blame anyone for calling me a nut.

I openly admit to not being happy with the Bush administration but I don't think that qualifies me as a "basher" because I think that to me dismisses what I have to say just as some sort of hateful nonsense. I think there are genuine questions to be raised and answered about this administration and if raised and asked in a way that is reasonable and logical then I think people will want to hear the answers.

If people are misinformed or not well informed can we blame them if our mainstream media has failed to present this information to them in a way that is compelling or clear? I really think a lot of people don't have the time or interest to go any further than watching the news on tv, listening to a radio talk show, or skimming the headlines on the paper. It's obvious you can't get what's happening just doing this. People are busy and have lives to lead so for many that's all they have time for. Skimming this weeks headlines and flicking on the tv all I'd get are stories about the London bombings, if Al Qaeda is responsible, and how the investigation is going.

As an experiment to see how the media is doing I'd suggest to anyone, dig through your morning paper and see what page you find anything about the investigation into who outted Plame, or anything about Downing Street. These stories are big stories and central to what is going on in this country and how our current administration has conducted itself. Yet it's likely you find little or nothing and the main aspect I've seen Plamegate examined from is that of jailing journalists and how this effects having a free press. This is not at all central to this issue but that's all the media seems concerned with at this point.

I don't know...I'm babbling again...