Indianz.Com > News > Yellow Bird: Sometimes the media gets carried away

Yellow Bird: Sometimes the media gets carried away
Monday, July 7, 2008
Filed Under: Opinion

"I follow the news and try to stay abreast of national and state politics, although I don’t compare myself with the Herald’s publisher and editorial page editor, who are political wonks. Yet, it has been my pleasure to sit on the Herald’s editorial board for the past 11 years. I find the board an exciting place most times.

One such episode unfolded earlier this week when the editorial board met with Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. Conrad came to discuss, among other things, the reports that he got preferential treatment by Countrywide Financial — preferential treatment because he is a senator.

I’ve met Conrad and listened to him from across our editorial board table many times. I respect him and had wondered why he would take such a chance on his career.

But Conrad’s misstep — if he even made one, which I now doubt — didn’t seem to compare with the sexual encounters of Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho or Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, two of the latest in a pretty long line of officials who’ve been publicly disgraced. They not only embarrassed the nation but also pushed their families against the wall, leaving their wives with seemingly no choice but to stand beside their husbands. The media made hay with Spitzer and Craig.

When scandals break on Capitol Hill, I’m usually not surprised, and that’s sad to say. I spent four years in Washington and loved the excitement of the powerful pushes and pulls of the Hill. There were rumors of unsavory things happening, but even when I worked there, nothing seemed to surprise us."

Get the Story:
Dorreen Yellow Bird: Filtering half-truths, exaggerations (The Grand Forks Herald 7/5)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz

More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: Smudging room at North Dakota hospital (7/2)
Yellow Bird: Adventures that stir the spirit (6/18)
Yellow Bird: Exhibit focuses on Arikara Scouts (6/16)
Yellow Bird: My heart belongs to the Great Plains (6/11)
Yellow Bird: White buffalo signals hope and peace (6/9)
Yellow Bird: Sen. Barack Obama for president (6/4)
Yellow Bird: There's good and bad in oil development (6/2)
Yellow Bird: Remembering all relatives a big chore (5/28)
Yellow Bird: Oil on the Fort Berthold Reservation (5/26)
Yellow Bird: Recycle and live lightly on the Earth (5/12)
Yellow Bird: Leaps in America's multiracial society (5/7)
Yellow Bird: Diversity in the United States (5/5)
Yellow Bird: Pollution a threat to North Dakota (4/30)
Yellow Bird: Program graduates Indian nurses at UND (4/21)
Yellow Bird: Recovering from brain aneurysm surgery (4/17)
Yellow Bird: A fight for oil on the reservation (03/31)
Yellow Bird: Excitement in North Dakota's weather (3/26)
Yellow Bird: Thoughts on Sen. Obama and race (3/24)
Yellow Bird: Pray for rain in western North Dakota (3/19)
Yellow Bird: Grandchildren are the greatest gift (3/17)
Yellow Bird: UND powwow survives budget woes (3/10)
Yellow Bird: Stereotypes and Hillary Clinton (3/5)
Yellow Bird: Celebrating 125 years of UND history (3/3)
Yellow Bird: High hopes for Indian health bill (2/28)
Yellow Bird: More Plains foods that are good for you (2/25)
Yellow Bird: Chokecherries, the wonder fruit (2/20)
Yellow Bird: Sadness on a trip to Standing Rock (2/18)
Yellow Bird: It's time for a change in music (2/11)
Yellow Bird: 'Sioux' drives Indian students away (2/7)
Yellow Bird: Another cold January in North Dakota (1/30)
Yellow Bird: Tribal casinos should be alcohol free (1/28)
Yellow Bird: Race and gender in presidential race (1/23)
Yellow Bird: Barack Obama is my choice for 2008 (1/16)
Yellow Bird: Artman right on off-reservation gaming (1/9)
Yellow Bird: Barack Obama's big win in Iowa (1/7)