David Reel: Too little, too late

In today’s 24-7 media coverage of current events in the political world, stories are regularly introduced as “breaking news with more details to follow.”

That will most certainly be the case after the recent release of the book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” coauthored by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.

Not surprisingly in today’s deeply divided society, the reaction to the book has been mixed.

Some have said elected officials, and their staff lie regularly. They say it is and always has been the way of the world in which we live. 

It has also been said that the public should not be surprised or upset when details emerge on behavior by elected and appointed government that is illegal or unethical.

Others have said illegal and unethical behavior is never acceptable.

They say the media has an obligation to report it, and those who engage in such behavior must be held accountable and punished to the maximum extent of the law. 

Some have said, while such behavior is bipartisan, more often than not, it is overlooked or excused by some of the national media when it involves Democratic presidents.

They cite the levels of reporting by the national media on Bill Clinton’s involvement with Monica Lewinsky, compared to Richard Nixon’s involvement with Watergate.

Until recently, Nixon has been almost universally viewed as the least ethical and least honest president in U.S. history.

John Kass, a former Chicago Tribune political reporter and columnist has challenged that view by writing “…this one about Biden is much worse than the Watergate break-in. In that one the White House covered up the lawbreaking and the media uncovered it.”

Even Jake Tapper has suggested that may be true in saying publicly, the “cover-up of the former president’s mental decline may be a worse scandal than Watergate.” 

With that in mind, Congressional investigations are already underway on Biden’s levels of awareness of and involvement on decisions made during his presidency. 

More are likely to come.

It will be most interesting to learn answers given under oath to three questions:

• Was there at any point during the Biden presidency, when, as a result of Biden’s physical and mental health conditions, decisions that are the exclusive responsibility of an elected president were instead made by an individual or individuals other than the elected President?
• If so and perhaps without President Biden being aware of it, did these individuals break the law, e.g., by using autopen signatures on executive orders and pardons?
• Was the media complicit if they ignored or did not follow-up with due diligence on these matters?

Other questions will not be answered until next year’s midterm elections. 

How many decisions were made by voters based on their support for or opposition to President Trump’s agenda?

How many decisions were made on whether or not there was conclusive evidence of a coverup of President Biden’s levels of engagement during all four years of his presidency?

Will the latter reflect an increasing loss of voter confidence in national news media outlets? 

There are already signs of significant loss in that confidence in some of the national media. 

Tapper’s own CNN show had its lowest-rated month since August 2015. That should put every member of the news division of the national media on notice.

There are measurable and profound consequences on ignoring and disrespecting what Americans expect from national political news providers. 

Going forward, American voters deserve three things from the national media.

Fact-based news with no hidden agendas. 

Vigorous pursuit and continuous exposure of verifiable unethical and/or illegal behavior by every elected and appointed government official. 

No group think — a psychological phenomenon when conclusions are not the result of a lack of information, but because of a conscious decision to put conformity above critical thinking.

Until that happens, all the excuses and explanations from the national media who failed to do their job during the Biden presidential years will be nothing more than too little, too late.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters. Born and raised in Harrisburg, he was formerly active in the government and political arenas in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. He now lives and works from Easton on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.