An embarrassment to journalism

While Harper continues his hissy-fit over allegations of anti-Con bias in the media, Linda Frum goes out of her way to prove that ample space is already available for the most blatant of Con hackery. Among the questions from her Q & A with Gwyn Morgan:

Why not, though? If you lose the courage to point out the obvious -- who else will do it?...

So if revenge was part of it, and intolerance for the truth was part of it, do you have any sense that part of why you were shot down was because the Liberals were embarrassed about the very need for a public appointments commission?...

What was the political motivation of the Bloc members who voted against you?...

So once again, they didn't like your ideas. But isn't this the whole point? The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc shot you down not because you weren't qualified -- but because your personal political opinions do not reflect theirs. Weren't any of them embarrassed to be acting in such a partisan manner on an initiative that was designed to wipe out partisanship in appointments?...

As so many of the country's editorialists have pointed out, there is a fear that as a result of your experience, other highly capable, leading Canadians will look at this as one more reason to shun public service. And that's a terrible loss for a country that craves a higher calibre political class...

Well, I hope you won't give up on your vision because it's a good one...

But at the same time, I hope you will never be tempted to temper your remarks or refrain from telling the truth as you see it...

Not that the Frum name is generally associated with anything less these days. But suffice it to say that Harper's petulant attempts to work the refs can't hide the fact that the Cons are already on the receiving end of far too many puff pieces. And the willingness of some in the media to spout Harperspeak unquestioningly should only ensure that those media figures interested in being independent try all the harder to avoid allowing such a trend to progress any further.