Anchors (Except for Katie) Just Don't Get It

Katie Couric thinks Scott McClellan has a point with his criticism of the media in the lead-up to the war, but Charlie Gibson and Brian Williams beg to differ—and that's a disgrace, writes Glenn Greenwald in Salon. During a get-together of network anchors, the "painfully empty-headed Gibson" and the "mindlessly establishment-defending" Williams said the media offered plenty of skepticism, but Greenwald counters that today's celebrity journalists simply don't understand their own profession.

He heaps particular scorn on Gibson for his statement that, "it's not our job to debate them; it's our job to ask questions." Writes Greenwald: "Perish the thought that journalists should be adversarial to our political officials, challenge what they say or point out when they're lying. Instead, their job is merely to pose polite questions, let political officials say what they want in response, and then go home." (More Scott McClellan stories.)