All of that being said, one thing that is blatantly wrong and needs to stop is predicting winners before an entire vote count has been tabulated. That isn’t showmanship, that’s disrespectful to the process. Most specifically in elections that cross time-zones and actual election outcomes start being declared while polls are in fact still open. I feel so strongly about it that, as opposed to over legislating as I am, it should be against the law. It is one thing to report elections results as tallies become available, it’s another for pontifications such as: “XYZ News now declares Candiate x the next whatever of somewhere”. You’re a journalistic body, it’s the citizens job to tell you who the next elected official is, not yours to tell us.

When was the last time you heard that?

Cronkite had it, Hugh Sidey Had it, Bob Shiefer has it. Yes I think Larry Kane has it.

But really when was the last time we the users of news heard from the providers of news that PUBLIC TRUST was first and foremost on there mind.

Sadly competition, ad sales and revenue concerns has driven the News Business, print, television, radio or electronic to a frenzy.

Accountability is never talked about in the news. I don’t see anyone talking about the incredible failure of the pollsters Tuesday night. Although do read Carl Roves thoughtful analysis in today’s Wall Street Journal if you want to get some understanding of what happened. Should the pollsters and pundits be held accountable. In any other business they would be.

In fact as a retired military officer I find the entire thing thought provoking. Clearly we always hear the news hammer away at the millitary for mistakes made and demand accontablility. It is a rough business where the Monday morning Quarterbacks have the advantage of not ducking bullets.

We hear continually about the failure of Military intelligence the latest favorite is the issue of no Weapons of Mass Destruction In Iraq. Look at how inteligence is collected in a hostile place like N.Korea, Iran, Iraq or the like. It is done by technology in the sky looking in from hundreds of miles from space. It is done by clandestine operatives on the ground who often risk their lives to get slim pickings of what is often one piece of a jigsaw puzzel.

Tuesday night the journalistic intelligence system failed. Pundits and Pollsters blew it by a wide margin and are not being held up for scrutiny. No one was shot at.

The availablity of information was there for free in volumns. Operatives in New Hampshire protected by the Constitution had access to collect data as needed in mass. The effor was massive.

Net it out. They blew it by a country mile.

Next time you hear the press and pundits hammer the failure of military intelligence from the press pause please. Point out to the harpies the failure of New Hampshire where they had easy pickings.

I’m convinced that it is due to their own self-importance.

Many of them think they are just as important as the people elected to represent us in government. Except the news media is elected by NO ONE.

News media figures often say, when asked about their role, that they “represent the people” – how dare they think that! If they purport to represent me, then I want a say in who does it.