By Curmudgeon
Weber County Forum has, now and then, discussed the proper role of a home town daily regarding actions and proposals of elected officials. Came across this post by Paul Glastris, guest-blogging on The Washington Monthly's blog "Political Animal":
POLICY IS THE BEST HONESTY... A lot of journalists get lured into the profession by the excitement—the chance to cover wars, natural disasters, political campaigns, or the lives of powerful people. I'm not immune to such inducements and have done a bit of all of the above. But most of my time in the business has been spent engaged in what might be called "policy vetting." Does a particular government policy work as advertised? Would a proposed new idea work if it were actually tried? This is not the most Hunter Thompsonesque form of journalism. But it's one I find endlessly fascinating, in part because it provides a bracing check on one's ideological biases.Exactly. Policy vetting as he calls it --- nice term by the way --- ain't sexy much of the time, but it matters. A lot. Regardless of whose policy is getting vetted: the President, the governor or the Mayor of Ogden or Plain City.
