In the Presence of little giants...

I am neither a progressive, nor a conservative. I have never voted along party lines but along candidate lines.
Either crowd represents much to be disgusted by. The unlimited abuses on the left and on the right seem to stretch toward the horizon.

Right now the moral high ground seems to be championed by the left. Next week, it could be by the right.

Having said that, the current debate over the Jeff Gannon story seems illustrative of the lack of discourse, or rather intelligent discourse, that we engage in-in all things political. Winning at whatever cost is what matters and it doesn't matter what values or beliefs are trashed along the way.

In the end, is all this really worth it?

This is not about the right, or the left. This is about much more than that...

For instance, if Talon.com was so proud of Gannon's reporting, why did they scrub their website of his work? If it could hold up to scrutiny before the scandal broke, shouldn't it weather the storm post disclosures and photo's marching all over the web?

I'm also not sure that when a "reporter" makes suggestions about John Kerry's Sexual Orientation, or makes allegations about a certain, recently defeated S. Dakota Senator, that these should go unchallenged. Most reporters struggle for years, building their credentials to get the kind of reporting beats the White House Press Corps enjoys. The rapid appearance of this reporter, the way his defenders have minimized his offenses, and their refusal to also ask these tough questions is what is troubling. While this reporter obtained access, other reporters with years of experience suddenly lost their white house credentials. These are question worthy of discussion.

That there are currently reporters facing contempt of court jail time for far less than what Gannon has done, is also relevant. And while I don't really think his personal life as an Escort would matter in most circumstances, his very public discourse removes his right to privacy. His professional conduct and personal conduct and its relevance on national affairs is not minimal.

This isn't about the Left, or the Right, but the ethical issues we are all tied to. How we advance our beliefs while still honoring a basic human morality that we all claim to live by. That alone is why this story has the legs it has. Muscular as they may be.