This is an e-mail ,as yet unanswered , to
James Warren of the Chicago Tribune .I post it to give you a hint of the coming
Political Stories with Legs...
Mr. Warren,
Im not a player, Im a political junkie. I mainline C-Span and buy Elizabeth
Drew in hardcover. I also enjoy the Cokie Watch , and liked your wit on Capital Gang
Sunday. Enough kiss-ass. When I heard that Sandy Hume had committed suicide I was taken
aback. The timing seemed strange. He had just signed with Fox News, and had run with a
story in The Hill concerning further G.O.P. infighting. Damn, he was nominated for a
Pulitzer. Hey, he was 28 and on the make
why would he do this. When you think about
it, a lot of reasons, none of them good, but it happens, and its sad, and its
none of my business.
And then, and then, three days later, Bill Paxon resigns. Paradigm shift, quick, he
calls it quits. Hes workin the phones conjuring up support to go after Armey
and Delay and within hours he shocked his staff with some shuck and jive about how
hes leaving public life for ever and wont even consider a run for "dog
catcher." Hey this was no Vin Webber move. Maybe he did just throw in the towel.
Maybe its true, maybe he does want to watch his daughter grow up. But from here it
looked like panic brought on by paranoia and a pronouncement writ large, "Im
getting the hell out of Dodge." Scared straight?
So Im on the Web, firing up search engines looking for Hume and Paxon. Found a
story on Humes death in the Post and his Hill. Thats it. Where are the
stories? I ask my girlfriend, the lawyer, an equal political junkie, and my better in
sensitivity and smarts. Brit Hume, respect for him, give it a week, and the press is all
after Monicas brand of lip gloss, she reminds me. O.K.
Waited, gave it a week, still no stories. Not rumor mongering, Mr. Warren. You know the
type, the below the fold in the Stlye section, asking why Washington eats their young and
the cost in getting the story. What drove this young man and lets stop and smell the
roses. Nothing
Again O.K.
no one wants to put Brit and the family though
it
at least not now. Press doesnt play fair, but I can understand it.
Yesterday, March 6, Im searching again and find an obscure links page with a
Sandy Hume Headline teaser
..the link takes me to the Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.co.il/Columns/Article-3.html
and in a very convoluted article I read that a brilliant 28-year old D.C. reporter was
having an affair with
You read it. I didnt know anything about the Jerusalem
Post, but the lawyer girlfriend, whos Jewish, (do I hate Passover food or what) and
her dad the doctor say hey, its a legitimate publication.
So whats up Mr. Warren? I buy the Trib, every day, and youre the Washington
Bureau Chief, and you argue against hypocrisy in the press. If theres a story here,
and it sure smells like one, lets have it. It seems the press goes after everybody with
little regard for stepping on the feelings of family and
friends---youve got to, its your job. Im not a Drudge wanna be , just
a guy with, well, a jones and a hobby. Im the political equivalent of a Cubs
bleacher bum. Im a spectator, a fan; I know the players, my stat book is the
overpriced CQs "Politics in America." Im a citizen in the cheap
seats, and, like a baseball purist, Im concerned about the state of the game. The
events concerning Hume and Paxon reek fix. A lack of interest from the press is at least
an error of omission, or should I begin to factor the D.C. press corp calls em as
they see em unless the play involves home boys. Yall Homers?
I know youre busy. I presume too much. Could you remark about these events Sunday
night on WGN, or if you feel that would be distasteful, reply to this briefly, telling me
Im right, wrong, na�ve, out of my league. Thanks for your time and go Bulls.
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