Uncovered news, covering a war and a campaign

I sure haven't seen much yet in the media about the death of Arthur C. Clarke. Seems there would have been more attention paid....

On the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq, interesting column from Greg Mitchell, who's written a book about it: 5 Years Ago: Many Top Newspapers Opposed War. How quickly we forget.

Also from Mitchell, on a roll: The 'Unsung Heroes' in 5 Years of War Coverage. Among them, the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Lee Pitts, a wonderful example of a local paper's reporter finding the story that mattered to the men of a hometown unit, and making it national news. (And, of course, it shows the value of getting that reporter there, at any cost.)

Reaction to the Obama speech is discouraging. Conservatives are seizing it as a means to more attacks, as if a radical thought by a black minister was somehow more damaging than those of radical white ministers. (Glenn Greenwald: The difference between Jeremiah Wright and radical, white evangelical ministers .)

(Added later:) Andrew Sullivan, who was so impressed by the speech yesterday, today says he is shocked by the conservative reaction to it.

To read the Corner today was to be reminded that some are immune to the grace and hope and civility that Reagan summoned at his best; the anger and bitterness is so palpably fueled by fear and racism it really does mark a moment of revelation to me.

And here.

Much of the media continues to focus on just the things Obama hoped they would get over:

... We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

But some get it. Jay Rosen, in a Huffington Post column: Obama Tells the Best Political Team on Television: You Guys Have a Choice...At Firedoglake: Obama to Media: Raise Your Game.

Not much, though, is being made of McCain's gaffe on his Mideast trip, where Sen. Lieberman had to set him straight about who's doing what in Iran and Iraq. Or as a Firedoglake contributor asks, Will McCain have Lieberman next to him at 3 a.m.? (I have news for you, Sen. McCain....) Firedoglake:

Send this to as many undecideds that you know and ask them if we can afford another 4 years of this kind of cluelessness.