Third World Dictator Wannabe

Howard Kurtz had an interesting revelation in yesterday's column and it just goes to show that Bush really, really wants to be another third world dictator. The latest is secret meetings, off the record, with the publishers of major news organs such as the NY Times and Washington Post. There is actually nothing wrong with the President meeting with such folks until it is forced into the "off the record" category. One has to wonder in these circumstances just what he said that that should not be "on the record".

President Bush has been summoning newspaper editors lately in an effort to prevent publication of stories he considers damaging to national security.

The efforts have failed, but the rare White House sessions with the executive editors of The Washington Post and New York Times are an indication of how seriously the president takes the recent reporting that has raised questions about the administration's anti-terror tactics.

When the President of the United States uses his office to try and influence the fourth estate in secret we are looking at nothing more than an effort to suppress or distort the truth. There can be no other reason.