Dispel the Illusion

Vatican Radio said Wednesday that a 1943 document found in a Rome convent bolsters church contentions that Pope Pius XII tried to save Jews from Nazis during World War II ... The Vatican insists that the late pope used quiet diplomacy to help Jews. Vatican Radio reported the discovery of a note, kept in a cloistered monastery near the Colosseum, which lists the names of 24 people who were taken in by the nuns at the behest of Pius.

This proliferation of profiles isn’t about the reader’s need to know, or at least not entirely. It’s also about reporters’ need to introduce themselves to and ingratiate themselves with the White House officials they’ll need as sources over the next four years. It’s far easier for a reporter to get time with a key staffer when both parties know that a flattering profile is coming. And it’s a lot easier to get calls returned from the staffer’s colleagues — especially subordinates — if they know it’s an opportunity to suck up to the subject.

I've won an Oscar! Thank you my beautiful partner, my beautiful therapist, my beautiful bankers. Thank you to the memory of an over-indulged playboy who was considered a great thespian because he put white makeup on his face, over acted and then filled himself with drugs and took his own life. Thank you. False emotion. Prepared speech. Go Obama!