Steve and I didn't find out about the capture of Saddam until yesterday evening, because we weren't glued to the news, either cable or Internet. (We did read the NYT.) We were busy with other things, from moving office furniture to baking cookies. I did use the Internet a bit, but only to check email and look up some statistics. Steve did watch some cable TV, but only sports.
This isn't All About Me, honest. There's a broader point. Mickey Kaus's "Feiler Faster Thesis" applies only to the ephemera of political campaigns. The real work of the world--from finding fugitive dictators to recovering from recessions--gets done incrementally, bit by bit. The bits don't make good stories, assuming they're even public information. In a 24/7 news environment, the inevitable result is impatience. Nothing seems to be happening until suddenly there's a story. Congratulations, and thanks, to those who did the work. |
