Political commentators should know better

How telling. The country is still staggering out of a serious financial recession, Congress is grappling with the issue of extending unemployment insurance, and a haphazardly regulated well continues to spew oil into the Gulf Coast.

And yet, both of the political columns on the front page of Sunday's Gazette Opinion page seemed much more interested in ad hominem politics and creative name-calling instead of actual political commentary.

The Charles Krauthammer commentary was to be expected; conservatives have based their platform on nothing but defiling President Obama's name since election day. Shame on Leonard Pitts, however, for behaving in the exact same fashion with his stereotypical Glenn Beck impersonation. Using the same tactics as Krauthammer renders his column just as unreliable.

These men are supposed to be political commentators. It is their job to offer liberal or conservative interpretations of current political events; leave the personal attacks to the likes of pundits such as Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olbermann.

This outpouring of irrational attack journalism troubles me. For when our political commentators engage in petty party politics, I find that I'm just as “frightened for [the country's] future” as the young man in Pitts's ill-advised allegory.

Brett Karlan

Cedar Rapids