The Press: Wanted: An Opposition

THE PRESS

Walter Lippmann tackled the smoldering issue of Franklin Roosevelt v. the U.S. Press and came up with a clear answer last week. Said he: “We are all suffering, the President and the newspapers, for want of a responsible, well informed and constructive [political] opposition. . . . For lack of this kind of dependable opposition, the burden of criticism has fallen almost entirely upon correspondents and editors and commentators.

“If there were a responsible and informed opposition, the correspondents would not have to choose between Government handouts and their own spasmodic and insufficient private investigations, and editors would be able to analyze and interpret and comment upon an informed debate instead of having to conduct the debate themselves. . . .”

To many a worried citizen these words seemed a wise mouthful. Equally sound seemed Lippmann’s criticism of Franklin Roosevelt’s criticism of the press. The President, said Lippmann, has complained that the press is uninformed, therefore unqualified to speak. But if the press is ill-informed, the President himself or a strong, loyal opposition, or both, could be of great help in this regard.