Excellent oped, and you are totally right here!
Thanks for the post and the ping.
I don't enjoy either his syndicated talk show-which I listened to while it was being carried by a New York City affiliate-or his syndicated column-which I've read in the Amsterdam News.
In fact, I shudder whenever I watch him on "America's Black Forum", being bested in debate by people like Deborah Mathis and Julian Bond, who routinely shill for a political party that is both intellectually and morally bankrupt.
Truthfully, I feel that there are so many other bright pundits/commentators who could spotlight the conservative side of the issue, e.g. Clint Bolick or Robert Woodson, inter alia, in a more forceful, eloquent manner than Mr. Williams does on a regular basis.
All criticism aside, however, I don't feel that this incident should be considered an impropriety on his part.
And here, the analogy to Bill Moyers is inapt, in at least one respect.
While Moyers profits at the expense of the American taxpayer to the tune of millions of dollars annually, Williams-from what I recall-admitted to accepting less than half a million dollars in consulting fees from a cabinet-level agency of the federal government.
I'll admit, it does sound like a tidy sum-especially from where I'm standing-but put in the context of a federal budget that exceeds a trillion dollars-it is a paltry, almost laughable amount of money.
The other point that I'd like to dispute is the assertion that what the Bush administration did constitutes a "bribe."
This presumes that Mr. Williams needed a financial inducement in order to be persuaded to tout the Bush administration's education policies in the print and visual media.
Right now, I don't see a shred of evidence to support this allegation.
In fact, Armstrong Williams has vocalized his support for President Bush's policies, in this arena and others, for many years.
From what I gather, this situation appears to be an instance where there is a convenient confluence between someone's personal and political interests.
In my opinion, I don't think what Armstrong Williams did brought any more shame upon the fourth estate than it would have otherwise generated.
-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)