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It is not just in Iraq that the political left has an investment in failure. Domestically as well as internationally, the left has long had a vested interest in poverty and social malaise. The old advertising slogan, "Progress is our most important product," has never applied to the left. Whether it is successful black schools in the United States or Third World countries where millions of people have been rising out of poverty in recent years, the left has shown little interest. Progress in general seems to hold little interest for people who call themselves "progressives." What arouses them are denunciations of social failures and accusations of wrong-doing. One wonders what they would do in heaven.

. . . their interest in the poor [is] greatest when the poor can be used as a focus of the left's denunciations of society.

An Investment in Failure (Thomas Sowell)
Townhall.com ^ | August 21, 2007 | Thomas Sowell

"Along with dozens of other studies in the scientific literature, [this] new study belies Al Gore's claim that there is no legitimate scholarly alternative to climate catastrophism. Indeed, if Schwartz's results are correct, that alone would be enough to overturn in one fell swoop the IPCC's scientific 'consensus,' the environmentalists' climate hysteria, and the political pretext for the energy-restriction policies that have become so popular with the world's environmental regulators, elected officials, and corporations. The question is, will anyone in the mainstream media notice?" AEI's Schwartz concluded.

It is "the mainstream media's" business to promote - the mainstream media. And it does that by promoting alarms which suggest that it is vital to the public that they pay attention to - the mainstream media. So if "The question is, will anyone in the mainstream media notice [that fear of carbon combustion is unfounded]," the answer is, quite certainly,

"NO!"
Sizzling study concludes: Global warming 'hot air'
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | August 20, 2007

the reporters have the biggest heads in the building. Many of them really believe that their work is crucial to society . . .

Once, I expedited setting up an email address and was congratulated for "striking a blow for the first amendment." Seriously.

The First Amendment says nothing about journalism, it speaks of "the press." The difference?

"The press" includes book and magazine printing as well as newspapers. And,

the First Amendment doesn't apply to broadcast journalism - if it does, that would be news to everyone who has been arrested for broadcasting without a license.

The reality is that journalists (and fellow travelers whom journalists label "liberals" or "progressives") systematically promote the idea that journalism is identical with the public interest. The rules of journalism - "If it bleeds, it leads," "'Man Bites Dog,' not 'Dog Bites Man,'" and "Always make your deadline," have nothing to do with what is or is not "the public interest," and everything to do with interesting the public, which is a different (and frequently contradictory) matter entirely.
Journalism interesting the public is in the business interest of journalism, so equating "interesting the public" with "the public interest" amounts to identifying the public interest with the business interest of journalism. And that is pretty much the sum of the historical reason for the Spanish American War - to say nothing of sundry other aspects of American history.
An Investment in Failure (Thomas Sowell)
Townhall.com| August 21, 2007 | Thomas Sowell