In her latest Political Points commentary, CBS News Senior Political Editor Dotty Lynch sends out a Christmas wish list for Washington's naughty and nice.
Dear Santa, Even veteran political editors have Christmas fantasies. I know it's late, but if you could just squeeze in one or two of these, I would be so grateful.
1. Could you please find Dick Cheney and get him out of hiding? And while you're at it, could you get him to release the records of his meetings on the energy bill and detail his talks with Enron CEO Ken Lay?2. Could you get liberals to stop calling themselves progressives and get journalists and politicians to call "faith-based" institutions what they are, i.e., "religious" organizations? Better yet, how about calling them churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.3. Could we see a little less of John Ashcroft and a little more of John McCain in 2002?4. Could you convince all public officials to take the Donald Rumsfeld course on how to hold a press conference?5. Could you get Donald Rumsfeld to make the Defense Department policies on covering the war in Afghanistan as open and accessible as he is in his press conferences?6. Could you get pollsters to stop writing memos saying the country is thinking big, idealistic thoughts and then proposing cynical ways to manipulate these attitudes?7. Could you tell press secretaries to stop telling reporters what they "need to know" and tell us instead what their bosses are really doing?8. Could you make journalists and journalism as good every day as they were in the aftermath of September 11? 9. Could you convince our CBS colleague Eric Engberg not to retire?10. Could you get Al Gore to shave? He has one of the squarest jaws in the country. Tell him it's time to move on.Thank you for your consideration. Please have a safe trip from the North Pole and don't forget to take all sharp instruments out of your sleigh.
Best wishes,
Dotty Lynch
P.S. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. See you in 2002!
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