Trying to be fair

From a book—a book I strongly recommend, for its on-going relevance—about press coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign:

personallyprofessionally

The Boys in the Bus

Crouse has a point; certainly in my case. I was a journalist and a columnist in high school and college, and even today I want above all to be accurate and fair. I was a staunch Republican until a few years ago (and would still be one if the party hadn't changed so much).

And for as long as I can remember, I've been harder on Republicans than Democrats. I've learned that I can't trust my instinctive reactions to the ideas of Democrats and liberals, so I tend to go easier on them, because I want to be fair. Plus, I expect more from the GOP, because, even now, I identify with it, and see it as my party. Is Tom DeLay more of a sleaze than, say, Tony Coelho was? I don't know. But he's a sleaze who represents a part of me, and he angers me in a way that Coelho never did.

Did similar emotions account for the rough treatment the press gave Bill Clinton?