THE ORWELLIAN MEDIA

"After vowing to usher in a new era of responsibility, President Obama has shown a willingness to compromise between campaign rhetoric and the realities of Washington."

SUCH LANGUAGE IS THE SAFFRON lead in today's top New York Times story. Seems innocuous enough, and frankly had me thinking that perhaps the NYT was going to hold this president's feet to the fire after all. But what was I thinking?

Had this been a Republican president, the lead would have been something like this: Barely two weeks into office, the new president has backtracked on his campaign promises to clean up Washington. Will the hypocrisy of the Republican Party never end?

But the article is not a puff piece, or a slick apologia for the Barack Obama team. “This is a big problem for Obama, especially because it was such a major, major promise,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “He harped on it, time after time, and he created a sense of expectation around the country. This is exactly why people are skeptical of politicians, because change we can believe in is not the same thing as business as usual.”

Do you think? Truth in politics has never been more relevant than today, a day that is smack dab in the spotlight breathing heavily the fumes of the best of times and the worst of times with everybody watching, even those who usually require a pair of 3D gag specs just to get their attention. You'd think somebody'd finally get it right. My hunch is that the next "great idea" might not be an idea at all, but will quietly come in the form of simple truth.

Now I'd called THAT Lincolnesque.