It's Official: Ron Paul Leads in Military Donations

Paul's vice-president

Ret. General Sanchez Media Take Down

Ricardo Sanchez, the retired commander of coalition
forces in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, made headlines last
Friday when he called the U.S. mission in Iraq “a
nightmare with no end in sight” and catastrophically
flawed. Those headlines were deserved but most of his
speech to the Military Reporters and Editors
Association consisted of a blistering attack on the
media. That part was - no surprise - largely ignored
in media accounts.

In his talk, General Sanchez accused reporters of
“unscrupulous reporting, solely focused on supporting
an agenda and preconceived notions of the U.S.
military.” He added that such press bias sometimes
“puts U.S. service members in deadly situations.”

“What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the
corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our
country and killing our service members who are at
war. My assessment is that your profession, to some
extent, has strayed from these ethical standards and
allowed external agendas to manipulate what the
American public sees on TV, reads in newspapers and
what they see on the Web,” Mr. Sanchez said.

“For some of you, just like some of our politicians,
the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit
your own preconceived notions, biases and agendas.”

The audience of military reporters appeared stunned as
General Sanchez calmly laid out his indictment. He
concluded:

“We must ask ourselves - who is responsible for
maintaining the ethical standards of the profession in
order to ensure that our democracy does not continue
to be threatened by this dangerous shift away from
your sacred duty of public enlightenment?”

After an uncomfortable silence, punctuated by smatters
of applause, James Crawley, president of the Military
Reporters and Editors Association, thanked the general
for his “unvarnished” look at the media. But to the
extent the general has a point, how can we expect
change unless his remarks are heard in the media forest?

That's amazing, an article that isn't especially "in favor" of Dr. Paul, because it does have a large bit about Obama and McCain...but still so very positive. I don't know if I've seen that before.

Mr. Davis,

Thanks for your piece on Ron Paul leading in Military donations (Oct. 18, 2007). I applaud the Houston Chronicle for picking up on the significance of this story -- seems even the soldiers are tired of this expensive, seemingly senseless war.

It was only through the internet that I learned that there were many like me who opposed the war and supported limited government and fiscal responsibility. A life-long Democrat, I switch parties so I may have the honor of casting a vote for Ron Paul. Dr. Paul is, in my opinion, the only candidate with integrity. He has a distinguished career of practicing what he preaches. He is the only truly anti-war candidate thus, his message resounds with so many of us.

Ron Paul is not only raising record amounts of money from the military but also from little people like me who had perviously given up hope. Dr. Paul cured my apathy and gains legions of fervent supports daily. Compare the traffic on Ron Paul's sites to that of other candidates and tell me there isn't something going on here. I only wish more people in the mainstream media were listening. Thank you Mr. Davis and thank you Houston Chronicle.

Sincerely,