"Sure, it's bad to be remembered as an evil and corrupt politician. But what's really bad is to be remembered as a mediocre evil and corrupt politician."
In his address in 1969 in Des Moines, Iowa, Spiro Agnew complains that American public opinion is being manipulated by "a small band of network commentators and self appointed analysts". He rightly points out that their qualifications to their positions may be considered dubious, given that they purport to speak for the common man when they themselves are anything but. He also states, with some justification, that jumping on everything the president says without giving the public time to digest his remarks is unfair. While I agree that the network employees have an agenda, the same applies to politicians, and even the public itself. Mr. Agnew demonstrates his lack of faith in the intelligence of the average citizen when he claims they are so easily swayed. He also offers no viable alternative. His whining about the good old days of the public media kowtowing to the government is embarrassing in this somewhat more enlightened age.
"Now what do we know about these men who wield such power?" He asks us ominously. The same could be said about you, Mr. Agnew, considering the ignominious way your own political career ended.