CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, our great newspapers and journalists -
You are all intelligent people. We know this. We have respected you, over the years ... we turned to you faithfully, night after Six O'Clock News-Night, as we grew up and into our later years. We read our paper over morning coffee, on our commuter trains, in our subways. We counted on you to bring us "All the News That's Fit to Print.
But something changed. When, exactly, did that happen?
This campaign has been a game to you - a "Ballot Bowl", a "horse race."
I speak to you person-to-person, as a fellow citizen.
I have one question:
Whose finger do YOU, as a person, want to be near "the button?"
Have you, as a person, ever given to The United Way, the MS Society, Feed the Children, or to any other worthy non-partisan charity?
If so, you are a person with a heart.
You have compassion, no matter how much others belittle that and try to squash humankindness with nasty, simple, selfish greed.
We have seen you take steps, these last few days. I hope to God it's an awakening to the hard reality we all will face, 53 days from now, after the elections, on "The Morning After," should we disavow compassion or the better angels of our nature. As fellow citizens, together we rise, and together we fall, in these UNITED States of America. It is a noble concept, one for which Lincoln spoke and for which so many gave their lives. Journalists have always been there to report the truth, hard and unvarnished, as a valued and necessary part of our history.
Don't let us slip backwards. Help us move forward - to achieve, again.
To be a shining light for the world, again.
To inspire with great words and great works - not with fear.
Think about it - how far can this country sink, before it IS too late to bring it back? Consider what happened this weekend with Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. It is no longer a game, or "fun." Happy talk doesn't ring true. Our country needs cold, hard, truthful facts to survive.
I still believe in you, but I need a signal that you believe in me.
In 53 days, it will be "The Morning After."
Who do YOU want to wake up next to?