Irritating asides

Why is it that the press feels so compelled to inject commentary into stories that they write? Sometimes it's subtle, but sometimes it's so blatant it gets downright irritating. Like this article from the Dallas Morning News, "President Bush is having to get used to this...." by Robert Hillman, a Washington bureau reporter.

Hillman talks about the Bush daughters showing up on the campaign trail for the first time and how President Bush is still searching for a way to introduce them. But he interjects this irritating aside into the piece that just grates on my nerves.

On this two-day swing through the Great Lakes battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, daughter Barbara has been at her father's side.

She just graduated from Yale University, the alma mater of her father and grandfather, the 41st president. But Mr. Bush passes on that detail. At a rally Tuesday in Marquette, Mich., he introduced Barbara simply as a "newly graduate from college." And later in Duluth, Minn., he mentioned nothing about college at all.

"I love that you're here, darling," he said. "Thanks for coming."

At the Waukesha County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, he again passed on mentioning Yale, though he duly noted that Barbara also had "made it out of college in four years."

Did he really "pass" on mentioning Yale? Or did he just forget to mention it? Or did he decide not to mention the college because he thought it was too boastful?

Is it really necessary to see a conspiracy around every corner? Are we supposed to think that Bush isn't proud that his daughter graduated from Yale? Or that he thinks it's a political liability to mention it? What exactly is the point of this? And why, in the middle of a story that is supposed to report facts, do we get Hillman's opinions thrown in? What is Hillman's agenda?

I don't know what the solution is. Maybe we should just shoot all the journalists and start over? Or burn all the journalism schools? Is there anyone left who just reports the news without adding their own "special flavor" to the sauce?

I have a suggestion for Hillman. Stick to the facts. If you don't think it's important, then think about this (admittedly mythical) description of your own activities.

Robert Hillman, a reporter for the Dallas Morning News, has been covering the Bush campaign as it travels through the battleground states. Hillman travels with a staff that includes young females, but his wife doesn't travel with him. But Mr. Hillman passes on that detail.

If you think it's perfectly fine to report like that, Robert, then perhaps you need another profession?