The Realist Idealist

I opened the Times homepage this morning to find this article headlining:

Early Dazzle, Then Tough Times for Governor

That Deval Patrick (the nation’s second black governor) has had a rough go of it in the last year is not new news. That his latest bill was defeated yesterday may be “new” news, but it’s certainly not front page, above the fold/homepage-middle-with-large-photo NYT news. The headline is only “big” news because of Barack Obama.

Governor Patrick is a young, passionate speaking, talented black man who ran on a platform of “hope” and “change” - Obama has even acknowledged borrowing language from him - and to be sure his time in office has not been particularly stellar. In and of itself, that’s probably a story. One worth writing somewhere in the annals of the political section in the Boston Globe. Our media should keep us informed of our leaders’ performance and help us in the accountable…yada yada. That part is all well and good.

Given this article’s prominent placement, however, and given the context of our recent news and political climate - which not only includes Obama’s downs and ups over the last month, but also the turmoil surrounding Kwame Kilpatrick and newly appointed NY Governor David Paterson - I feel like this NYT article might as well have been saying:

“Look What Happens When You Elect an Inspiring Black Male Leader”

It’s certainly possible I’m just being over-sensitive, but I’m always the one who reacts to something like this by telling others not to read too much into it. In today’s case, I felt strongly enough about it that it bothered me.

There are other under-performing governors out there, and I feel like it’s irresponsible journalism by the Times to portray yet another prominent black leader in this (negative) light given the broader climate.