Somewhat relevant is that the incoming President [Ford, no connection] speedily pardoned his predecessor so that the possibility of charging and trying him for anything, criminal or otherwise, moved back into politics. In Toronto we're still at the first stage, where the politics and the criminal stuff are completely inextricable.
As for the press, they go after and print what attracts the eyeballs they sell, and that's as true for the most respected journals as it is of the sleaziest tabloids and gossip sites. Like the unprincipled wrongdoing politicians who stubbornly cling to office, the prying salacious scandal-mongering media are the creations of the public. We buy their stories, we vote for them. And frankly, in an era when we're repeatedly voting for crooks and clowns and conspirators only because they chant the right slogans and wear the right colors it's a damned good thing we've got wikileakers, sneaky reporters and shrieking headlines to counter them with.
When we're all—or any of us—reading footnoted position papers and scholarly op-eds before and after voting, let me know. Until that glorious day, I only hope the press is free enough to be as self-interested and sleazy as the pols they go after. We get the pols and press we deserve.
