The C&L ‘EDWARD R. MURROW for a MINUTE’ Finalists

The C&L “EDWARD R. MURROW for a MINUTE” Finalists
(cross-posted over at C&L,
where I'm guest posting for the contest)

What an amazing
set of entries for John's “Good
Night, and Good Luck” contest. Even fellow commenters were reduced
to exclamations of “Wow.”

“Good Night, and
Good Luck” reminds us of the power of journalism and the importance
of a courageous press that's not afraid to push back at power. After all, it
was James Risen’s reporting that led to the revelaton that George W. Bush
had been illegally spying on American citizens, subverting FISA and breaking
the law. Laws the president pledged to uphold. Risen's reporting helped lead
to Senator Russ Feingold's censure of President George W. Bush. A poll showing
48% of voters “favor”
a censure. Glenn Greenwald notes the
support for censure, with Chris
Bowers at MyDD offering more.

The 37 finalists are listed below, a wide range, irreverant to the lofty. If
you think anyone has been slighted or an entry isn't orignal, contact
me. Now, read and vote for your favorite Murrowism in the comment
section, by name. Don't forget to hear Murrow's coda, “Good Night,
and Good Luck” as you read these excellent entries. Think of yourself
as playing Keith Olbermann. Voting closes at midnight tonight, Pacific time.
We'll pick the 3 winners and let you know tomorrow.

The President has chosen to consider civil liberties in the darkest shades
of gray, without regard for ease of obligation to treat these rights in fair
and open light. Too often it is the staggering reach for power by which the
powerful become undone. – Aaron

Republican leaders feel that there should not be any criticism of a sitting
President. Teddy Roosevelt called this idea unpatriotic, servile, and morally
treasonable to the American public. This administration, through wiretapping,
torture, and dishonesty, has provided ample reason to regard his admonition
as prophetic. – GulfWarVet

A Congress that is unwilling to rebuke a President for side-stepping one
of its own laws should cause all citizens to wonder: who is looking out for
us? –
LITBMueller

We must not forget that everything we take for granted was once an act of
great courage. That only by risking one's comfort, one's job, or one's life,
can we ensure that future generations will not have to do so. – Ian

Too often, this administration has been unable to distinguish friend from
foe, or to separate substantive reasons from insubstantial rhetoric. To the
Republican chairman, who believes that the senator from Wisconsin has 'sided
with the terrorists,' we offer the following advice: when you find yourself
on sentry–Republican and Democrat alike–with the lines drawn close to your
enemies, and when the night's smothering darkness is broken only by the flashes
of distant battle, there is a password to let you know friend from foe, and
that word is 'liberty.' – steve davis

Patriotism thrives in places where free men have made free choices, where
the sound of strong voices drowns out the sound of dragging chains. thedarkbackward

Anybody who feels they have the duty to decide a woman's pregnancy for her
has the inescapable responsibility to take care of the child's needs once
it is born. JiuNoon

And so, today, we are witnessing two failures, of two political parties.
One, is a failure due to cynicism. A surrender of hope and mercy in exchange
for fear and greed. The other, is a failure due to idealism. A defeat of trust
and fellowship, by one angry, bullying brother over the hopeful one. But the
idealist learns. Because he is the only one who can. He knows he does not
have all the answers. But he trusts he has the courage, while the cynic always
wonders. If we teach our children anything, it is that failures are inevitable.
But if any must fail, let it happen pursuing ideals, not cynicism. Because
stretching and failing is not failure. Insisting on truth and fairness is
not defeat. Idealism must prove itself over and over, because painful truth
is never welcome. And fear is an easy sell. But fear cannot create. Only hope
can do that. And that is why idealism will always prevail. – fouro

We are a nation of laws, not of men. Even the President must obey the law.
To permit this president to break the law and to not challenge his crime is
the first step to tyranny … – franz hespenheide

When the government and journalists no longer speak for the american citizen,
the American Citizen must learn to speak for himself. – kryptik

Pork tastes better in Washington than it does on the farm! – Morg

If America remembers George W. Bush with any sympathy at all, it will remember
the myriad times during the Kerry/Bush debates that he told America how hard
it was to be the commander in chief. But if they remember him with any honesty
it will be as the man who repeated abdicated his responsibilities to the people,
the constitution and the nation he swore to protect and defend. – Mark
Novak

None who saw the images of the burning towers can deny that the enemy we
face is brutal. The inhumanity we saw that day is in stark contrast to our
own traditions, foremost of which is the value of the individual human life.
Yet in defending this ideal, we run the risk of subverting it. We are denying
it for others while we try to defend it for ourselves. – elendil

From a single horrific incident on American soil were sown the seeds for
obscuring basic American tenants of freedom. Adding to the tragedy of that
day, citizens of this country have allowed their leaders to obscure the line
between the rule of law and the rule of tyranny, the line between courage
and cowardice and the line between patriot and traitor. In the melee congress
has abdicated its co-equal power to the executive, is complicit in the accusations
of treason and quivers in fear of changing the status quo. Is it really a
tale told by an idiot, filled with sound and fury signifying nothing? I hope
not. – Jason

If my colleagues deem it necessary to call their reports both “fair
and balanced”, I suspect that neither is closer to the truth. – Lobstah

When politicians no longer listen to their constituents but only to their
courtiers, the people's business will not be done and democracy itself cannot
stand. – Kitty

Today's Democrats are like a mob trying to decide which thread to pull to
unravel the cloak of a naked emperor. – Mike Anderson

The hides of dozens of once great but ultimately arrogant nations adorn
the halls of history. As a nation we must come to our senses now or risk being
the next sad trophy of ignominy. – alex greenwood

'It would appear as though you have confused doing God's work with doing
God's job.' – Gatoscuro

“When political donations are equated with free speech, only the wealthy
will enjoy it.” – bughunter

Americans are waiting for real leadership to take them out of these dark
times, and they will find it as soon as they stop looking in Washington D.C.
– Mike

When those who would ask a free people to compromise freedom, and who would
shut down discussion of the proposition using tactics such as fear and misinformation,
and for whom there are no means too objectionable to ensure their victory,
the power of one man's dissent lies in the image of an action clearly against
self interest. The ugly reality of our era- two hundred years after we secured
these freedoms- is that history might fail to record this heroic stand. –
jf

The history of our Senate is to provide a check and balance to the executive
branch so that even the slightest hint of tyranny can be quashed. There are
those in the upper chamber of Congress, however, that refrain from even the
mildest rebuke of the President regardless of his actions. Perhaps those Senators
should be reminded that America is not Rome and the President is not Caesar.
– LeftofArizona

Beware of those that attempt to shape language and alter definitions. It
is what defines us that makes us. – Torture by any other name

If Congress is too afraid to tell the Administration to obey the laws, it
might as well stop passing them. – ScottKnick

At the end of the day, we are a poeple at war. That will be our legacy. We
could have accomplished great things. We could have set a better example.
We could have used our energies in positive ways and our resources for doing
good. But at the end of the day, we are a people at war. – redstate
Radical

They who have put the people in chains now reproach them for being slaves.
– woj

“If only telling the truth was a moral value, the Bush Administration
might actually do more of it.” – Joe Madrigal

The Right fears that liberal Americans are changing the traditional meanings
of words like 'marriage.' Yet they would do well to remember that the word
'pundit' originally meant 'wise man,' just as the word 'republican' originally
meant 'one of the people.' – pico

“Censure” may not be the most appropriate punishment for George
Bush, but it's a start. Those intoxicated by power often need a “jolt”
to shock them back to a semblence of reality. Citizens who love freedom will
support the efforts of the junior senator from Wiconsin, Senator Feingold.
Those who would trade principle for expediency serve neither themselves NOR
their nation. Today in Washington, “courage” is a four letter word
that has been replaced by another … “FEAR.” – Randy S.

The Democratic party isn't suffering from tactical malfunctions, but an identity
crisis. They've forgotten what once made them great: The same power majority
the republicans have created using fear, the democrats once had using hope.
– Jrog

The seeds of history are often sown on the backs of strong leaders; never
before has a leader had to make the claim that he is a strong leader so often
with so little effect. Sometimes the field has to be plowed under, that new
seeds may take root, and actually lead to an end. – B.O. Rights

Living in a reality based community is uncomfortable. It is far easier to
believe that the pictures of torture cause more hatred and should be suppressed
than to admit the fact that the torture is being committed in our name. It
is far easier to believe that words of dissent are treasonous than to admit
the fact that an unworkable policy has left us in a position where the only
certainty is more death and destruction. And, it is far easier to “stay
the course” than it is to take an honest look at the results, own your
mistakes, and make the corrections necessary to steer through adversity. Great
accomplishments are rarely the product of someone taking the path of least
discomfort. – TreadingWater

“America is a country born out of dissent, when that right is taken
away, America dies slowly, one voice at a time.” – Jeff

It's not that the media today is lazy. It is that it is asleep. How else
can one account for its neglect of a war that was built on fabrications, a
government that spies on its people illegally, and locks people up without
trial. It dreams of juicy Hollywood gossip and snores out official government
statements. I only hope that when it awakens, if it awakens, it will not mistake
its own reality for a nightmare. – Emmett

The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay
amongst the Republicans, and given considerable discomfort to the Democratic
defeatists in Washington. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't
create this situation of powerlessness; he merely exposed it — and rather
successfully. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our blogs, but in the indecision
and the inaction of our party insiders. – forkush

Catchy slogans are great for selling candy bars or beer but a worthless tool
for leading our nation. It is, however, the only tool this Administration
is skilled at using. – sgt. Hulka

“Good
night, and Good luck.”

If you want to vote for any of the entries, take a trip over to
Crooks & Liars
and put your choice in the comment
section.