Anderson the Thinker

Columnist Jack Anderson's readers have come to expect daily bulletins about skulduggery all over, bleak reports that are long on data and short on philosophy. So it was something of a shock last week when Anderson took a deep dive into rumination and surfaced aglistening with optimism. Taking a long view of his trade, Anderson raised a rhetorical question about the muckraker's role in a time of widespread corruption and scandal. Might not he further weaken the national spirit by encouraging cynicism and despair?

Not a bit of it, Anderson quickly decided. In his view, the muckraker "has more confidence in America than most others." Why? Because his work teaches him to respect--and depend on --three American virtues: "First, the relative scarcity of corruption [a trait that will come as news to regular Anderson followers]. If it were the norm, it would not be news. Second, the probity of most citizens: if the majority found official corruption undisturbing, the cry of the reformer would become hollow. Third, the ultimate responsiveness to truth, when forced to the wall, of our governmental system."

A wall-forcer of no mean prowess, Anderson backed off long enough to reveal his inner doubts: "Tough though his hide gets to be, the investigative reporter is as emotionally needful of emphatic response as a clown or an actor."

Extending the simile to the pugilistic arts, Anderson concluded: "Perhaps a reporter, like a prizefighter, is in trouble the moment he gets a bit reflective and sentimental."

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