Threats, Lies and Power Ploys

   News reports have been crowded recently with stories about the latest doings and the potential undoing of the current president of the United States.
   From the self-contradictory claims and comments of the Twitter in Chief to the countervailing reports of his official media representatives, it's hard to keep up with the various versions of who said what to whom, when and where it was said, as well as what the veracity quotient is of each.
   It's revisionist history playing out daily, and sometimes hourly.
   So what's a concerned citizen to do?
   Some believe everything the political power broker says, and blame the "fake, dishonest media" for reporting what is said, even when today's statement is the reverse of yesterday's. And replays of the video, which was broadcast live originally to the world, fail to persuade the True Believers that the words are not twisted and manufactured.
   "Don't consider what comes out of his mouth, look at what's in his heart," said the Truest of True Believers.
   Even if reporters were able to see what's in someone's heart, they, as part of the "fake and dishonest media," would not be believed.
  Unfortunately, few can know what lurks in the hearts of men. All they can do is report what is said and what can be verified by recording devices. But when the recorded comments, claims and accusations change daily or hourly, the conclusion can only be that the only truth is that such-and-such was said. And when statement of Day One is contradicted by comment of Day Two, and both are ridiculed by accusation of Day Three -- all uttered by the same person -- the only conclusion a rational listener can make is that the Perpetrator in Chief is attempting to manipulate the message for some purpose known only to him. 
   The real truth, then, is something else, and it remains journalism's task to find it and report it to the public, regardless of any threats, lies or power ploys made by any political leader.
   As one former president said of another former president, "If he ever caught himself telling the truth, he'd tell a lie just to keep his hand in."
   Meanwhile, the current president threatens to cancel daily White House press briefings, and to respond only in writing.
   Journalism's responsibility is to ask penetrating, forceful questions to reach beyond unprovable claims and to find truthful information.
   There is no such thing as an "alternative fact."
   Is there "adversarial journalism"? Absolutely. Democracy depends on it.