As I sit and watch the surreal pictures following Hurricane Katrina, I am somewhat shocked and, to be quite honest, disgusted to witness the immediate finger-pointing, political rhetoric and general “Bush-bashing” by the undeniably liberal media: specifically CNN and the far left New York Times. Freedom of the press is guaranteed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and by no means am I striking this down. However, it is imperative that the mainstream press be fair and balanced. Let me start with some historical examples: Do we all remember President Bush’s Texas Air National Guard memo fiasco? CBS and Dan Rather, among others, reported as fact that the President had squadron leaders in his National Guard unit “sugar-coat” his credentials as highlighted in a 1971 memo. Even as this story unfolded as a complete fraud and forgery, the mainstream media stuck to their guns until the very end. Next came the presidential election of 2004. Recent Gallup poll numbers reported that 76 percent of all election coverage of George W. Bush was negative, compared to just 21 percent for John Kerry. This brings us to the most recent issue the leftist media has chosen to report irresponsibly: Hurricane Katrina.Immediately, CNN saw this disaster as political capital. I watched as Anderson Cooper of “Anderson Cooper 360” spoke of the atrocities President Bush created with his “delayed” reaction to the Hurricane and the lack of evacuations. I watched as he begged and pleaded with doctors and rescue workers to blame the president when their true focus was on saving people. Mr. Cooper, there is a time and a place for an investigation, but the first 72 hours after a national tragedy is not it.Furthermore, I was appalled to find CNN reporting each death as an indictment of the president and, as the death toll rose, the criticism mounted. However, the most preposterous commentary came when CNN gave credibility to Kanye West’s ludicrous and disgusting charge that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” When a news outlet accepts these remarks and publishes no rebuttal, the comments are a reflection of the publication and they must take responsibility. Some food for thought the CNN executives should have mentioned in response: The poverty rate is down from 13.2 percent to 12.7 percent under the Bush Administration; African American home ownership is up 2 percent; unemployment is at a sparkling 4.9 percent; and this administration has spent more on the poor and education programs than even CNN’s golden boy, Bill Clinton. The federal government cannot create a hurricane, nevertheless control what direction it moves and the communities it hits. The fact that poor, elderly, black citizens perished was not a circumstance of choice and purpose as Mr. West would like to believe, but rather a circumstance of location. To set a few points straight: The president has absolutely no jurisdiction over the evacuation of a city. The responsibility lies with the state and local governments, which the mainstream media conveniently ignored and dismissed by saying the president should have disregarded the bureaucracies in place. Unfortunately, if the president had done so, the media would have criticized him for breach of state’s rights. Mayor Nagin finally ordered an evacuation far too late, only after President Bush strongly urged him to exercise his power. I am exempting neither the president nor the federal government from blame; however, we have been bombarded with negativity and smoke screens from the media covering up the gross inadequacies of the state and local government in Louisiana.Media outlets salivate at stories of racial discrimination and the opportunity to attack the president, whether or not they have all the facts. When media outlets see a straight shot at the President, they do not hesitate to report, whether or not they have investigated the facts.Fed up with the negativity and political finger pointing, I switched to Fox News Channel. Here, I saw a completely different picture of the United States. I did not see the liberal politicians attempting to capitalize on a tragedy; rather, I witnessed the miraculous, heroic and generous spirit of the American people. I watched as stories rolled in about the wonderful churches and American cities that were opening their doors to the victims. I witnessed caravans of Americans pouring into the Gulf Coast, bringing bottled water, food and medical supplies. I was inspired when I heard the stories of New Orleans police officers working around the clock to maintain order. I watched Geraldo Rivera assist in a rescue effort and carry a disabled woman down a flight of stairs.Unfortunately, my media hangover roared back the next day when I read in a New York Times article that stated Rivera physically pushed an Army rescuer out of the way for personal recognition. After viewing the rescue video (all of this was caught on film), it was blatantly evident that the New York Times claim was completely false. Furthermore, the publication refuses to admit their mistake. Sound familiar (Ahem-the National Guard papers)? My challenge to the mainstream media: You have a responsibility to the American people-many of whom rely on you as their only source of information-to report the facts and let the people decide their opinion. The American spirit is not characterized by finger-pointing or political capitalization on a natural disaster as liberals continue to pursue, but rather by what is truly happening across the Gulf Coast and the entire nation. The general ideology of the media has been shifted from middle of the road to the left and away from ethical, fact-based reporting. Fortunately, Americans have responded, as CNN’s viewership numbers have been dropping consistently and more and more reporting of the injustices done by the New York Times and other publications of that sort come to light. The rise of Fox News has been a beacon of light in the darkness of overwhelming political reporting biases by reporting the facts of the case and letting the viewers form their own opinions. I do not blame Anderson Cooper of CNN for his outrage, because he was forced to act that way by executives. A report has come out this week in the Los Angeles Times outlining CNN’s interview guidelines regarding the hurricane. The story charged that CNN executives encouraged interviewers and interviewees to “get angry” about the federal response to the hurricane. What has happened to ethical media reporting? Have fairness, equality and truth abandoned the lexicon of the media’s top executives in favor of shock reporting and Hollywood-esque Bush-bashing?A natural disaster is not a time for advancing a political agenda; rather, it is a time for Americans to come together and put the donkey and elephant behind themselves for the greater good. Unfortunately, certain factions of the liberal media have attempted to divide us along racial and political party lines at a time when the generosity and true spirit of the American people is on full display.Dave Gallaher is a senior in Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and [email protected]