Jim Lehrer passed away yesterday.\u00a0 He had a good run, I guess.\u00a0 At 85, he got his money’s worth and he lived a full life.\u00a0 But I still mourn his passing.\u00a0 He came from a time when people served their country, and he was a real reporter…the kind that provided news, not propaganda.\u00a0 There aren’t too many of those around any more.\u00a0 Maybe none.<\/p>\n
I heard Jim Lehrer speak at Harvard once. \u00a0 He was the commencement speaker and his message struck a nerve with me.\u00a0 There might have been 2000 people in the crowd. \u00a0 At a time when we were fully committed in both Afghanistan and Iraq, he asked the crowd how many people knew someone who was actually serving in the military. \u00a0 Maybe 100 hands went up.\u00a0 Then Mr. Lehrer asked another question:\u00a0 How many people had been personally affected by the war? \u00a0 Not a single hand went up. \u00a0 This was a rarified crowd.\u00a0 Knowing more than a few of the folks in this group, I knew many of them perceived themselves to be foreign policy, military strategy, and political experts (you know, like everyone on Facebook these days).\u00a0 But not a single one had any skin in the game. \u00a0 Mr. Lehrer had just demonstrated that (very politely, of course).<\/p>\n