Could fact checking Donald Trump really somehow be elitist?
That's what I heard during a discussion I was part of CNN's "Reliable Sources" this week. I am wondering if there is anyone else who thinks that way.
I admit in this video that something is happening in the culture, particularly with millennials, thinking facts don't matter. The thinking here: It's all spin and stories (true or false) told by those with power and access to media.
From George Washington's "I cannot tell a lie," to "Honest" Abe Lincoln, honesty is something that mattered in concept, at least, to us in our presidents. I think it matters also to our notion of self. It's part of what we like to believe is an essential part of our national character.
But foget the American Studies talk. As journalists, facts are what we live by. And without facts, the conversation of democracy is impossible.
I am with Angie Drobnic Holan, editor of Politifact, on this one. I really liked what she had to say.
Check it out.