European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 6, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday August 6, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 13 commentary Leslie h. Gel simple solution to break political stalemate president Bush came Home from his virtuoso performance in the soviet Union Only to resume the posture of a petulant preppy. Democrats Are a frustratingly negative on everything a and a we need More farsighted people like me in Congress a he said like a professor Henry Higgins lamenting democratic Eliza  is a Way for Bush to have his wish and for democrats to have a better Chance to reclaim the White House a if they have the nerve. Lets Call the idea a modified parliamentary democracy a and it can be done without changing the Constitution. The legislative process would work like this a the democratic majorities in the House and Senate would pass Bills As they see fit representing the democrats approaches to dealing with Domestic problems and for which they would Bear political responsibility. The Republican president could approve or veto. A if the Bill were vetoed democrats then would allow passage of the Republican Bill on the same subject for which republicans would shoulder responsibility the idea is to break the political ideological stalemate in Washington and establish greater responsibility As a basis for voter Choice. Legislation could be passed with much less inter party bickering and log rolling. Whatever legislation became Law would More clearly be labelled As democratic or Republican. A confusing Case would be where Bush supported a democratic measure but that would be unusual. Problems would be addressed with either Liberal or conservative answers and voters would know better whom to blame and Reward. An example would be the Bill to extend unemployment benefits just passed by a Large majority against the threat of presidential veto. Bush might have the guts to buy the idea. Republicans like Newt Gingrich in the House Strong believers with policy proposals might see it As the Only Opportunity for republicans to enact their programs and gain control of Congress. Democrats would be reluctant. House speaker Tom Foley and the Senate majority Leader 1 George Mitchell seem to think they Are being responsible by trying to Compromise with republicans. But the result is almost always either gridlock or Mushy minimal legislation that satisfies Only Back room Wheeler dealers. Most committee chairmen prefer the present system for just those reasons. More difficult Many congressional democrats would gag at going along with Republican legislation after a veto of their own in areas like civil rights and unemployment compensation. To these democrats the Only answer is that they have no Hope of translating their beliefs into Laws in the current system a unless they capture the White House. Their Best Chance of doing that is by letting republicans pass their Laws and Triumph or hang themselves. I turn to this kind of Stark and mechanical idea Only because the present situation is ridiculous and i do not see another solution. For months now republicans and democrats have pressed another idea a urging Bush to shift his priorities from foreign to Domestic. The Hope was that if he paid More attention to what was going on in the United states he would Sec the devastating problems and go to work. To which he answered on Friday that things were Fine at Home and �?o1 am not going to lose interest in world  one can Only conclude from this masterly retort that Bush will continue to pay More mind to Cyprus than Cincinnati. Maybe it is better. Every time he resurfaces on Domestic issues he scares the hell out of democrats. Last week Foley seemed to Back away from the democrats commitment to a Bill that would provide $150 billion for Highway and mass transit construction and repair. Rank and file democrats could not face the Prospect of Bush attacking them Over the 5-cent-per-gallon tax increase needed to finance the Bill. Bush also said on Friday that a the last things he wanted from legislation was to a increase the  but Richard Dar Man his budget Tamer announced two weeks ago that the deficit would be $20 billion to $40 billion larger than predicted for the next several years because of a technical re estimates in tax revenues. Hardly a whimper was heard in Washington. Allow me to grumble for the rest of us and to search for a Way out. C Tho now Yolk Timo Sydney h. Schanberg Why can t newspapers report on themselves a a i. _  How come the print press does no to cover itself the reasons bespeak nervousness rather than nobility. The Basic reason is that we re Chicken a afraid that self examination will Only give ammunition to our critics. In the same vein we worry that if we reveal to the readers our Little a a secrets about How we gather news they wont respect us in the morning. I submit that on the contrary coverage of ourselves a that is reviews of our performance a would make Lively Reading that would thoroughly hearted and exhilarated those who put Down their coins for our daily fare. It May seem Odd to some that what thrust this subject to the front of my mind was a Story that the press would seem to be vigorously pursuing a and doing a fairly Good Job at it a the worldwide scandal involving the corrupt Bank known As the Bank of Commerce and credit International. The Point about Bocci however is not that we re covering the pants off it now but Why we did no to get on to the Money laundering terrorism financing and other Slimy activities a lot sooner. A a much of the current voluminous coverage has focused on the failure of regulatory and Law enforcement agencies to crack Down when they first Learned of the crookedness years ago. And this is fair enough. But it is also fair to ask where were the reporters who cover such beats As the banking Industry the or Kyj a Inal investigators and the regulatory agencies in Washington. ,. Were they sleeping or were they merely unknowing. Or was it somewhere in the Middle a As in they heard the whispers of a scandal at Bocci but did t have a firm grasp on the exceedingly Complex Story and thus did no to realize How wide were its reverberations and in so the Story did no to get written until now a and then Only because a Confluence of circumstances having Little or nothing to do with the press brought the scandal bubbling Uthe surface in a number of countries. Frankly i think readers would be fascinated with a Story that explained How the press a for the simple reason that reporters and editors Are quite human and fallible a did no to sink its Teeth into this Saga of International intrigue and greed and conspiracy and plaster it across the front pages of this country a newspapers four or five years ago. What a to be nervous about its not so much admission of error As admission of being like everybody else a not perfect. What such stories would do is demystify the practice of journalism. They would bring readers into our newsrooms and big City bureaus and Tell them How we work. Sure its a risk. They would find out we have no special magic or potions or formulas just a healthy sense of curiosity about the world and perhaps a Wishful desire to effect change. Rather than evoking disrespect or disdain in the Public this act of sharing knowledge about what it is we do and Why might Well create a sense of kinship Between newspaper and Reader. In any event no matter what result such self coverage would produce its pretty hard to justify not providing it considering Thal we cover every other profession Industry constituency race religion and life style group in the country a and seek to demystify them. Not Only that but we cover other segments of our own communications Industry and rate their performances. Virtually every major newspaper in the country has one or More reporters whose Job is to critique How television covers news events and or sports. So Why not a reporter who critiques How the print press covers things some big City papers do have full time Media reporters. However usually though there Are exceptions these reporters concentrate on situations where the role of the press becomes part of the weave of an ongoing major Story a such As watergate Iran Contra and the rape charges against William Kennedy Smith in Palm Beach. There is very Little coverage of How the press functions on a Day to Day basis on stories of lesser magnitude or of the techniques reporters use to piece together information or of the Leel and texture of what goes on in a newsroom. Media coverage of a More intensive Bent is Lound in most of the country a smaller alternative publications such As the Village voice in new York which run regular columns scrutinizing the work of the mainstream press. Its revealing that every week when the voice comes out the first Page that reporters on the mainstream dailies turn to is the one with the articles critiquing their own papers. The Public too has always shown a Large appetite for books and stories about the inner Workings of the press. People see us correctly As one of the major Power sources in society and accordingly they exhibit the same fascination with what takes place in journalism a Power corridors As they do with government and big business. I see Little to lose in drawing Back the curtains and letting the Public have a better look. But Don t hold your breath. One of the abiding qualms that afflicts nearly every major newspaper in America is the anxiety that if it publishes an  of the work of another paper the latter will return the favor and the spitting match will be on. And As you might imagine the newspaper world is like All fraternities. It likes to keep its spitting private. C Cox news service the opinions expressed in the commentary and cartoon on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to Quot be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government