Of the many post-mortems written to date, Mark Steyn's opus on the Conrad Black trial is definitely the most thorough and thought-provoking. Steyn captures the real Conrad Black: a man who, contrary to the media and prosecutors' caricature, isn't terribly driven by money. He prefers talking about ideas, history and how to change societies. Steyn basically reflects my position (or more accurately, I reflect his) that the defence team never created a compelling or adequate alternative narrative to the government's this-guy-is-a-greedy-arrogant-robber-baron story. Like the old political adage that some policy beats no policy, in this case, some narrative beat no narrative.
But the prize for best overall piece since Judgement Day goes to my former boss, Seth Lipsky. Seth prepared these remarks and read them to his staff at The New York Sun. Seth is such a gifted writer and he succeeds in saying what so many of us feel but weren't able to effectively communicate. Both the Sun and the National Post -- my two alma maters -- would not have existed without Conrad Black, and the Daily Telegraph would likely no longer still be alive. While calmly, though reluctantly, accepting the trial's outcome, Seth explains why Conrad Black is his friend and why he still supports him. I stand with him.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:09 AM
