News-Record.com

Robert Gates spoke to the U.S. Naval Academy commencement last week and, boy, was it a crackerjack. (Apologies for being late on this. I just read about it in that MSM oldie but goody Newsweek.

And here's the reason I'm writing about it.

Today, I want to encourage you always to remember the importance of two pillars of our freedom under the Constitution -- the Congress and the press. Both surely try our patience from time to time, but they are the surest guarantees of the liberty of the American people.

and

The same is true with the press, in my view a critically important guarantor of our freedom. When it identifies a problem, as at Walter Reed, the response of senior leaders should be to find out if the allegations are true -- as they were at Walter Reed -- and if so, say so, and then act to remedy the problem. If untrue, then be able to document that fact. The press is not the enemy, and to treat it as such is self-defeating.

I promise the quotes are in context. Read the speech.

Now, I hear from those who think of this newspaper, believe it or not, as anti-American and use our coverage of the war, the president, the military and Walter Reed to illustrate their points. "We blew Walter Reed out of proportion." "We ignore the progress in Iraq." "We don't celebrate our citizens in the military." "We only write about the deaths in Baghdad."

Because we publish news articles that don't align with their views, some hold this perception -- delusion, really -- that we don't support American soldiers and Marines. Pretty crazy what some people will believe.

I don't really expect the comments of the Secretary of Defense to change anyone's mind. But from an administration that reportedly doesn't care for the press, his words are nice to read.