Sneed: Enough on Patrick Daley

By vouchey in News on May 6, 2005 3:03PM

It happened again today. Another annoying item in Michael Sneed's column about mayoral scion, Patrick Daley. In case you haven't been following it, last spring Mayor Richard M. Daley's son, Patrick, enlisted in the U.S. Army. It started with a cover story on the Sun Times, and ever since, Sun Times people columnist Michael Sneed has tracked every little detail in recruit-Patrick's journey.

Here's why the stories irk us: Sneed's gushing coverage focuses on one man, emphasizing his sacrifice as an enlisted who is likely to be sent to Iraq. Chicagoist is grateful for young Daley's choice to enter the Army, but the tone of Sneed's coverage suggests that Daley is a standout, when so many others have been fighting our war for so much longer. Chicagoist has one friend working for the State Department in Kabul -- she lives in a hooch surrounded by armed Marines all day. We have another friend, a 40 year-old priest, who is preparing to head to Iraq as an Army chaplain. And there are many more who keep their own blogs of life in Iraq.

It's an issue of balance, Ms. Sneed. Your continuing focus on Patrick Daley, with no attention to the many more who have already made much more significant sacrifices, suggests that you are doing little more than flacking for an already very public personality. Let's hear about some other folks now and then, eh? How about some local medal winners. How about people sending armor plating and other supplies to their relatives already over there.

But then again, why change? You already know that we're reading you.