I have conscientiously avoided criticizing our state�s newspapers (at least the reporting end of it) simply because they know the difference between �imbricate� and �embrocate.� That, and the lowliest typesetter is paid more than I am for writing this blog. Somehow in the euphoria of blogging�s success, members of the pajama media have snootily decided that the old dinosaur is headed for extinction. I steer clear of joining the online Nostradamuses because they�re wrong.

But they aren�t the only ones that are wrong these days. In December, the front page of Charleston�s conservative and social responsible newspaper, the Daily Mail, had the shallowness of a tabloid when it boldly declared James Brown�s death while giving the announcement of President Ford�s demise a dark corner underneath the fold.

On Christmas Day, the newspaper declared in its largest headline above the fold, �Soul legend James Brown dies at 73.� But on the 27th, Ford got the smallest headline at the very bottom of the page, �Ford remembered for pardon, healing.�

On December 28th, the Daily Mail again mixed their priorities when they posted a follow up piece on each of the men. Guess which one was above the fold? Yep, Jimmy�s. Again he was given the largest headline, �James Brown to live on in Clendenin man�s act� followed by a huge picture of a guy writhing in agony. The former President was once again relegated to a position below the fold. With the smallest headline, the Daily Mail whispers, �Arch Moore remembers Ford as �fine human being.��

There is much to be said for James Brown�s contribution to music and our culture. But America would have survived if Brown had chosen to be a taxi driver instead. We cannot endure without a President � especially one with the dignity and graciousness of Ford. Brown was repeatedly arrested for beating his wife, possession of drugs, and was finally imprisoned for threatening pedestrians with firearms and abuse of PCP. Ford was the model American: an athlete, a patriot, a statesman, and a President. His entire life was capsulated in dignity � something Brown couldn�t conjure.

We should give each man their appropriate due for their individual accomplishments. When it came time for the Daily Mail to decide who gets the main headline, the decision should have been simple. It’s too bad being President of the United States doesn’t rank high enough for the editors.