Letter: Misplaced criticism of media

Having followed presidential politics closely since the Eisenhower administration, I'm amused when newspaper letter writers are offended because their favored politician is criticized. Presidents are a focal point of the media. When they speak or act reprehensibly, they typically draw a larger number of negative newspaper columns or letters than supportive ones (think John Kennedy's disastrous summit with Nikita Khrushchev in 1961; or Jimmy Carter's 1979 nationwide address insisting Americans were having a "crisis of confidence;" or Barack Obama's 2008 observation that many voters "cling to guns and religion;" or Hillary Clinton's 2016 reference to opponents as a "basket of deplorables").