Short Shrift

With all the news this week about the Duke lacrosse case, perhaps no one really wants to hear anymore.  Still, I'm guessing I'm not the only one who's a little insulted by Roy Cooper's decision to speak exclusively to "60 Minutes" about the details of his findings.  Maybe we're a little desensitized to our elected officials' refusal to speak to us directly, after all most of our news about the governor comes from, oh, I don't know, speeches he gives to law students in New York or interviews with Charlie Rose.  But this time, I'm going on the record.  It was bad enough to suffer through this ordeal in Raleigh, but the people of Durham were actually victimized by the unfolding of this case.  Cooper's clearly been through the wringer himself, and his office has righted a wrong.  Would it kill him to tell us more first?  Why do we have to wait for next week to get the full findings?

I'm no Lesley Stahl, I'll admit, being a lowly blogger and all, but there are plenty of people around town who Cooper could talk to, starting with Joe Neff or one of the local TV stations.  The point is, we shouldn't have to wait until Sunday evening to hear more about what went wrong.  And, no, advance transcripts of the "60 Minutes" interview don't count, Roy.  You're here, we're here.  Sit down with a local Fourth Estater, let them ask a question.  Then answer it.  Then let them ask a follow-up question.  It's pretty easy.  If it doesn't seem so, close your eyes, pretend we're all important New Yorkers or Californians and tell us more.  Don't worry, the national press could pick it up from here.  I'm tired of it being the other way around.