Daytona Morning Beach Journal on Yorty and Reagan (March 17, 1966)

The March 17, 1966 Editorial section of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal dedicated itself in part to a consideration of the political and social state of California.  Specifically, the editorial opened with a blasting of Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty (D.) for failing to “do what needs to be done” to help the city and prevent a further bloodletting.  What was it that needed doing?  According to the DMBJ, the fundamental problem was “the stark contrasts between affluence and degradation that exists in the sprawling city and its suburbs.” 

After ripping into Yorty, the article turned its aim towards then-candidate Ronald Reagan, whom it labeled “an arch foe of the antipoverty program, medicare, Social Security and any other programs seeking to uplift those trapped in places like Watts.”  In other words:  Reagan’s a racist!  How do I know?  Simple, because he opposes my solutions to the problem of poverty. 

Doesn’t reading thoughtful and balanced writing like that just make you weep over all the nasty “partisanship” we hear from today’s media?