In response to my Friday blog, Lee Keefer of Oxford offered some insightful comments on how he felt The Oakland Press could best serve its readership through the Opinion Page.

Today and on Friday I will take a look at some of his comments and discuss them. I want to make it clear that I appreciate the fact he took the time to write me and that he is allowing me to use his name. The creditability of a person’s opinions is always enhanced when the individual is not afraid to stand up and identify himself with them.
Mr. Keefer wrote, in part: “...I am not advocating for pure impartiality in the OP editorials. I do believe the OP editorials should be a place for well informed debate including advocacy — pro or con — on issues or events. However, I was writing in concern when Advocacy turns to Partisanship. And therein lies nuance and a rubicon — the point of no return.

“Partisanship, which is extremely tribal if not gang-like in nature, clouds our thinking and judgment. We begin to see things in events, actions or people that do not exist, or are distorted caricatures of reality. And I saw this in Executive Editor Glenn Gilbert’s diatribe against “Obamacare” and the BCBSM lawsuit (in a recent Sunday Oakland Forum column). Mr. Gilbert had crossed that line and had descended into politics.

“Our community needs you to be above that fray. My expectations of the editorials are for them to be filled with gravitas, as much as we expect the office of the President to be above the mud slinging and tribal politics. I look for statesmanship among our leaders whether that is at the level of national, state, local or community...”
Mr. Keefer makes some cogent points and is challenging us to live up to some very high standards. There’s nothing wrong with this. I don’t agree completely with some of his conclusions but that doesn’t mean I am saying he is wrong. He’s not. He’s expressing his views. Generally speaking, you don’t have to agree with a person’s conclusions but you really can’t argue with how that individual feels. That’s why it’s called an “opinion.”

The Oakland Press tries to focus on specific issues or topics when making a editorial decision pro or con. We have never intended to side with one political party or another, although on any given issue, that might appear to be the case.
Can we do a better job? Absolutely. And with loyal readers such as Mr. Keefer, we’ll continue to strive to improve.