Long-time political reporter Walter Shapiro wrote an interesting column last week about the problems that come with diminished state and local political reporting, especially in Kentucky, where I actually heard the same concerns while reporting out this piece on the Senate race there. Essentially, Shapiro is concerned that candidates at this level aren't getting enough scrutiny before they are catapulted into national politics, leaving the voting public without the whole story on their political leaders.
Just today, the Louisville Courier-Journal is reporting that Republican candidate Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist by trade, is not board-certified. TAPPED readers already know this, of course, because the same news was reported on this blog more than two weeks ago. TPM's Zack Roth was, as far as I know, the first reporter to pick up the story about Paul's unusual attempt to certify himself as an ophthalmologist.
On one hand, this sort of proves Shapiro's point -- this story, based on public documents, by all rights should have been found by a reporter dedicated to covering Paul's campaign, which began in August of last year, and highlights Paul's profession. At the same time, though, it also suggests that stories like these may not fall through the cracks if online, national outlets scrutinize candidates the way a local reporter might have decades ago.
-- Tim Fernholz
