Still, though the press helped create and perpetuate McCarthyism, it cannot be blamed for all the damage done the nation. Indeed, in the months and years to come as McCarthyism grew more powerful. spreading fear and doubt throughout American society, many reporters, columnists and commentators tried admirably to hold him accountable for his falsehoods. If anything, the responsibilty politicians bear for McCarthy's abuses is greater than that of the press. The politicians possessed the power to check McCarthy. They knew his true character. They knew his basic charges were false and his tactics disreputable. Their failures, coupled with those of the press, made possible the phenomenon of mass demagoguery known as McCarthyism.

--Haynes Johnson, The Age Of Anxiety

Huh.

Sound familiar?