Shouldn't War Critics Get a Broadcast Response to the President's War Speech?

[Commentary] President Barack Obama will address the nation to lobby public opinion and Congress to support the Congressional authorization for war in Syria. Shouldn't broadcast media respect the right of war critics to an equal response?

No one would claim that war critics are being shut out of the media entirely. But don't we have the right to equal time on TV? Why should the President be allowed to monopolize the nation's airwaves? If this were happening in Venezuela, self-styled press freedom advocates would be having a cow. After the President's State of the Union speech, a response speech is broadcast. Why not now? I realize that the Fairness Doctrine is no longer enforced by the Federal Communications Commission. But perhaps public opinion could enforce it.

[Naimain is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy]