Give 'American Idol' a break

There's been a lot of talk about the "American Idol" Idol Gives Back charity program.

It was self-serving. It was exploitive. It was just plan bad television. It's not going lead to lasting change or turn millions of young people into committed philanthropists.

But I liked Trent Stamp's Take on the whole thing best in A Tad Pitchy, But They Made It Their Own:

Because they raised a ton of money, and they did it for a bunch of reputable charities. That’s it. These charities didn’t have the tens of millions of dollars yesterday morning that they do today. That’s enough for me. They’ll spend it well, and good work will be done. Yes, the ends justify the means. This time.

We can get all in a lather about something like this, and it's a pretty easy target for all its faults. But why do that? Aren't we just imposing our personal distaste on this tacky corner of pop culture that horned in on our fundraising space?

Unless they're unethical, ineffective, or criminal -- give them a break. They're doing good deeds.

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