Article snippet: The TAKE with MaryAlice Parks R-E-S-P-E-C-T. This week was about people asking for respect, and, of course, paying our respects to the late and greatest Aretha Franklin. Off the bat, former unbelievable racial epithet and current White House staff stumbled through lines in the coming days about how they have never heard him say the n-word. Former CIA Director John Brennan and other former intelligence officers too talked about respect for precedent, as they responded to the president’s decision to revoke Brennan’s security clearance. Having a clearance did not mean that he had access to secret documents, it meant he had the respect of the federal government to perhaps access them again should his expertise be needed. The president pulling the plug on that, for apparent political reasons, sent shockwaves throughout Washington. And then yesterday, the question of respecting the press. Local newspapers around the country – more than 300 in total – ran editorials defending their work, talking about the importance of a free flow of information and defense of the First Amendment. Responding to the president, the South Bend Tribune editorial board wrote, "President The RUNDOWN with John Verhovek For the White House, it was a week of distractions and melodramas. Lost in the shuffle and series of dizzying news cycles was another round of primaries that bode well for Democratic success in a midterm election that is now just over 80 days away. Voter ... Link to the full article to read more