The passing of President George H.W. Bush, and the subsequent lavish praise being heaped upon him not only from people in politics and statesmen around the globe, but also from the news media, serve as a stark reminder that we don’t do enough to honor our public servants while they are still alive.

Sadly, most politicians must die to get the media to report positive stories about them. Think about it: When was the last time you saw a story in the news praising the good work done by any incumbent? Probably quite a while ago. Negative politician stories? There are tons of them at your fingertips.

In the news business, it has become a subliminal no-no to write positive stories about politicians. Reporters who do so run the risk of being accused of “going soft,” or worse, being in a politician’s pocket. So, to prove their muscle, many political reporters resort to slash-and-burn tactics to impress their editors and win public favor.

The rise of social media has only exacerbated the problem. Nasty stories win clicks, Twitter followers, and colleagues’ praise. Less-sensational stories, or what we once called “explainers,” draw mostly yawns.

Positive stories about politicians? Forget it.

Where were the stories when Bush 41 was still alive about how skillfully he presided over the dissolution of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, the unification of East and West Germany into a single democratic republic, the highly successful Persian Gulf War? Where were the stories praising his bipartisanship, integrity, modesty, faith, love of family and dedication to public service? There were some, but they were few and far between.

Reading and viewing the acclaim being heaped upon the elder Bush in death, you must scratch your head and wonder: How in the heck did he ever lose the 1992 election to Bill Clinton? It turns out that the economy was in the tank at that time and the news media were relentless during the campaign in highlighting how bad everything was. Bush’s job approval plummeted from a then-record high of 89 percent at the end of the Gulf War to a dismal 33 percent when he went before the voters some 18 months later.

All the behind-the-scenes diplomatic work Bush was engaged in at the time to help bring the world through the perils of ending the Cold War was mostly obscured in the news media. Tales of how American workers were suffering from the “Bush recession” dominated the front pages and evening TV news reports. The caricature of the president projected by political opponents and burnished by the news media was that the patrician Bush was hopelessly out of touch with the American people and had no clue as to the suffering they were going through. It cost him the election.

As a veteran political reporter who now teaches politics and journalism at the college level, I try to impress upon students the importance of presenting an honest and balanced political picture, free of their own partisan or philosophical leanings. And I tell them that it’s acceptable, even admirable, to paint a positive portrait of a politician occasionally, if he or she deserves it. I sometimes feel that I am losing the battle. But the real losers are the American public, who need fair and honest reporting for democracy to survive and thrive.