The man in charge of publicly defending the United States' actions abroad defended himself against the U.S. press corps last night in a lecture at the Kennedy School of Government.

James P. Rubin, chief spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, explained that there is a rift between the government and the press.

This rift, said Rubin, who is assistant secretary of state for public affairs, often results in negative characterizations of U.S. foreign policy.

"As a foreign policy spokesman, I spend most of my time playing defense," Rubin said.

Noting that it was the 10-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rubin said media-government relations have deteriorated since the end of the Cold War.

"There is a genuinely adversarial relationship between the government and the media," Rubin said of the current state of affairs. "There is a notion among the press that those in the government are either incompetent or corrupt."

Though Rubin acknowledged that journalists provide crucial information to the public, he complained that many prefer reporting bad news and uncovering government mistakes to offering optimistic analyses.

Rubin cited the NATO campaign in Kosovo, which he said the press insisted would be a failure.