From Elisabeth Bumiller's New York Times follow-up article of today [emphasis added]:
Later in the day, one of Mr. McCain’s senior advisers directed strong criticism at The Times in what appeared to be a deliberate campaign strategy to wage a war with the newspaper. Mr. McCain is deeply distrusted by conservatives on several issues, not least because of his rapport with the news media, but he could find common ground with them in attacking a newspaper that many conservatives revile as a left-wing publication.
Let me get this straight. The Times has run an article relying on anonymous, disgruntled former associates as sources, dredging up old stories and making base accusations with no hard evidence in support. But it's McCain who's waging war?
If, by criticizing the Times, McCain has decided to "wage a war" with the paper, then what has the Times decided to do to McCain? If a newspaper tries to destroy someone's reputation and campaign, and the person believes that what the paper says is false, it's waging war to respond? A cynical McCain ploy to curry favor with conservatives, as the Times insinuates, or a cynical Times ploy to advance the interests of the Dem nominee for whom, according to the New Republic, it's in the tank?
Tellingly, while the article is full of quotes from the McCain camp and the Times's analysis of its motives, it is devoid of any statements from Times reporters or editors, much less analysis of the newspaper's motives.
The Times apparently likes its wars one-sided: sit down, shut up, and let us destroy you. Unfortunately for the Grey Lady, McCain knows how to punch back.
Update 7:10 | Matthew Sheffield. Frankly, I'm surprised the Times actually was able to admit that many conservatives see the paper as left-wing. Usually even that much candor is uncommon over there.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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McCain distracts from BO's wife
February 22, 2008 - 00:53 ET by j17ghsDoes anyone think that the timing on this faux story was to distract the MTV attention span of the public away from Michelle Obama's mouth?
Absoulutly. They were
February 22, 2008 - 01:16 ET by kgAbsoulutly. They were waiting for the right time after sitting on it as they praised McCain. Now that Romney is out and McCain is assured, they just needed an excuse to run it. Enter Mrs Obama's mouth.
Of course! Not only does
February 22, 2008 - 07:31 ET by Gary P JacksonOf course! Not only does this distract voters from Obamarama, it also distracts folks from Clinton's free fall. This is a twofer!
Even better than a twofer
February 22, 2008 - 08:51 ET by needleNow that there is a strong whiff in the air of the burnt toast of the Clinton campaign, the NYT can detach itself from having to defend and cover-up for Bill Clinton’s philandering, and burst forth with the mantle of morality [for once] to trash what is left of the Republican campaign, which has been shorn of a candidate who has an exemplary family narrative. While anything that Clinton has done is “old news” (including what he did last night), this might auger a freeing up of the possibility of more public discussion in the MSM of the character of the HillBillies. Sort of reminiscent of what happened in Russia after Stalin was put to rest. Kind of an nice analogy I think.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.
Mrs. O had nothing to do
February 22, 2008 - 08:08 ET by motherbeltDoes anyone think that the timing on this faux story was to distract
the MTV attention span of the public away from Michelle Obama's mouth?
Mrs. O had nothing to do with it; nor did Mrs. Clinton. The New Republic knew they had the story, and was getting ready to run a piece on their failure to print it. When they learned that, they didn't want to get "drudged."
Mark, that first sentence in your quote from Bumiller's piece made me laugh out loud (luckily I wasn't sipping my coffee!) at the appropriateness of the headline to your piece.
It is absolutely dead-on!!
NYT article and Michele Obama
February 22, 2008 - 13:33 ET by merlin61Yes, that was the first thing I thought about
yesterday. It was a distraction, and it worked.
No more comments about Michele's mouth
all day yesterday.
McCain has always played up
February 22, 2008 - 01:04 ET by rbosqueMcCain has always played up with the press and now they're turning on him when he's the Republican front-runner. Why should he be surprised? Wake up McCain! the MSM hates Republicans! They'll do to him what they're doing to Bush.
No Surprise
February 22, 2008 - 02:58 ET by Intellectual HonestyMcCain has always played up with the press and now they're turning on him when he's the Republican front-runner. Why should he be surprised? Wake up McCain! the MSM hates Republicans! They'll do to him what they're doing to Bush.
That the NYT (and soon others) would turn on McCain is, Im sure, no surprise to McCain. He's not that dumb. While I do feel he helped cultivate his image by using the liberal media as his lapdog for "maverick" positions (and I in no way fully agree with that) what's funny is that McCain used them and now HE has no more use for THEM. This is a two-way street blown up into oblivion. Who knows what things have been said around McCain or he has become privy to because he played footsie with alot of them.
Again McCain is in no way dumb enough not to know that he would become target Numero Uno. I think he may be surprised by how soon and weak of an expose that has become the opening salvo. Still hose footsie games may have given McCain some weapons that are to be revealed in due time. And the other advantage for McCain is that it will be hard for even some liberals to ignore the vetting McCain has received over the years from trusted liberal media and yet only now are these same "vetters" discovering the "dark side" of McCain. It's an angle McCain will be able to play time and time again.
Wake up McCain! the MSM
February 22, 2008 - 08:29 ET by motherbeltWake up McCain! the MSM hates Republicans!
Especially the NYT.
Apparently Sen. McCain never heard the fable of the frog and the scorpion!
"Common Ground" With McCain?
February 22, 2008 - 01:13 ET by zeestephenThe MSM theme of the day is that Conservatives will rally to the side of McCain because Cons hate the NYT.
Get real!
McCain collaborated with the NYT on a half dozen anti-Conservative issues. Now, Conservatives are supposed to defend McCain from his former left wing pals at the NYT?
McCain’s senior
February 22, 2008 - 01:15 ET by drillanwrMcCain’s senior advisers directed strong criticism at The Times in what appeared to be a deliberate campaign strategy to wage a war with the newspaper.
Huh/ ... What? ... You said what? ...
I'm sorry ... When I hear the combo: NYTimes and war I just shut down completely ...
When you men get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy… ~ Attributed to General Tommy Franks
In this week so far, there
February 22, 2008 - 01:30 ET by stratmanThis week so far, there have been four assaults by MSM to the McCain candidacy:
McCain alledgedly played footsie with a lobbyist 8 years ago.
McCain had illegal/unethical campaign financing this election.
McCain's wife "assaulted" Michelle Obama by saying she is proud of America and always has been.
McCain is waging a war against an innocent newspaper.
Four Attacks in as many days! What will happen tomorrow? The next day?
This is going to be a ruthless election, where any question concering Obama will be framed as a racist attack even if the topic is purely about accomplishment, experience and policy.
Cult Of Personality by Living Colour:
“And during the few moments that we have left, we want to talk, right down to earth, in a language that everybody here can easily understand.” (Malcolm X)
Look in my eyes, what do you see?
the Cult of Personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you wanna be ohhh…
I'm the Cult of Personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality
Neon lights, Nobel Prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face of your T.V. ohh…
I'm the Cult of Personality
I exploit you; still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three ohh…
I'm the Cult of Personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi ohh…
I'm the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality
Neon lights, Nobel Prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set you free
(Guitar solo)
You gave me fortune, you gave me fame
You gave me power in your God's name
I'm every person you need to be ohh…
I'm, the, Cult, of, Per, Son, Al, Ity
I am the Cult of (x8)
Personality
“Ask not what your country can do for you…” (John F. Kennedy)
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
RRAM Tough!
Great song, Stratman!
February 22, 2008 - 03:09 ET by Intellectual HonestyGreat song, Stratman!
I just got off work, and
February 22, 2008 - 04:00 ET by tracheostomyI just got off work, and that was a great pick-me-up. Thanks Strat.
-PJ
"Trake: Your lofty convictions are another blemish on the rump of congregational sectarianism." -Tumbler 5/15/07
Congrats on surviving
February 22, 2008 - 04:12 ET by stratmanCongrats on surviving another day of work. Sounds like a late one for you.
I know what you mean. I listened to 3 different versions on YouTube tonight. I hadn't heard it in a few years and was happy to "discover" it again. It was like finding a small treasure in the attic that you'd forgotten years ago.
RRAM Tough!
As Beavis and Butthead
February 22, 2008 - 04:01 ET by stratmanAs Beavis and Butthead would say: It rocks!
There's a YouTube version from the Arsenio Hall Show which is stellar. Whatever happened to these guys?
I thought the lyrics applied well to the current "cult of personality" with Obama, and even to frenzied followers of the Anthropogenic Global Warmonger, Nobel Prize recipient and ManBearPig hunter Al Gore, the Dems' perennial presidential candidate.
RRAM Tough!
stratman
February 22, 2008 - 10:10 ET by drillanwrI too made this B. Hussein Obama/song connection when his popularity began growing for NO apparent reason, other than a cult of personality ...
Clinton is missing a great opportunity to use the song in ads against him ... But perhaps McCain will discover it ... Won't hold my breath ... And then there is the song's writers/rights to consider ...
But that doesn't stop one of you snazzy and creative video people from MAKING an ad with Hussein and the song, and posting it on youtube, that would hopefully go viral ...heh!
When you men get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy… ~ Attributed to General Tommy Franks
Sounds like a great idea.
February 22, 2008 - 12:49 ET by stratmanSounds like a great idea. Unfortunately I don't have those kind of multimedia abilities. Maybe some here can.
There is an BO commercial in the Cleveland, OH area that shows in reasonable closeup a few BO fans at his rallies. I swear several of these folks look like they are on drugs or protein-deprived brainwashed. One woman's look of complete adoration reminds me of the girls' faces watching the Beatles in the 1960's films of their concerts. It was disturbing to me the way these folks looked.
Another BO commercial has BO lauded for returning to Illinois to work in the poor black neighborhoods, even after he could "write his own ticket to Wall Street" (near exact quote?) as per one of Bo's Harvard Law professor. First, the still photos of BO are all with black people, yet every person chatting up the glories of BO is white. Seems like a subtle and soft form of racism in advertising, attempting to show to whites that BO is OK, other white's say it's OK. Secondly, the Harvard Law professor who makes a big deal out of BO not cashing in on Wall Street completely misses the essence of BO's life goal: TO BE PRESIDENT. I seriously doubt that a Wall Street insider would be voted in as president. Furthermore, BO, who spoke of wanting to be president since his childhood, knows that his best route to the presidency was via community works to local politics to state politics and then onward to national politics. The Harvard Law professor is either a moron (doubtful) or knowingly is propagandizing the public with lofty but misleading words.
The canonization of Obama is well on its way.
RRAM Tough!
HEY...
February 22, 2008 - 10:05 ET by danybhoyGood post, I agree with the fact that questioning Obama's policy stance will be considered racist. I've seen/heard it already. This race is gonna be a long one, & already has been.
Great song, good cd, "Vivid".
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
Give Bumiller much credit
February 22, 2008 - 01:29 ET by TEGive Bumiller much credit for being the first leftist of the Washington press corps, in recorded history, to accurately characterize what "conservatives" or "Republicans" say when she states that the New York Times is "a newspaper that many conservatives revile as a left-wing publication." Anytime some fool from the Washington press corps alleges that "conservatives say [fill in the blank]" or "Republicans say [fill in the blank]" you can bet your last penny that "conservatives" or "Republicans" do NOT "say" what is alleged. Said Washington press corps leftists are completely incapable of understanding what "conservatives" or "Republicans" "say" and consequently are completely incapable of accurately characterizing what "conservatives" or "Republicans" "say".
However close McCain has been to the media,
February 22, 2008 - 02:31 ET by IamTinmanWhat the NY Times is doing may have been expected of a Hearst paper 100 years ago, but it's still wrong and the Times deserves every bit of scorn and derision it gets. This rehashing of old news and unsupported rumors is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to keep McCain from consolidating the lead he is getting over the 2 feuding democrat candidates. The Times is a prime example why the public rates the MSM somewhere lower than whale poop.
Ok folks, lets roll up our
February 22, 2008 - 02:37 ET by Captain RepusOk folks, lets roll up our sleeves and figure out what we are gonna do if it turns out this story is for real. If so, McAmnesty is history before the weekend is over.
Huckelberry take his place? I don't think so. This clod-hopping bible thumping moron couldn't carry any state with less than 85% white red-neck Baptist church deacons.
Governor Romney, spit shine those shoes and come over for a couple of beers and a nice long conversation about how to proceed.
Lets face it folks, we potentially have a really serious problem here and some creative thinking is in order.
As Of Now There Is No "There" There
February 22, 2008 - 03:18 ET by Intellectual HonestyLets face it folks, we potentially have a really serious problem here and some creative thinking is in order.
What creative thinking is there to be had before any proof is in? We can't give creedence to accusations based on inuendo by anonymous sources about events from eight years past and possibly come up with any cogent creative thinking.
For the sex-part, I agree. No "there."
February 22, 2008 - 05:24 ET by sarcasmoBut for the fiscal effect of a pretty, blonde lobbyist on a guy who pretends that his votes (at least post-Keating) aren't affected by lobbyist-money, this story isn't going-away as an issue, even if the unproven sex-aspect entirely disappears. As Reason's Matt Welch put it, "Unfortunately for McCain, the flipside of being an Honorable Crusader is a huge soft underbelly of potential hypocrisy."
JMR
A corruption-story the TV media will-not cover.
They would never treat
February 22, 2008 - 05:40 ET by nythatesusaThey would never treat President Castro this way.
American Media: Doesn't this[insert example]make us as bad as the terrorists?
It seems that the only
February 22, 2008 - 06:29 ET by USA4freedomIt seems that the only person that did not think this would happen was Mc Cain.
We all knew this attack would come but I did not think that it would come so fast and hard.
The voices that Mc Cain hears:
Little angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other are yelling at each other: angel.. “I told you, you should have not made enemies of talk radio, while the devil is yelling: this is all the fault of those “quote.. conservatives”..
I bet the “quote” conservative base is looking better and better huh?
I see this party is headed to the biggest defeat in its history. Because: IT HAS IGNORED HISTORY.
Signed: a “quote.. conservative”
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
No longer paper of record
February 22, 2008 - 08:46 ET by ThisnThatSo the NYT lets the New Republic panic them into publishing a doubious article? I wonder which publication is now the "Paper of Record"?
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
What's the timeline?
February 22, 2008 - 10:05 ET by landsharkSo the NYT been sitting on this story for three months, right?
Does that mean they had it before, or after, they endorsed his candidacy?
"Deliberate Campaign"
February 22, 2008 - 11:22 ET by Chris JuddAs opposed to those “accidental, spontaneous campaigns” that are so common.
Defensive much, Liz?