Don't Go For Soda: Leftist Media Critic Says Bill's Pop Pact Beats Bush

Left-wing author and columnist Eric Alterman (likely best known to NewsBusters readers for his book What Liberal Media?) blogs at MSNBC’s web site. There, Alterman frequently, intemperately, and sometimes bizarrely blasts the current president of the United States. Last summer, for example, he stated that “no person in the world, save Osama bin Laden, has done as much damage to New York City as George W. Bush.” In parts of Blogville, of course, that qualifies as a moderate viewpoint.  

This past week, Alterman hosted several guest bloggers, at least one of whom, Eric Boehlert, shares Alterman’s distaste for the idea that the MSM lean left. (Boehlert’s new book is called Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush.) This past Friday on Alterman’s blog, Boehlert sniped at Bush more subtly, but with no greater sense of perspective or proportion, than Alterman usually does, claiming that a certain recent

simple accomplishment by Bill Clinton will probably do more good, and have longer lasting positive effect on Americans, than anything Bush has achieved in six years in office.

Yes, Boehlert is talking about the restrictions on soft-drink sales in public schools.

By the way, remember the New Republic’s way-back-when remark that “Worthwhile Canadian Initiative” was the most boring headline ever written? Last week, the Today show came up with a graphic that’s even duller: “Landmark Soda Agreement.” Check Tim Graham’s Friday-afternoon post for a visual.