"Republican lawmakers Thursday blamed the Obama administration for the stunning resurgence of Iraq’s al-Qaeda franchise and called on the White House to take assertive steps to help Baghdad beat back militant uprisings in the country’s west." That's how Ernesto Londono opened his January 10 story "Republicans blame Obama administration for al-Qaeda resurgence in Iraq," a front-page-worthy story which Washington Post editors buried on page A10.
By contrast, the Post ran not one but two Chris Christie bridge-scandal stories on the Friday edition's front page. The other stories rounding out the front page centered on efforts to hash out a long-term security agreement with Afghanistan, the Washington Redskins announcing their new head coach, and privacy/data-collection concerns from dashboard computers in new cars.
"Worried about the rise of militants, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked the U.S. government for weapons and other forms of military aid," Londono reported, noting that "'[v]iolence has... intensified in Baghdad and northern Iraq as a reconfigured al-Qaeda franchise" based in Syria "has carried out an intense wave of bombings." Accordingly, Londono noted, Republican lawmakers like Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are calling on the president to step up to the plate with the security assistance the Iraqi government needs to beat back al Qaeda.
Even so, Londono thought fit to close his article in a way that effectively communicates a "yes, this is an important issue, but, gosh, the American people are sick and tired of Iraq" mentality:
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), an Air Force pilot who served in Iraq, said in an interview Thursday that the Obama administration should move aggressively to aid Iraq’s security forces. He advocated the deployment of U.S. aircraft to help the Iraqis find targets.
Kinzinger conceded that members of both parties have been irresponsibly disengaged on Iraq since the U.S. withdrawal.
“If I start talking about Iraq, people’s eyes glaze over,” he said. “I think Americans are weary. But we are in a moment now where if we fail to do the right thing, we could make it far worse.”
By contrast, the liberal media's desire to make you care about Christie's bridge scandal was abundantly clear on the Post's front page.
A line from Christie's January 9 press conference -- "I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team.... I'm a sad guy standing here today." -- appeared above a large photo of the New Jersey Republican governor in the center of the front page.
"Christie ousts two top advisers in scandal over lane closures" blared the headline, beneath which were printed two items. The first an analysis piece by Dan Balz -- "Have ambitions hit a roadblock?" -- and to the right of that a news story by Robert Costa and Philip Rucker -- "Governor apologizes, accepts responsibility but denies involvement."
