Entries Tagged 'framing' ↓

The smearing-by-innuendo of John McCain by the New York Times drew this response from the blogosphere (via Memeorandum):

  New York Times:For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk  +Discussion: The Swamp, CNN, Washington Post, Don Surber, Buck Naked Politics, After W, The Carpetbagger Report, Outside The Beltway, Guardian, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, US Elections, Betsy’s Page, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Publius Pundit, The Natural Truth, Bang the Drum, Political Radar, Political Punch, The Campaign Spot, American Spectator, Los Angeles Times, TalkLeft, Washington Monthly, NewsBusters.org, Right Wing News, Politics1, You Decide 08!, South Texas Chisme, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Patterico’s Pontifications, Emptywheel, Group News Blog, DownWithTyranny!, Shakespeare’s Sister, FOX Embeds, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, Reason Magazine, Left in the West, NO QUARTER, Salon, The New Republic, PERRspectives Blog, Open Left, About US Politics, No More Mister Nice Blog, TownHall Blog, Political Machine, Riehl World View, Pensito Review, The Moderate Voice, Mercury Rising, All Spin Zone, the talking dog, Washington Wire, Wonkette, D-Day, Attytood, Prairie Weather, Jules Crittenden, Pandagon, Megan McArdle, TBogg, Politics Blog, Gateway Pundit, McCain Central, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, MyDD, The Democratic Daily, Sister Toldjah, PrestoPundit, Commentary, Oliver Willis, michellemalkin.com, Lawyers, Guns and Money, JammieWearingFool, Truthdig, Big Head DC, BlueOregon and Brains and Eggs

 

 

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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

THE MCCAIN STORY  —  This afternoon, before the Times story came out, I was working on a post about national political reporters’ tendency not to give much of any scrutiny to various McCain flipflops, contradictions and bamboozlements.  Obviously, the terrain has changed a bit since …

Link Search: Ask, Technorati, Sphere, Google, and IceRocket

Publius / Obsidian Wings:   McCain  —  Gotta say, I’m underwhelmed by the NYT’s McCain bombshell.

Mark Kleiman / The RBC:   The Iseman cometh  —  Apparently this has been an open secret for years.

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:   L’affaire McCain?  —  Just landed in San Francisco to the news …

Washington Post:

McCain’s Ties To Lobbyist Worried Aides  —  Before 2000 Campaign, Advisers Tried to Bar Her  —  Aides to Sen. John McCain confronted a telecommunications lobbyist in late 1999 and asked her to distance herself from the senator during the presidential campaign he was about to launch …

 

 Pam Spaulding / Pandagon:   McCain and the lobbyist: the final straw for the GOP Base?

NY Daily News:   Tale’s tall on innuendo, short on proof

Bob Fertik / Democrats.com:   VickiGate  —  So did John McCain cheat on his wife, the taxpayers, or both?

Kevin Hayden / American Street:   Justice & Hope, day 51  —  On occasion, an exceptional moment arrives …

David Freddoso / The Corner:   The Times piece on McCain

Smintheus / Daily Kos:   McCain: Experienced in the ways of Washington lobbyists

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:   WAPO: MCCAIN’S TIES TO LOBBYIST RATTLED ADVISERS

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:   The Times’ McCain Scandal - Sex Or Ethics?

Michael Crowley / The New Republic:   Weaver’s Revenge?  —  An interesting footnote to the Times bombshell …

Lyzurgyk / PSoTD:   Vicki Iseman

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:   Late Nite FDL: It’s Not The Sex, It’s The Corruption

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

Bonus TNR Angle on the McCain Story  —  The McCain campaign is apparently blaming TNR for forcing the Times’ hand on this story.  We can’t yet confirm that.  But we can say this: TNR correspondent Gabe Sherman is working on a piece about the Times’ foot-dragging on the McCain story …

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 Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire:   McCain Will Hold Press Conference

Dan Collins / protein wisdom:   Olberdouche on McCain/Lobbyist Article in NYT

Krooney / The Page:   McCain Job #1: Discredit the New York Times to Rally the “Other” Base

Rich Lowry / The Corner:

First-Blush Reaction  —  The Times doesn’t have the goods—at least from what’s in the story—and shouldn’t have run it.  Let’s be honest: this story is all about the alleged affair, and all the Keating Five and campaign finance reform re-hash is window dressing.  A key passage:

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 James Kirchick / The New Republic:   What Story?  —  So here’s the essence of the Times’ 3,000-word “bombshell” on John McCain.

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:   New Republic Editor: ‘Times In the Tank’ for Dem Nominee

Hindrocket / Power Line:

THE TIMES UPHOLDS ITS STANDARDS  —  The New York Times smears John McCain in tomorrow’s paper, accusing him of ethics violations and insinuating that he had an affair with a lobbyist.  What is most striking, though, if you actually read the story, is how thin it is.

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Discussion: The Huffington Post and protein wisdom

Marc Cooper / The Huffington Post:   Why John McCain Owes The New York Times a Thank You Card

Dan Collins / protein wisdom:   McCain Lobbyist Affair Rumor Reported, NYT

Mary Katharine Ham / TownHall Blog:

What’s the Quickest Way to Rally Conservatives ‘Round McCain?  —  A sandbagging from the NYT of just this skeezy a nature.  —  This doesn’t reflect badly on anyone but the Times, as far as I’m concerned.  The innuendo and full-on craptastic nature of the lede alone is enough to damn …

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 Jules Crittenden:   WaPo Writes It With A Lede

Ed Morrissey / Captain’s Quarters:

Slimes At The Times  —  The New York Times launches its long-awaited smear of John McCain today, and the most impressive aspect of the smear is just how baseless it is.  They basically emulate Page Six at the Post, but add in a rehash of a well-known scandal from twenty years ago to pad it out and make it look more impressive.

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:Tim Graham / NewsBusters.org:   NYT Suggests Unproven Adultery by McCain — Unlike Clinton

Ana Marie Cox / TIME: Swampland:

McCain Senior Adviser Responds to Times Story  —  Mark Salter, John McCain’s obstreperous senior aide, just responded to Time’s query about the New York Times’s long-simmering McCain-mixed-up-with-lobbyists story.  —  Speaking from a parking garage in Toledo, where the campaign is overnighting …

Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:   Rapid Response 101  —  Well so far both the Right and the Left …

Taylor Marsh:   Will McCain Story Hit New York Times Instead?

Krooney / The Page:   Morning Show Summary

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:   JOHN McCAIN AND THE TELECOM LOBBYIST….OK, let’s dive into the John McCain story.

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

NYT: McCain may have behaved unethically and cheated on his wife, but we’re not sure; Update: Pressured by the New Republic?  Update: McCain responds; Update: Carl Cameron video added; Update: TNR confirms?  Update: WaPo piles on  —  A sex scandal that may not be a scandal tucked inside …

Don Surber:   Sex is private, 2008  —  Dems drop the blond bomb on John McCain.

Jimmie / The Sundries Shack:   The McCain Story is No Biggie, If You Ask Me.

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:   McCain Bombshell

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Quin Hillyer / American Spectator:Who is John McCain?  —  Here’s the deal, folks: The New York Times …

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Joseph / CANNONFIRE:   A most salacious post. (”Heh heh. He said ‘post’!”)

INSTAPUTZ:   The American Spectator was Prescient.

Joe Sudbay / AMERICAblog:   NY Times: McCain staffers confronted Senator about inappropriately …

NewsMax.com:Inside Cover  —  Bennett Slams NY Times Hit Job on McCain

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 Cenk Uygur / The Huffington Post:   NY Times Holds Stories Because They’re Afraid of Conservatives

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:   MCCAIN CAMPAIGN ISSUES STATEMENT

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RADAR:WAS JOHN MCCAIN GETTING ‘LOBBIED’ BY A WOMAN 30 YEARS HIS JUNIOR?

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 J.P. Freire / American Spectator:   McCain Affair Story

Marc Ambinder:McCain/Lobbyist Story In The New York Times Finally Drops

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 Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:   SO WHAT?  —  Now that it is abundantly clear that McCain …

Karoli / Bang the Drum:   John McCain, Ethics and the Right’s Resolve

Isaac Chotiner / The New Republic:   The McCain Story  —  In a piece that reads as if a lot of stuff …

Will / Attytood:McCain’s lobbyist friend: “A View from the Top”

Michael Shaw / BAGnewsNotes:   Moral Wrecktitude?  —  First off, I owe a hearty thanks …

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:   She Gets Around…  Getting publicly exposed in the NYT …

Ken Layne / Wonkette:   Did McCain’s Lobbyist Girlfriend Betray Him For Bush?

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:NYT prints allegation of McCain relationship

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 Dan Collins / protein wisdom:   JIM RUTENBERG, MARILYN W. THOMPSON, DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and STEPHEN LABATON

Macranger / Macsmind:   Ny Time Story on McCain …

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:   McCain Slams NY Times Article Linking Him to Female Lobbyist

 Who will get hurt more—John McCain or the New York Times?That’s easy: the NYT.

While Jeff Jarvis and Nicholas Lemann think out loud about how to improve journalism going forward***, CNN makes a laughingstock out of such agonizing efforts by doing the thinking for its “journalists.” The other day, on-air talent received instructions to be sure to remember to praise Fidel in its Cuba coverage. (Allegedly, the email reprinted below is authentic; I have no way of verifying this): 

 From: Flexner, Allison
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 7:46 AM
To: *CNN Superdesk (TBS)
Cc: Neill, Morgan; Darlington, Shasta
Subject: Castro guidance

Some points on Castro – for adding to our anchor reads/reporting:

* Please say in our reporting that Castro stepped down in a letter he wrote to Granma (the communist party daily), as opposed to in a letter attributed to Fidel Castro. We have no reason to doubt he wrote his resignation letter, he has penned numerous articles over the past year and a half.

* Please note Fidel did bring social reforms to Cuba – namely free education and universal health care, and racial integration. in addition to being criticized for oppressing human rights and freedom of speech.

* Also the Cuban government blames a lot of Cuba’s economic problems on the US embargo, and while that has caused some difficulties, (far less so than the collapse of the Soviet Union) the bulk of Cuba’s economic problems are due to Cuba’s failed economic polices. Some analysts would say the US embargo was a benefit to Castro politically – something to blame problems on, by what the Cubans call “the imperialist,” meddling in their affairs.

* While despised by some, he is seen as a revolutionary hero, especially with leftist in Latin America, for standing up to the United States.

Any questions, please call the international desk.

Allison

I’ve got some questions: why is CNN so shy about blasting a decrepit monster who has kept his people half-starving and cut off from the rest of the world for 50 years? why must CNN be “balanced” when talking about a megalomaniac who ruined the lives of three generations (if not more) of Cubans?

Christiane Amanpour, a loyal company soldier for CNN and the queen of moral equivalency (aka “balance”), apparently got TPTB’s memo and did her duty:

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well as Morgan alluded to, look it is a desperate place for a lot of people there because it’s poor and it’s badly run if you like, in terms of people can’t afford to make ends meet. By and large, there are a lot of rationing going on in terms of food. But it’s never enough to allow them to meet their monthly requirements of food and medicine and the like.

So there’s a lot of difficulty in day-to-day living, not to mention the fact there’s plenty of political dissidents. There are journalists who are dissidents. There are people in jail just for wanting to write the truth or speak the truth or even to organize politically which they cannot.

So, that’s a fact of life in Cuba and it has been for the decades that Castro has been in power. And that offsets some of the genuine progress that he’s made in terms of education, health care. People have talked a lot about that. But day-to-day life for them is very decrepit and very hand to mouth and, obviously, they want change.

—————

*** It’s an effort I salute wholeheartedly. I come down on the side of wanting some kind of “expertise” from journos along with their journalism skills—and we might start with refresher courses in geopolitics, geography, and international relations for on-air “talent” NOW.

As for the future, every profession is becoming more specialized, and why should journalism be an exception? People will always want and need reliable, vetted up-to-the-minute information about the things that disrupt or intrude on (or threaten to) their daily lives (hard news). The news media is an extension of our (i.e., humans’) survival radar; it’s an early-warning system to alert us about those things we can’t see with our own eyes or hear with our own ears. That’s what journalism is for.

Those people who aspire to do long-form general-interest writing in periodicals like The New Yorker or The Atlantic, or who want to offer long-form commentary in political periodicals like The New Republic or The Nation, should be given a different title. It’s not that they don’t qualify as journalists. It’s that they serve a different function: Their function is to examine people or phenomena microscopically and to analyze them deeply, in the service of  a reader’s long-term knowledge.

The news, by contrast, serves a different demand: up-to-the minute information, along with instant “analysis” of what it might mean for the consumer. Being a good writer is not the same thing as being a good reporter.

[updated to add a link, and to fix garbled syntax]

By now it’s hard to deny that the situation in Iraq seems improved, which is why the New York Times fronts a story about the Democratic candidates’ change of “tone.”

Change of tone? They’re all going to be spinning like tops soon enough.

But that doesn’t mean that the usual suspects aren’t trying to downplay the importance of the decline in violence, the reports of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional cooperation, the stories about Iraqis moving back home, Osama bin Laden’s declaration of defeat for al Qaeda in Iraq (and/or Mesopotamia), the Mahdi Army’s cooperation with the U.S., the Anbar Awakening, and all the other successes and lucky breaks for the counterinsurgency being conducted under the leadership of General David Petraeus (aka the New Jesus).

None of this matters, of course. It’s only political benchmarks that should concern us—that’s all that has ever mattered, according to Ilan Goldenberg at DemocracyArsenal:

I have to agree with Kevin Drum. There really hasn’t been a major shift in tones. The Democrats and critics of the war have always made political progress the number one issue. The argument all summer over the benchmarks ultimately revolved around political progress. There has been no shift in tone. …

[D]espite the drop in violence, all the polls show that opposition to the war is at an all time high at almost 70%.

A commenter responds:

Both the Bush administration and the war’s critics have a paper trail to support the idea that they have always thought the core issue was political progress in Iraq. Both the Bush administration and the war’s critics also know that for the American public the core issue is the level of American casualties, as well as the overall level of violence, in Iraq. If American casualties are down and stay down, and the overall level of violence is down and stays down, the intensity of public feeling about the war should be expected to decline, even if large majorities continue to feel the war was a bad idea. [e.a.]

This sounds right to me. The public responds to what it sees or hears on the news. Public feeling about the war will start to decline also in response to the drop in “news” coverage of the war.

Out of sight, out of mind.

And Iraq is out of sight on the MSM because there aren’t any dramatic pictures to show—simple as that. No carnage and blood and gore and fire and ash and wailing Iraqis to put into heavy rotation 24/7. Fairly or not—even if Iraq is a huge mess for a long time, people will start to get the idea that things must be better—because it isn’t on their TV screens.

So the mewlings of the partisan Democrats who are now heavily invested in bad news emanating from Iraq—and, as the charming Nancy Pelosi might say, branded as “defeatocrats” to boot. And no one’s in the—will not find much of a market for their wares, I’m afraid.

For what it’s worth, I think Hillary is obviously the best positioned to take advantage of a turn of fortune for America’s adventure in Iraq.

————-

*** Nancy Pelosi to Matt Bai, quoted in the New York Times Magazine:

”We branded them with privatization, and they can’t sell that brand anywhere,” Pelosi bragged when I spoke with her in May.

In the illuminating documentary Billy Wilder Speaks, Wilder, a man who came of age in Berlin in the 1920s and fled Europe with the rise of Hitlerism and was the very essence of “been there, done that” ***—talks about politics. He says offhandedly to fellow European Volker Schlondorff (I’m paraphrasing): “Republican? Democrat? Who cares! In America,” he adds, “there’s not much of a difference between parties.”

Rudy Giuliani would certainly disagree with Wilder, as he made plain in the second Republican debate last night when he attacked Hillary Clinton for her enthusiastic embrace of statism (to put it kindly):

 Without mentioning her by name, Giuliani accused Clinton of believing that the free market is “disastrous” and that the government has to take money from citizens to spend on the common good.

“There’s such a stark difference there that this election in 2008 is going to make a very big difference about whether we go in that direction - the direction of removing private choice, putting … government in charge of so many things,” Giuliani said. “Republicans should be uniting to make certain that what the liberal media is talking about, our inevitable defeat, doesn’t happen.”

Were your knowledge of the world limited only to the full spectrum of ideas and positions spouted by American politicians, from the “hard right” all the way to the “hard left,” you’d have to agree with Giuliani that there are stark differences between the Dems and the Reps.

After all, isn’t Rudy the Fascist calling Hillary a Commie? How different can two candidates get? They certainly represent the opposite ends of the spectrum in mainstream American politics (i.e., the politics of the vast center), that’s for sure.

Which is where the Billy Wilder Perspective—a wide-angle shot encompassing not just American politics but sinister and inhospitable world politics—comes in. And that’s where I must concede that Wilder’s point of view is the sensible perspective from which to look upon American politics. +++

Also, there’s this post from Andrew Sullivan, who thinks that unpleasant, nasty harassment is a sign of the “Christianism” that threatens to swallow America:

Their take-over of the military continues under the radar. This time, they have been preying on sick veterans, including an orthodox Jew with kidney stones:

“Takeover”?

“Preying on”?

Darling, get me rewrite!

————————-

*** an attitude that resonates with me, because I grew up in a milieu in which it was the prevailing attitude. My “people” were not jaded; they were experienced, in the sense of having seen everything and feeling that they’d seen too much … but at the same time knowing they had survived. Because that’s what human beings are wired, and fated, to do. 

+++ Because, obviously, Rudy is not a fascist and Hillary is not a commie. Their biggest quibble is about how much of your money the government is going to take, and whether the government is going to give you (us) value for your (our) money. Everything else—and I do mean everything—is moot, because regardless of what the hottest partisans in the hottest partisan atmosphere say, we are all American to the bone and we love our freedoms. Even when the government tells us we can’t do something, we will find a way not just to do it but to contest it.

That is what makes us American. That is what we all have in common: the deep-seated, reflexive knowledge that, yes, you can fight City Hall.

How many tennis fans does it take for the bidding to get absurd for the as-yet-unwritten memoir of Andre Agassi?

I dunno how many threw their hats into the ring, but Knopf’s Sonny Mehta won the final face-off. His opponent was HarperCollins’s David Hirshey.

I like tennis as much as any “tennis orphan” can love the game—that is to say, I hated it when my father tried to get me to take up his passion, but I will never forget Borg vs. McEnroe at Wimbledon in 1980 or McEnroe vs. Connors at the U.S. Open late that same summer. I appreciate Agassi’s stick-to-it-iveness, but I will always be a McEnroe fan, because his game had an unequaled inherent drama (driven by his unpredictable emotions—and I don’t mean the “temper tantrums”; I mean the pre-volcanic rumbles deep beneath the surface) and because of his masterful touch.

That said … whoever wrote the proposal for the Agassi book is aiming to give Bono a run for his money in the Most Honorable Celebrity in the World Sweepstakes, ’cause you’re there at the creation of a new myth—excuse me: I mean, narrative—about Andre Agassi.

[[See Joshua Gamson's book Claims to Fame and this post about Angelina Jolie, and this one, if you want to understand where I'm coming from with my celebrity obsession. It's the scholarly approach, ha ha. And see how Gawker calls out Glenn Greenwald for getting on his high horse about The Politico. And see why gossip is good for us. Also: read Scorpion Tongues, by Gail Collins, former editorial-page editor of the New York Times, on how gossip has always been a weapon of the powerless against the privileged. And watch this space to see if I get it together to write up a more graceful version of my neat little theory about why infotainment rules.]]

Back to that Agassi image-in-the-making:

“I recently had the privilege of meeting with top executives and editors from eight publishing houses,” Agassi said in a statement released Wednesday by Knopf. “Everyone was very impressive, but in the end, I felt the strongest connection with (Knopf head) Sonny Mehta and his colleagues at Knopf.”

“Andre Agassi is one of the world’s most popular and admired figures,” Mehta said in a statement. “He has lived an extraordinary life, and he has a great story to tell — an inspiring story of determination, competition, and what it takes to become one of the greatest athletes of our time. Additionally, he is someone who has chosen to use his success as an instrument for change in the world.”

Galley Cat’s Ron Hogan got there way before me, but: Advantage, Agassi.

You will start to hear more about the abduction of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston in Gaza very soon—ironically, only because that actual kidnapping has been surpassed by the (apparently) much more shocking failed kidnapping in Gaza.

First the headlines from Google News.

Gunmen ambush UN convoy in Gaza in bid to abduct agency chief
Independent, UK - 5 hours ago
… Relief and Works Agency Gaza field office, was travelling came five days after the kidnap at gunpoint of the BBC correspondent in Gaza, Alan Johnston. …
Gunmen attempt to kidnap UN refugee mission chief in Gaza Ha’aretz
Gaza Gunmen Fire on UN Car in Possible Kidnapping Try New York Times
UN man escapes Gaza kidnap bid Guardian Unlimited
all 88 news articles »

AlaskaReport

New ‘unity’ cabinet may end Palestinian blockade Belfast Telegraph, UK - 17 hours ago On the kidnap last Monday of the BBC correspondent in Gaza, Alan Johnston, Mr Haniyeh said that he and Mr Abbas had “given instructions to all security … Vote due on Palestinian Cabinet BBC News all 1,222 news articles »

And now here’s some detail from the NYT’s Steven Erlanger, who finally has a reason to delve into the few known details of the Johnston kidnapping—but first the shocking new developments that will push this story into the news cycle:

In an apparent kidnapping attempt, Palestinian gunmen on Friday fired 14 bullets into the armored car of the Gaza director of the United Nations refugee agency.

The official, John Ging, was returning to Gaza from Israel through the Erez checkpoint in a white armored car that was clearly marked with United Nations insignia and a U.N. flag, and was surrounded by two other U.N. cars. …

“This is unprecedented, to shoot at a clearly marked U.N. vehicle with a U.N. flag flying in broad daylight,” Mr. Ging said. “It’s a very serious, shocking development, and we’re still considering how to deal with this.”

The UN is the greatest contributor to the welfare of millions of needy Palestinians. Assaulting your protector isn’t such a hot idea, of course. This is … hideous. The Palestinian territories are out of control.

Erlanger says nothing is known officially about the fate of Johnston, but he feels free now to credit one of the theories:

Palestinian leaders have called for his release but have said little about him, and the BBC has also provided few details.

But Palestinian security officials in Gaza suggest that Mumtaz Dagmoush, a militant leader of a large clan in northern Gaza, is behind the kidnapping. Mr. Dagmoush was behind the kidnapping of two Fox News correspondents last summer; they were held for two weeks.

Mr. Dagmoush is in a battle with Hamas, demanding revenge for the shooting of two Dagmoush clan members by Hamas members of the Executive Force, a parallel police force in Gaza. Palestinian security officials said Mr. Dagmoush is demanding that more than 10 Hamas men be handed over to him or to the courts before Mr. Johnston is released.

Hmmm, I thought. Dagmoush. Where have I se