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Let's See What They Do Now
Thursday, September 09, 2004
We are now going to be able to conduct a controlled scientific experiment on the media. It will demonstrate precisely how biased they really are towards the Bushies. Will they cover the (verified) accusations about Bush's military service (or lack thereof) with the same energy, attention, and breathless excitiement that they covered the Swiftboat Liars.
Initially, things look promising. 60 minutes covered the Ben Barnes interview, where the latter stated that he helped Bush get out of military service, and the AP has evidence that Bush skipped out out on later duty, lied about it, and the White House covered it up. The New York Times and the Washington Post are carrying the story. The Administration's response has been, well, embarassing (see Josh Marshall for the transcript). It looks like these guys might even be guilty of a crime (by way of Atrios) - I think that would be obstruction of justice, the same one they impeached Clinton for. So pay close attention- if the media buries the story, then we can be certain that it is fatally corrupted.
As for the Kitty Kelley book, I'll confess to conflicted feelings. On the one hand, I would delight in seeing those people get a taste of their own medicine. On the other hand, I really, really don't like all these very personal allegations. Either way, as Democrats we should lay off unless the accusations turn out to be true (which means we need to make sure they are investigated). So while I agree with Nick Confessore that these claims are distastful, they still need to be investigated, both in the interests in truth and in fairness to the Kerry campaign. I just wish that the media would research a story before they printed it. But that is apparently too much to ask.
