Campaign Desk RSS
Thu, 3 Jul 2008
At Last: A Good, Issue-Driven Health Care Story
The Catholic Courier makes things clear for readers
By Posted at 12:27 PM
Too often during this campaign season health care stories have failed to explain the real issues in health reform. Oh yes, news outlets have dutifully quoted what the candidates are saying: “We’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family,” says Barack Obama. “We’re going to offer every individual and family in America a credit to buy... Read More
Wed, 2 Jul 2008
Behind Barack's "Suspicious" Mortgage
Why did the Post run its Obama mortgage story?
By Posted at 01:05 PM
What should an editor do when an enterprise piece comes up empty? Do you kill the story? Send it back for more reporting? Bury it inside with a sigh and a “Better luck next time?” What if the story’s about an exceedingly public figure—a presidential candidate, say? Should the newsworthiness of the subject influence your basic news judgment? What’s your... Read More
Tue, 1 Jul 2008
Please, ABC, Tell Us What This Story Is About
Another Obama flip-flop? Or just a plan that insurers will support?
By Posted at 01:59 PM
A Dart to ABCNews.com for a muddled mess of a story that may be interesting to Beltway health cognoscenti, but is confusing as the devil to the man (or woman) on the street. The story, entitled “Obama Health Plan Could Go In Clinton’s Direction,” seems to say that Barack Obama now supports an individual mandate for health care. During... Read More
The Swiftboat Reflex
Wesley Clark fallout, day two
By Posted at 01:19 PM
Two days into the Wesley Clark fallout, the press, the GOP, and the Obama campaign all seem to have agreed that Clark's recent remarks on John McCain's service record were at best impolitic and at worst despicable. "McCain besieged by slander," said the Boston Herald. "This backhanded slap against John as not being a worthy warrior because he just... Read More
Mon, 30 Jun 2008
Carmella Lewis, Media Darling
On Unity Day, the voice of anti-Unity was everywhere
By Posted at 04:52 PM
Remember Greg Packer? The highway maintenance worker who rose to media (in)famy a few years ago as the (much-too)-oft-quoted "everyman" on the street? The middle-aged Long Island denizen mastered the sport of sound-bite-giving—and the Woody Allen-esque art of showing up—so well that he was quoted as a font of “everyday guy” wisdom some sixteen times by the AP,... Read More
"Attacking" McCain's Military Record
What Wesley Clark really said; how the press missed it
By Posted at 03:54 PM Comments (24)
So: The latest round of mock outrage—in a presidential race that has turned the tactic into an art form—now comes in response to comments made by General Wesley Clark. Appearing as a surrogate for Barack Obama on CBS’s “Face the Nation”, Clark, in reference to John McCain, said:
I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war…But he...Read More
All Grown Up!
By Posted at 02:07 PM
Over at Grist, the popular online environment magazine, David Roberts has a spot-on takedown of a recent Newsweek column by Michael Hirsh. Hirsh's piece is all about the McCain campaign's efforts to cast its candidate (who would be the oldest president ever elected) as a "grown up." There's "no better evidence" of that strategy than McCain's energy plan,... Read More
Cindy, We Hardly Know You
By Posted at 12:53 PM
If you don’t feel like you know a thing about Cindy McCain, this Newsweek profile by Holly Bailey is worth a look.
The salacious bits in her bio—her 14 year age gap with her husband, the fact that their relationship began while he was married to another woman, and her drug addiction—are all there, although the painkiller thing... Read More
Taking Back the Swift Boat
By Posted at 08:41 AM
Remember when a Swift boat was just a Swift boat -- or, if you prefer, a Patrol Craft Fast -- rather than a political attack? The New York Times has a piece today on the Swiftboating of "Swift boat" and how some Swift boat veterans (including one associated with the group responsible for the word's perversion -- remember Swift... Read More
Fri, 27 Jun 2008
Where's the Outrage?
Nader hints at a racial landmine
By Posted at 02:35 PM Comments (1)
On Wednesday, Ralph Nader entered the campaign churn for the first time since he announced his run on Meet the Press four months ago.
This week’s appearance was not well received. “Unneeded at Any Speed” and “offensive,” said a Washington Post editorial. “Angry,” wrote Deborah Douglas of The Chicago Sun Times. “Nader is way out of line,” opined CNN commentator... Read More
