McCain is running on his foreign policy credentials. Clinton is running on her readiness on day one/commander-in-chief credentials. McCain’s questionable grasp of the fundamentals in the Middle East (or, if you consider Todd’s even more disturbing “truncated talking point” theory, his effort to purposely blur these fundamentals—Shiite, Sunni, Al Qaeda, Iranians, all the same—in the minds of the American electorate) is at least as urgent or “pounce”-worthy (dare I suggest more so, particularly in light of recent developments?) as Clinton exaggerating an account of a trip she took a dozen years ago. And by the way, which is it? Did McCain have a senior moment(s) or is he deliberately “blurring” two groups? Shouldn’t reporters push for a clarification of that?
Of the reporters who have copped to Todd’s the media will let McCain get away with it mentality, perhaps most disturbing was Susan Page of USA Today who on MSNBC went so far as to offer a (feeble) excuse for McCain: “Most Americans can’t tell you the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, either.”
And it’s definitely going to stay that way —which may be precisely what McCain wants— if the people charged with informing “most Americans” continue to do their job selectively.
Let's see...
When a GOP candidate screws up, the "watchdogs" at CJR lambast the press for not skewering him enough....
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/mccain_gets_his_facts_wrong.php
And so now when a Dem candidate screws up, the CJR "watchdogs" lambast the MSM... For not skewering the GOP candidate enough!...
Such is the state of "professional journalism" in McLearyland...
CJR has become nothing more than a pathetic liberal mouthpiece....
Posted by padikiller
on Tue 25 Mar 2008 at 09:12 PM
There is a difference between a simple bobble of the facts--Shiite vs. Sunni, Sunni vs. Kurd, etc., and an outright and deliberate misrepresentation. Presidential candidates should get their facts straight, but errors happen. Outright lies, on the other hand, are inexcusable, whether they are mispresentations of a candidate's views on Nafta (remember Obama's dissembling being "outed" by his economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee) or outright lies about things that never happened (Hillary's having to duck sniper fire).
Posted by horace
on Thu 27 Mar 2008 at 04:09 PM
Misstatements about facts, even important ones, such as Sunnis vs. Shiites, Shiites vs. Kurds, warrant coverage, but not the opprobrium that should attend deliberate dissembling (Obama's misrepresentation re his real views on NAFTA--outed by his chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, in Canada)and "fibbing" about being subjected to sniper fire.
Posted by horace
on Thu 27 Mar 2008 at 04:32 PM