Mark Halperin may not have any ethics but many of the people at small, local outlets do (second set of boldface is mine):
The Obama campaign believes it has neutralized the welfare attack. Romney is investing heavily in ads falsely claiming Obama gutted welfare reform. Dems initially viewed this as a threat. In their view, undecided voters were processing the attack as follows: The voters didn’t think this sounded like something Obama would do, but if it were true, it would worry them.
That’s why Dems responded so aggressively to debunk the claim; Dems believe the local press in the battlegrounds has handled the issue responsibly and has communicated clearly to undecided voters that it’s false.
I’m sure Clive Crook and Glenn Kessler and Charles Lane disapprove of the incivility of these actual journalists.
Some establishment journalists just want to preserve their cushy perches, some do want to put us all in chains. Whatever. They all suck.
Cris (without an H)
Sargent:
“Unpredictable” is not exactly the word I’d use there. “Critical,” certainly. “Variable,” definitely. But not unpredictable — and there are known ways to address it. Known very well, in fact, by the OFA team. We’ll see how well they execute.
Robert Waldmann
You are unfair to Glenn Kessler who rated the Romney campaign’s welfare lie worth 4 pinocchios http://wapo.st/RDctWS
Clve Crooks idiocy was an effort at parody in which some strawperson attacked Kessler the way Crook thinks left bloggers attack someone somehow. But the bit about what Kessler wrote was accurate. I think you were tricked by Kesslers “opinions differ on shape of earth” tone and didn’t read down to the conclusion (I sure didn’t I scrolled but the 4 pinocchios are there and definitely awarded to Romney).
But of course facts are for the little people not high traffic bloggers such as yourself.
Clive Cr
BGinCHI
It is my fervent hope that someday smart writers on politics on the internet will be able to discuss issues without first having to spend their time deflating the lies and general stupidity coming from newspaper and TV network people.
It’s as if we have an aristocracy who govern opinion and no one dare speak of things without talking about them first for fear of one’s life or liberty.
DougJ
@Robert Waldmann:
Did you read Kessler’s latest, though? That’s what I am referring to here.
BGinCHI
@Robert Waldmann: Have you been reading Kessler very long, genius? Because he pretty much never gets anything right. Why would he? He needs his salary and has a vested self-interest in the status quo.
Let’s face it. If you are awarding Pinocchios you are an elementary school teacher, not a serious political commenter. Unless a newspaper is dumb enough to hire you.
ericblair
@Cris (without an H):
Sure, but finding that out and writing it up takes work and cuts into valuable cocktail party time. So “unpredictable” it is.
jl
Note sure how correct the Obama campaign is about effectiveness of local press versus national media, but I think there is truth to local people being less tolerant of obvious BS.
I heard the local radio news reporter interviewing a Washington reporter (Sandalow from Chronicle, I think, who is usually better than average). Sandalow was spinning away the lies, and the local reporter was like “But aren’t we talking about simple facts here, the plant closed on a certain date, and that was, in fact, either before or after Obama, and it was before, not after, right?”
Later a similar routine with a local cynical pundit type. “Aren’t we talking about simple statements of fact, here. How can you spin being just wrong about those?”
I am paraphrasing. But very irritating to hear the pundits, and refreshing to hear a reporter pushing back.
I hope Obama people are correct.
El Cid
A clarification of terms: if what you write or broadcast is not “fact checking” and does not focus at all moments to distinguish the real from the fake, the alleged from the substantiated, the truthful from the inaccurate or fraudulent, then you’re not a journalist and you’re not doing “journalism”.
So to all those ‘journalists’ who don’t think ‘that’s their role,’ no, either that is your role or get out of the business and above all else stop calling yourself a ‘journalist’.
Lots of other names are available. Use one which applies.
J
@DougJ: That–Kessler’s latest effusion–is pretty stomach-churning. I’m having a little trouble understanding how he conceives his task: ‘my job is to assess the veracity of the candidates, but the message I most want to convey is that honesty and truth-telling are of hardly any importance; you should read my pieces for an occasional chuckle and nothing else. Above all, you must remember that both sides do it, and if anyone has practiced deception in the past to any degree or in any way, it’s OK now unless the falsehoods are provably the most extreme in American history.’ Is that what he thinks?
J
@El Cid:
‘Lots of other names are available. Use one which applies.’
e.g.,
Bootlicking sycophant?
Toady?
Lickspittle?
Propagandist?
Worthless, lazy tool of the corrupt and powerful?
Regnad Kcin
@J: Go Göbbels Early!
Linda Featheringill
Oh, I really like the idea of using local media!
If Team Obama can door-to-door anywhere and everywhere, they can also canvas the local stations, newspapers, alternative publications, etc.
They might even do a blogger meeting in each location, in person or online.
Lovely idea.
MattF
It’s interesting that stuff is going on under the radar. This fits in with Dems funding the political ground war over the air war. There’s a difficulty in that this sort of thing is hard to cover, even for competent journalists– so, needless to say we-all only find out about it by accident.
Maude
About the rehash of the Ronald Reagan Welfare lies, F… Mitt Romney and the horse his wife rode in on.
We know there’s a class war. It’s 99 to 1 and the 1 isn’t gonna win this time.
The 1 won in the 80’s but not now. That was then and this now.
No tumbrels, make them crawl.
JustRuss
@DougJ:
My favorite quote from Kessler’s column:
Can you imagine that happening today?
Joel
I’m with Robert here. I think you have to give Kessler credit for calling a spade a spade. You can’t be all stick and no carrot.
Joel
@MattF: That reminds me of this, for some reason.
Haydnseek
@Maude: Maude, I like the way you think. I would make one small change. Make them crawl during prime time. In other time slots, tumbrels and guillotines, with union labor.