Thursday, September 16, 2004
It's a beautiful day, isn't it, President Nixon?
The incomparable Daily Howler this week incomparably addresses the press's credulity when dealing with witnesses who have suspiciously detailed recollection about 30-year-old events. The Howler is right: The press is all too eager to believe people who show up out of nowhere with a story that supports whatever "pleasing narrative" is au courant. Real reporters ought to be a little skeptical about such people. But I must respectfully take issue with the Howler's assertion today about not-so-swift-boater John O'Neill:
John O'Kerry damn sure did have a track record: As a Nixon toady and Kerry-basher. The problem with O'Neill wasn't that the press believed someone without a track record - it was that the press, at least in the initial days of the swift boat smear campaign, failed to point out O'Neill's long track record of Kerry leg-humping.
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The incomparable Daily Howler this week incomparably addresses the press's credulity when dealing with witnesses who have suspiciously detailed recollection about 30-year-old events. The Howler is right: The press is all too eager to believe people who show up out of nowhere with a story that supports whatever "pleasing narrative" is au courant. Real reporters ought to be a little skeptical about such people. But I must respectfully take issue with the Howler's assertion today about not-so-swift-boater John O'Neill:
John O’Neill also lacked a track record when he showed up with attacks on John Kerry.
John O'Kerry damn sure did have a track record: As a Nixon toady and Kerry-basher. The problem with O'Neill wasn't that the press believed someone without a track record - it was that the press, at least in the initial days of the swift boat smear campaign, failed to point out O'Neill's long track record of Kerry leg-humping.
