When the Reporters Fall
January 8, 2008
Last night, Bill Clinton got angry.
During a campaign stop at what was probably a Dunkin Donuts (since thats all, apparently, they have in New Hampshire), Bill Clinton was asked about Hillary’s judgment in voting for the Iraq War. He responded with a tirade of points that should have been made months ago — that Barack has no idea what he would have done in 2002 (probably voted, like everyone else running for President at the time, for the war so as not to look soft on terror), that Barack voted to fund the war repeatedly, and for someone who believes George Bush is a war criminal, certainly didn’t do a lot about it, meaning that The Shining One and Hillary have essentially the same voting record. He also responded with:
“So you can take a shot at Mark Penn if you want. It wasn’t his best day. He was hurt. He felt badly we didn’t do better in Iowa,” said Clinton. “But the idea that one of these campaigns is positive and the other is negative when I know the reverse is true — and I have seen it and I have been blistered by it for months — is a little tough to take. Just because of the sanitizing coverage that’s in the media doesn’t mean the facts aren’t out there.”
A Clinton criticizing the media for bias toward someone else is like us turning around and buying a pair of Birkenstocks. We’d have to be overtaken by some sort of temporary insanity to ignore a serious kernel of truth that should be painfully evident. The media would eat Democratic candidates if it were up to them, and cork-soled shoes with leather straps will never look good on dainty feet. It would sound bizarre. But in a way, Bill’s totally right: the media has gone nutty for Obama, christening him the chosen one, and admitting amongst themselves the utter impossibility of remaining impartial in the face of potential, vaguely defined greatness.
In a way, it has to be incredibly difficult — and, ultimately, alien — to the Clintons not to have the abject and unwavering support of the media. Since the start of the primaries — even a week or so beforehand — the only Hillary stories to feature a positive aspect of the campaign have come only after a major defeat, when things looked bleak and the candidate was doing her best to retain a stiff upper lip. Following the start of the season, the media has responded like vicious dogs to rumors a Hillary crackup, focused intently on internal movement in her campaign, and when comparisons are listed, they often feature Hillary’s position outlined with examples opposite Barack’s talking points gleaned from the last press conference.
Not that we’re complaining. It seems that someone other than Republicans are crying media bias for a change, giving us the smug sense of knowing all along that there was a personal component to news reporting. Its just…kind of weird to see people who’ve spent the last decade benefiting from it bemoan it.
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January 9th, 2008 at 12:10 am
My mind has been filled with my time at The Balsams Hotel where they had the first vote. It’s like a trip back in time. After driving two lane roads through the mountains and trees, slowly to avoid colliding with Moose with antler racks bigger than your car, the hotel suddenly rises like and looks like a castle in the trees. On a calm day, it’s hard to tell the reflection on the mote-like lake in front from the hotel its self. Old style pampering, spa, great world class food, great skiing and snowmobiling in the winter and great golf, hiking, tennis, fishing, antiquing, hunting, etc. in the summer. Friendly, friendly people. Less than $200 per day.
In 30 years of worldwide travel, I have experienced nothing better. It’s one of a handful of places I long to go back to.
http://www.thebalsams.com/
Did the primaries start yet?