Archive → September 3rd, 2007
Book review as hit-job journalism
Under the guise of a book review, major media outlets are using the occasion of journalist Glenn Kessler’s new book, “Confidante,” to rewrite the history books on Condaleeza Rice’s service in the Bush administration.
Repeating his talking points without question, sources even as respected by conservatives as Breitbart.com are allowing Kessler’s quotes to color the tone of their book review of his tome, without raising so much as a critical eyebrow to his conclusions.
Communication is key in any venture, be it government or business and strong intranet software can help smooth things out. Did not one single editor do more than skim the book and pull relevant quotes out of it in order to meet deadline? The need for in-depth personalization and seamless back-end integration would be obvious to most.
But nothing seems to have worked for most media outlets and Kessler is able to wheeze on like so:
“She was one of the weakest national security advisors in US history. Her inexperience and her mistakes in that job have shaped the world and colored the choices she must handle as secretary of state,” Kessler, who covers US diplomacy for The Washington Post, writes in Confidante. “The invasion of Iraq, the missed opportunity with Iran, the breach in relations with Europe, the Arab anger at a perceived bias against the Palestinians — all of these problems were the direct result of decisions she helped make in the White House. Now, as secretary of state, she tried mightily — and with limited success — to unravel the Gordian knots she tied in in George W. Bush’s first term.”
I guess it’s refreshing to see some windbag journalist choose a target other than George W. Bush for a change; but Kessler’s portrayal of Rice and his conclusions about her are not above question or reproach. Whatever happened to the critical media?
Islamic Jihad attempts to bomb Israeli day care
A Palestinian militant group believed to be funded in part by Iran attempted to bomb an Israeli day care on Monday.
While the bomb, launched from the Gaza Strip, did not detonate and no children were hurt, the incident has been condemned by most international leaders – who then turn right around and tell Israel not to retaliate in even the most mild of ways, such as cutting off the flow of supplies until Hamas and Islamic Jihad call a cease fire. These same international leaders warn that such action would be, “morally indefensible.”
Some of these leaders apparently need brighter home lighting, since they can’t see the forest for the trees. That’s like having someone attempt to shoot a presidential candidate, but then tell the Secret Service not to take the shooter down because, “Well, he missed, so no harm done.”
Would that make sense? Certainly not!
Neither does telling Israel not to retaliate in any way at all.
Edwards off the deep end
For whatever reason, Iowa seems to undo even the sturdiest of Democrats candidates. Last time around, it was Howard Dean who lost it in the “field of dreams,” with his Ric Flair-style, “Woooo!” speech. This time around, it’s former ambulance chaser and former Senator John Edwards who showed off his “Crazy Dean” credentials.
Speaking in Tipton, Iowa about his Hillary-style universal health care plan, Edwards promised:
“It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care. If you are going to be in the system, you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK. The whole idea is a continuum of care, basically from birth to death.”
Does this plan include indemnifying doctors from ambulance-chasers like Edwards in this mandatory care system? Not likely.
Edwards is off the deep end on this one, and while he’s unlikely to get the Dem nod for the top of the ticket, if he’s chosen as someone’s running mate, just remember all the damage Al Gore did when the previous Clinton was at the top of the ticket. It’s enough to require most people to seek out a headache treatment.
One has to wonder exactly what the penalty would be for a prospective patient who didn’t go for his or her annual physical, and whether it would be a better or worse fate than he has in mind for Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, if he ever does achieve power.
