Letters to the Editor
Alan Bennett
Published Letters: 256 Editor's Choice: 8
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Who Lost?
[Read the article: Obama and Clinton fizzle in Philly]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Might be a better question and ABC would be a frontrunner. Obama won because he did not lose? Really. I know you support the Senator. But your conclusion is pitiful. Obama had a bad night because the questions were peurile. It was a typical anti-Democratic Party ensemble.
Why not turn your attention to the hosts: two numbskulls!
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The Penn Debate
[Read the article: Will Obama's debate stumble hurt him?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think Clinton came off okay. No plus at all. Sure Obama had a tough time. This is what happens when an intelligent person faces two journalists who have long parted from their craft. You may recall, Joan, that 60 minutes into the session George S made this observation prefacing yet another question to Obama: "The US economy is viewed as the No 1 problem in our country etc etc." I think that says it all.
You may also recall the way Williams and Russert set about slamming Clinton way back.
Obama should understand that he cannot expect intelligent questions from these non-elitists in the MSM. He should curb his impatience, and , just maybe, should say: I really have no inclination to answer stupid questions. It is time the idiotic questions and idiotic questioners should be treated with the contempt it/they deserve.
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Taken for a Ride
[Read the article: Major revelation: U.S. media deceitfully disseminates government propaganda]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is good to have this stuff documented, with the emails and related material. At least we won't get fobbed of with bogus explanations and outright lies.
It is easy to identify those generals who spoke out and were snubbed by the Pentagon brass. Gen Zinni comes to mind and one other outspoken Major Gen who was shunned. The best known is Gen Shinseki.It is equally easy to see that Peter Pace was Rumsfeld's lackey. These kinds of things usually happened in banana republics. We have imported so many bananas from some of those republics that we have caught the disease.
Let us not be cowed by full dress uniforms decked. The very large majority of our officers and other ranks have given us their best. But in the higher reaches too many have become infected with business and political ambitions.
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Trying for Balance
[Read the article: Looking past Pennsylvania]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I salute you for trying for balance. If one discounts the fans on both sides who think jeering and belittling the other candidate is the way to win in November one comes away with the knowledge that we have two tough candidates who, in different ways, appeal to a mix of constituencies. Together they would be formidable. One detail oriented, the other capable of pulling together disparate groups.
If these two really put the Democratic Party and its supporters first in the primary they would come together. It is not a pipe dream. Sen Obama has shown his frustration, some impatience with the press and others and a thin skin. Sen Clinton faces the same charges again and again and it is now being discounted except by an elite group of haters on both sides.
But when Obama supporters on campus use the "bro's before ho's" argument I was truly angered. This is rubbish. We have racism in our society but it is not only to be found among whites. There has been an outbreak of that in the black community. That is one of the stories that we don't want to see discussed or reported on.
As for Keith Olbermann: he has moved from being a serious critic into a buffoon and a clown. And Howard Fineman is ready to play Sancho Panza (which he does with boring regularity on Chris Motormouth's Show.) Olbermann sense of self importance and self indulgence has been his undoing. He has become the o'Rielly of the left. Anti-women stuff does not play well anymore. The boys should know that. But will they ever learn.
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@RIRedinPA
[Read the article: Looking past Pennsylvania]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for setting out your viewpoint. Appreciate it. Hope you will be successful in your business which will in turn help the children. Sad to say it is going down to be you. Once these people get to Washington they face a life of compromise and manipulation and election promises become just that: promises.
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Scepticism
[Read the article: Skepticism toward Bush claims about Syria and North Korea]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This story may be taken as gospel by the usual suspects, and Barbara X will breathlessly report it on CNN from the Pentagon Briefing Room. It all optics all the time. But the public at large will yawn. The candidates, terrified of the Jewish vote, will keep this at a distance. As for those pictures: let them as for Colin Powell's stamp of approval.
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The MSM's prized source
[Read the article: Karl Rove: Honest political genius]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It will be interesting to find out how many of our "leading " scribblers and gasbags were on Rove's list for those off the record chat. He has show an ability to set the line for the day for which drudge gets the credit. The funny thing is that Rove's manipulative style is well known and is still effective. He's got Bush down at 28% and they still treat him as a genius.
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The Generals and Media Accountability
[Read the article: Howard Kurtz on why media outlets ignore the "military analyst" story]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I saw the program. De Rita was in the usual denial mode. Torie Clark has been absent ( haven't seen her on CNN in a while) and The Colonel was pathetic. He complained he did not get enough face time on TV and he found the media too left! I read elsewhere that the Generals have gone into a Retreat.
The CNN, ABC and the others have been caught with their proverbial pants down; not a pretty picture and it has been effectively kiboshed. I guess we have to leave it to the Comedy Show to ask serious questions.
Recall when CNN was expelled from Baghdad: Eason Jordan flew over and met with Saddam and eventually got CNN re-admitted. The NYT article reports that he went to the Pentagon to seek reassurance that it was okay for CNN to use the generals before the Iraq War began. Remember that Fox's Rupert Murdoch agreed to stop transmitting BBC World to China when it came into conflict with his business interests.
It been so for a decade or more. The profession of journalism is held in contempt not only in the Left blogosphere; they are held in contempt by their employers at GE, Disney and other corporate headquarters.