It's good that Doug is a standup guy.
But I would ask the people at Post-Newsweek to ask themselves, why are Republicans, fully a third of the consumers of news in the United States, so willing to believe that the press is a propaganda ministry for the Democratic Party?
Simple: for example, when the Ads story broke, it was peddled through the food chain with anecdotal sources, mostly people connected in one way or another with the Kerry campaign (the head of the Firefighters Union, the Tides outfit, and the Sept. 11th group), AS IF THERE WAS NO CONNEXION WITH THE KERRY CAMPAIGN.
They were depicted as the innocent victims of a hard-hearted Administration.
I saw a front page report, with photos below the fold, which had a half page continuation about seven pages into the front section, in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. I know an agitprop campaign when I see one, and the alacrity and unity of these stories, as well as the apparent coaching of people who appeared on the morning talk shows, appeared to me to be something right out of Darkness at Noon.
This was a deliberate campaign of agitation and propaganda. Period. As was the AWOL meme, as was the Joe Wilson meme. Mr. Stevenson probably had no part in that campaign. The abuse he received was contemptible, and there is no excuse for it, so it is good that you apologized to him, Doug.
But ask yourself this: why did you, a consumer of news, believe that you were being lied to in the first place?
The answer is simple; because in large part, you have.
To a degree that most reporters are not willing to admit, the American news media is the most finely refined and exquisitely talented instrument of agitation and propaganda in the history of man. If you proceed from the assumption that you are being lied to from the getgo, you will be able to survive this campaign year, whether we win or lose.
The best summation is given by the press itself, from the now infamous expose from ABC News' "The Note":
Like every other institution, the Washington and political press corps operate with a good number of biases and predilections.They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared sense that liberal political positions on social issues like gun control, homosexuality, abortion, and religion are the default, while more conservative positions are "conservative positions."
They include a belief that government is a mechanism to solve the nation's problems; that more taxes on corporations and the wealthy are good ways to cut the deficit and raise money for social spending and don't have a negative affect on economic growth; and that emotional examples of suffering (provided by unions or consumer groups) are good ways to illustrate economic statistic stories.
More systematically, the press believes that fluid narratives in coverage are better than static storylines; that new things are more interesting than old things; that close races are preferable to loose ones; and that incumbents are destined for dethroning, somehow.
The press, by and large, does not accept President Bush's justifications for the Iraq war -- in any of its WMD, imminent threat, or evil-doer formulations. It does not understand how educated, sensible people could possibly be wary of multilateral institutions or friendly, sophisticated European allies.
It does not accept the proposition that the Bush tax cuts helped the economy by stimulating summer spending.
It remains fixated on the unemployment rate.
It believes President Bush is "walking a fine line" with regards to the gay marriage issue, choosing between "tolerance" and his "right-wing base."
It still has a hard time understanding how, despite the drumbeat of conservative grass-top complaints about overspending and deficits, President Bush's base remains extremely and loyally devoted to him -- and it looks for every opportunity to find cracks in that base.
Of course, the swirling Joe Wilson and National Guard stories play right to the press's scandal bias -- not to mention the bias towards process stories (grand juries produce ENDLESS process!).
The worldview of the dominant media can be seen in every frame of video and every print word choice that is currently being produced about the presidential race.
Remember: ALWAYS assume that the press will find some way to carry water for the Kerry campaign. In large part, they despise George Bush. Bush and his wife are cultural light years removed from the galaxy of the chattering classes. Their feelings towards Bush gravitate between contempt and slight regard. Kerry is different. Kerry is the type of guy who they would gravitate to at the Ben Bradlee parties of years gone by, or at special invites as Hillary's place.
Kerry is their savior, their knight in shining armor. Many in the press will do anything to get him elected, up to and including lie through their teeth. That is why so many of us don't trust them.
Be Seeing You,
Chris