They simply never abandon their stories!

TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2012

Resurrecting Popkin’s poop: They simply never abandon their stories!

That said, we found it ironic when Nicholas Confessore passed on a timeless tale from Professor Popkin’s new book. (For background, see THE DAILY HOWLER, 7/30/12).

Popkin’s deeply erudite book is all about White House campaigns. The review appeared in the New York Times. That was the source of the irony:

CONFESSORE (7/30/12): Even harder, Popkin says, is the third type of candidacy: the successor. When Al Gore ran in 2000, the country had enjoyed years of peace and prosperity. But voters are skeptical of vice presidents who claim credit for a president’s accomplishments, Popkin notes...

Gore couldn’t solve that puzzle, Popkin argues, in large part because he was pulled in different directions by his White House staff, his family and his campaign aides. Gore resented Bill Clinton for his infidelities and impeachment, empowering staff and family members who blamed “Clinton fatigue” for his lagging campaign. He overrelied on his adviser Naomi Wolf, a friend of his daughter’s, whose suggestions—wear earth tones and act more alpha—leaked to the press, turning Gore into a laughingstock.

These stories simply never die. You simply cannot stamp them out.

The irony here comes from the fact that Confessore writes for the Times. Five years ago to the month, the New York Times ran a formal correction saying that Naomi Wolf didn’t tell Gore to wear earth tones. See THE DAILY HOWLER, 7/30/07.

When the Times published that puzzling correction, eight years of bullshit were wiped away. Five years later, without batting an eye, Confessore brings the hoary tale back!

For the record, the claim that Wolf told Gore to wear earth tones didn’t result from a “leak” to the press. Ceci Connolly reported the claim as a “speculation”—by Dick Morris, no less.

Within a matter of hours, the speculation was being reported as fact. That's the way the "press corps" worked all through Campaign 2000.

Thirteen years later, the good professor writes a book full of his manifest erudition. In this pitiful instance, he sources his claim to a Newsweek piece from November 2000—a post-election report which was full of unsourced standard blather.

And sure enough: Despite his newspaper’s formal correction, Confessore just types it back up! (Just so you can feel reassured, he’s covering the current election.)

No, this doesn’t exactly “matter” at this point. But these are the dumbest humans ever. The fame and rewards are there for the taking. And within the mainstream “press corps” elite, it’s OK to make this shit up.

Everybody knows this is true. Because they have to protect their careers, career liberals never complain.

These are the dumbest humans ever. Your nation and its way of life are dying beneath the weight of decades of this conduct.