Glenn Kessler is chasing DiMaggio’s streak!

MONDAY, JULY 15, 2013

Goes 2-for-4 against Warren: In 1941, Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games.

Glenn Kessler is chasing him down. Yesterday, the Washington Post’s Ahab-like checker of facts extended his own current streak.

Kessler went 2-for-4 in Pinocchios against Massachusetts southpaw Elizabeth Warren. This extends his hitting streak against Obama and his ilk.

Long ago, Kessler took his hacks against both major parties. Now, he’s being platooned. He only goes to the plate against the nation’s lefties.

For our previous post about Kessler’s streak, click here.

Updated, these are the great fact-checker’s recent Sunday hard-copy headlines. For yesterday’s hits against Warren, click here:
Kessler’s hard-copy Sunday Fact Checker pieces:
Sunday, July 14: Fuzzy math on government's student loan “profits”
Sunday, July 7: Economic aid to Cairo has long been blind to government oppression
Sunday, June 30: A whopper of a “Mediscare” ad
Sunday, June 23: Are Democrats full of beans over SNAP?
Sunday, June 16: Obama's jobs statistic is overworked
Sunday, June 9: Grassley's verdict on D.C. Circuit's workload should see closer review
Sunday, June 2: Kerry's statements about U.S. performance on emissions targets seem to mostly be just smog
Sunday, May 26: Red herrings, dissemblance and misleading statements from IRS's Lerner
Sunday, May 19: Obama takes revisionist history too far in parsing Benghazi
Somehow, Grassley snuck in on June 9. For purposes of making our point, we are prepared to ignore that.

Kessler is on a hitting streak reminiscent of Joltin’ Joe’s. As we suggested last week:

If Kessler is going to function this way, shouldn’t the Post appoint a second fact-checker? Shouldn’t someone be keeping tabs on the rest of the world?

Two more frozen ropes: For purposes of The Streak, we only keep track of Kessler’s hard-copy pieces on Sunday. But just since yesterday's piece was first posted, Kessler has churned out two more fact-checks.

One was aimed at Harry Reid, the other at Nancy Pelosi.

Reid was handed four Pinocchios for making an obvious joke. Does anybody know what was done with the former Glenn Kessler?

10 comments:

  1. Crown in the MattressJuly 15, 2013 at 1:05 PM

    "Long ago, Kessler took hacks against both major parties. Now he's being platooned. He only goes to the plate against the nation's lefties."

    That sounds familiar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bwah ha haha!!!

      Because a national newspaper columnist fact-checker is clearly equivalent to a small-bore blogger!

      Delete
    2. marshall whittmannJuly 15, 2013 at 3:57 PM

      Bob Somerby, the small-bore blogger: I like that.

      Delete
  2. I agree that this was a light-hearted comment, not worthy of fact-checking -- a joke, if you please. However, Reid's spokesman didn't defend the comment as a joke. He misused statistics to try to show it was literally true. Fo0r that reason, Kessler has a slight basis to justify the fact-check.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "He [Kessler]ONLY goes to the plate against the nation's lefties." [emphasis added]

    "Sunday, June 9: ...Grassley ....[clearly not a lefty]."

    "For purposes of making our point, we're prepared to ignore that."

    How Bob and the weasel in his pocket should have written it: "For the most part, he goes to the plate against the nation's lefties."

    I know, I know: the revision gets in the way of your endearingly hyperbolic style.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Other than the silly Reid comment, most of the comments evaluated by Kessler have been quite important. E.g., Warren mis-stating the real economic cost of the student loan program by $280 billion. That bill will come due, and there will be $280 billion less than planned available for other purposes, such as the poor and needy. Or, Nancy Pelosi's claim that the Employer Mandate hasn't been delayed, a claim of brazen falseness.

    No doubt Republican pols have been lying, too. That's what pols do. But, I suspect that in this period the Dem lies have been more consequential.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Uh, did you notice I offered a comment on your previous post? I had quite a streak against the GOP earlier in the year and so now things have evened out. Or at least it was even last week, and now the Dems have one more than the GOP for the year.

    But as I mentioned before, I pay no attention to this. The chips fall where they may, and it always seems to even out in the end. My sense is that, for the year, in the web version I actually have rated more Republicans than Democrats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I pay no attention to this. The chips fall where they may, and it always seems to even out in the end."

      If Kessler pays no attention, how does he know it "always" comes out even? Looks like he "always" pays attention to make sure it does come out even.

      Delete