Supplemental: Todd blurts the latest unsourced tale!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015

He says the Clintons told:
Do you remember when Amy Chozick issued this unsourced groaner?
CHOZICK AND HABERMAN (4/111/5): [E]ven as Mrs. Clinton attempts to set aside her celebrity and offer herself as a fighter for ordinary voters, her finance team and the outside groups supporting her candidacy have started collecting checks in what is expected to be a $2.5 billion effort, dwarfing the vast majority of her would-be rivals in both parties.
Had Candidate Clinton’s finance team, and the outside groups supporting her candidacy, started collecting money?

Yes, they had.

Were they involved in “what was expected to be a $2.5 billion effort?”

That seems extremely unlikely. But so what?

In a typical New York Times news report, Chozick presented no source for her walloping claim—and the claim went viral. A few weeks ago, we saw the gargantuan number cited again, this time at the start of an anti-Clinton screed at the new Salon.

In a rational world, it would be amazing to see the New York Times print such unsourced claims. In the real world, the New York Times plays this game all the time, as we saw last weekend.

In the latest example, Maureen Dowd told a pitiful story, complete with full quotations, about a pitiful deathbed scene. Well, it wasn’t necessarily a deathbed scene. That was just the impression Dowd worked to give her readers.

(At Slate, John Dickerson actually corrected his initial claim that Dowd had reported a “deathbed” scene. To see his correction, just click here. Like many others around the corps, Dickerson had received the impression which Dowd plainly intended.)

Dowd offered no source for her heart-rending story or for her full quotations. Let’s face it—she may have been making it up!

But sure enough! Amy Chozick grabbed the unsourced claims and put them on the Times’ front page. She even wrote that the heart-rending claims had come from Dowd’s “reporting!”

Why did Dowd present us with the non-deathbed deathbed story? Easy!

Maureen Dowd in an insult addict when it comes to the Clintons. She’s often seen around D.C., piteously scratching her arms as she seeks her next “insult fix.”

This Sunday, she presented her ugliest insult yet. A dying man had used his last nouns to beg Dad to stop the Clintons!

Journalists like Chozick and Dowd don’t need no stinkin’ attribution! Neither does our old pal Chuck Todd, or so it seemed as we thoughtfully watched Sunday’s Meet the Press.

Years ago, we worked with Chuck in an attempt to make him “clean and articulate.” Ardent for some desperate glory, he blurted the statement shown below on last Sunday’s program.

We’re recording the actual words he spoke. To her credit, Kathleen Parker didn’t go along with the play.

Gerald Seib speaks first:
SEIB (8/2/15): The [Biden] family has always, as you suggested, thought this was a good idea. Hunter, not just Beau Biden, has apparently said, “You should do this.”

But there are also people in Biden World who are not sure it’s a good idea. They don’t want him to go out in his national political career on a down note. And the donors question is an open one. A lot of money has been committed to Hillary Clinton already.

TODD: And some of his staffers. But I tell you, Kathleen, what’s interesting here is that, um, is that some of this is, is driven by—

I had a—

That the Clinton people are trying to smoke him out! That actually, that they had leaked these anecdotes
because he’s sitting out there, sort of hovering over the campaign, and it makes them nervous.

PARKER: I’m not tapped into that conspiracy, I’ve got to admit.
To watch this exchange, click here. Move ahead to roughly the 31-minute mark.

Those were the actual words spoken by Todd. We’ve omitted no words. You’ll have to watch the tape to capture his four or five hesitant pauses.

According to Todd, “I had a [final pause]—

“That the Clinton people are trying to smoke him out! That actually, that they had leaked these anecdotes...”

He didn’t seem to want to state his source, if he has one. But he wanted to state the claim. So he ended up blurting it out.

We like Chuck—but in this case, we have to ask a question:

Chuck Todd “had a” what? He had a sixth cousin to Bill Clinton, twice removed, who told him this rather vague story? He had a dream today?

Todd blurted the story without any sourcing or attribution. All of a sudden, it was the Clintons who were leaking these anecdotes! According to his unsourced tale, the Clintons are the source!

This makes the story better than ever:

With the last of his nouns, a dying man denounced the Clintons. And you know the way those Clintons are:

We only know this story today because the Clintons told!

31 comments:

  1. Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan order to HRC, Uma and Cheryl:

    As agreed by the parties at the July 31, 2015 status hearing, the Government shall produce a copy of the letters sent by the State Department to Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Ms. Huma Abedin and Ms. Cheryl Mills regarding the collection of government records in their possession. These communications shall be posted on the docket forthwith. The Government has also agreed to share with Plaintiff’s counsel the responses sent by Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. These communications shall also be posted on the docket forthwith. In addition, as related to Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests in this case, the Government is HEREBY ORDERED to: (1) identify any and all servers, accounts, hard drives, or other devices currently in the possession or control of the State Department or otherwise that may contain responsive information; (2) request that the above named individuals confirm, under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all responsive information that was or is in their possession as a result of their employment at the State Department. If all such information has not yet been produced, the Government shall request the above named individuals produce the information forthwith; and (3) request that the above named individuals describe, under penalty of perjury, the extent to which Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills used Mrs. Clinton’s email server to conduct official government business. The Government shall inform the Court of the status of its compliance with this Order no later than August 7, 2015, including any response received from Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on July 31, 2015.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How come you guys show so little interest in dealing with policy?

      Delete
    2. @CMike

      What guys? Judge Emmet G. Sullivan was appointed by HRC's hubby.

      Delete
    3. This order requires the State Department to request information from HRC.

      It doesn't order Clinton to do anything. She isn't even party to the law suit. Can't you even read a simple court order without screwing it up?

      Delete
    4. I think CMike means "You guys who apparently have no real desire to discuss the most likely policies (and their potential outcomes in the real world) of a second Clinton administration, as opposed to whatever character- or scandal-based stories are current."

      I don't want to speak for CMike, but I think that's close.

      In my mind, how we could expect a second Clinton administration to handle, say, a minor (or major) financial crash not legislated for by the authors of Dodd-Frank would be a far more interesting topic than what, say, a first Clinton-appointed judge ordered about what the State Department told Hillary and Hillary-related persons "regarding the collection of government records in their possession."

      Yep, I'd kind of like to hear more about what all candidates think about the last financial sector bailout, and what plans they have for such a disaster, should another round of economy-sized gambling losses be passed on to Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

      You know, "policy."

      Delete
    5. @ 4:29

      Can't you comprehend what "under penalty of perjury" means without screwing it up? That means HRC, Uma and Cheryl have to testify to what they did and when it is proved that they lied they can be sentenced to time in the pokey.

      Delete
    6. @ Stewart,

      Let's start with the policy that The White House has regarding a VP Biden possible run at HRC. Josh Earnest said that President Obama believes that picking Biden as his VP was the "smartest decision he ever made in politics." By extrapolation, selecting HRC to be his Secretary of State was definitely not the smartest decision.

      According to B.S. logic, POTUS Obama must be one of those who is desperately trying to stop the Clintons. Apparently, you do not have to be on your death bed to confess to this forbidden wish.

      Delete
    7. @ 3:56, 4:15, 4:37, & 4:44

      Chopin's Piano Concerto #2

      Delete
    8. Clinton will win the election.

      Delete
    9. I remember Eric Alterman targeting this late great on more than one occasion for this very reason [LINK]:

      [QUOTE] What did Halberstam do to make his editors desert him just when they were most needed? Were his copy editors smoking dope? Much of this book reads as if it were translated from English into Serbo-Croatian and then back again. The sentences run on, aided by scores of commas and semicolons, as if trying to win an endurance contest with one another.... [END QUOTE]

      I take heart from that criticism that though I, myself, am ever in desperate need of an editor it doesn't necessarily mean I do not have a useful point worth making every now and then.

      Delete
    10. @5:31

      At the rate Ole Bernie is closing in on her in New Hampshire, she may not even win her party's nomination.

      "A Suffolk University poll released Tuesday morning found Clinton leading Sanders by 10 points, 41 percent to 31 percent, among likely voters."

      Delete
    11. Cicero at 4:44 PM,

      I misspelled "Stuart" once, myself. Better luck next time.

      Delete
    12. @CMike,

      You let me know when I misspell Jon Stewart's name.

      Delete
    13. Here's the relevant part of the court order:

      In addition, as related to Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests in this case, the GOVERNMENT is hereby ordered to: ... (2) REQUEST that the above named individuals confirm, under penalty of perjury...(3) REQUEST that the above named individuals describe..."

      What part of "the GOVERNMENT is ordered to REQUEST" don't you understand?

      Delete
    14. @ 12:35

      And because HRC and her minions have much to conceal she will never comply or she will comply?

      Delete
  2. Clinton will win the election

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @ 7:33

      That's what Clintonistas said in 2008....but a community organizer had different plans.

      Delete
  3. Just this once, we’ll be honest.

    We liberals are the problem now too! We're lazy and we aren't very smart. We exude a moral squalor. We're lazy and dumb and our morals are bad.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What would this combox be without cicero's bait and CMike swallowing it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. deader than deadrat and everyone else who scurried off the SS Somerby.

      There are a few liberals left. But....well you already know.

      Repetition is the strong suit around these parts.

      Delete
    2. What would this combox be...? I don't know, it would probably have a higher total ratio of KZ comments than it does now.

      There is a reason to respond to trolls, it's a cure for breaking the habit liberals and lefties have fallen into over the years. The vice is to rely too often on snark and allusion to make your points and not being able to speak in terms that would persuade a nonpartisan, or at least in a way that the nonpartisan or non political junky can follow.

      Delete
    3. @CMike

      The reason why B.S. allows the expression of opinions other than those that parrot White House talking points is because he has confidence (perhaps misplaced) in his liberal followers to be able to refute with facts, if possible, conservative analysis of liberal orthodoxy.

      That most liberal Howlers are flummoxed when confronted with contrary views would be expected if the dailyhowler were characteristic of other liberal blogs where the conservative pov is strictly verboten. That those liberal howlers are content to dismiss such comments as trolling doesn't engender B.S.'s faith in his flock's defense of their own politics.

      Delete
    4. Cicero,

      I don't know why Somerby ignores this comment section but I'd sort of agree with you that liberals would benefit from getting in the habit of laying out their views when confronted by contrarians rather then being dismissive. Right wing talk radio is interesting in this regard, whether talking to friend or foe there's a catechism those guys run through over and over. You do know where they stand- Limbaugh offers a little creativity when assessing developments but, whereas, Hannity keeps going on automatic pilot and into recitation mode if you listen to him for a while at least you do know what his take on things are. (That said, we'll take as a given that their alternatives to Obamacare and the Iranian nuclear agreement, among others, will forever remain assigned To Be Announced At a Later Date status.)

      You personally Cicero, you really are here more to provoke than to engage, to breathlessly roll through the latest World Net Daily scandal sheet than to consider policy, but until one of those alleged to actually exist thoughtful conservatives shows up at this sandbox you're the emissary we have to work with.

      Delete
    5. @CMike

      How do you learn about the scandals in the Obama Administration and with HRC? Are you like POTUS Obama who has no clue about them until he watches FNC? How did you learn about the scandals in the Bush 43 Administration? The NYT, Media Matters, MoveOn, WaPo, LA Times, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, PBS, MSNBC CNN, ?

      Talk to HRC about To Be Announced At A Later Date status as she refuses to give an opinion on Keystone Pipeline until she is in The White House.

      Delete
    6. How do I learn about scandals? Democracy Now is a good place to start.

      You're right, HRC has avoided taking a stand on Keystone XL.

      Delete
    7. Extraordinarily well said, CMike. I honestly can't think of a better way to have made these important points.

      Delete
  5. Wasn't Dickerson the guy who said on Washington Week in Review that Fiorina had fired 300,000 employees from HP? When host Gwen Ifill suggested the correct number was closer to 30,000, this reporter stood his ground and insisted the number of miserables was 300K, roughly the population of Tulsa. Gwen relented somewhat, suggesting the number be checked later.

    Maybe it wasn't Dickerson. But it was someone (Jeff Zeleny?) who could have joined him in a police lineup and perhaps wound up taking the rap. If it was another fair-haired white boy who rejected Gwen's marmish (and correct) correction, I haven't seen him on the show since.

    Don't pull on Superman's cape, and don't mess around with Gwen.

    ReplyDelete
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