tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post8276876626163376883..comments2024-03-18T21:50:44.748-04:00Comments on the daily howler: “DESTINED TO GET HORRIBLE COVERAGE:” But why?<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-56629353468583801162014-07-29T15:07:48.167-04:002014-07-29T15:07:48.167-04:00Kevin Drum has linked to this thread. He is, too, ...Kevin Drum has linked to this thread. He is, too, a good liberal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-88974377755723076232014-07-29T10:27:34.634-04:002014-07-29T10:27:34.634-04:00Bear in mind, for those whose memories of the '...Bear in mind, for those whose memories of the '72 election have grown fuzzy, that after the 1970 mid-terms, Richard Nixon turned into quite the "progressive" president.<br /><br />Among the things he did in a very short time:<br /><br />He began withdrawing troops from Vietnam, leading to the October Surprise "Peace is at hand."<br /><br />He opened relations with China.<br /><br />He began a policy of detente with the Soviet Union, leading to a huge wheat deal that made farmers very happy.<br /><br />He established the EPA.<br /><br />He balanced the budget and began "revenue sharing" that poured billions into state and local governments.<br /><br />He instituted federal wage and price controls to curb inflation.<br /><br />He proposed, but didn't get, a national health insurance plan.<br /><br />He proposed, and it was passed after his resignation, the federal earned income tax credit as a way to "reward work" and get people off welfare.<br /><br />Now as soon as he was re-elected, he dropped the FDR impression and turned back into Richard Nixon. <br /><br />But he won re-election in a historic landslide for reasons other than the press was mean to McGovern.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-81759345306297071092014-07-29T08:53:17.488-04:002014-07-29T08:53:17.488-04:00Right. After the revelation of Eagleton's elec...Right. After the revelation of Eagleton's electroshock treatments for depression, McGovern announced that he was standing behind his chosen running mate "1,000 percent."<br /><br />Then a few days later, he introduced Sargent Shriver as his new running mate.<br /><br />That was all a matter of the press vilifying him.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-68325002637852828522014-07-28T17:22:17.841-04:002014-07-28T17:22:17.841-04:00"Clinton’s book, Hard Choices, concerns her f..."Clinton’s book, Hard Choices, concerns her four years in the State Department. The book discusses a wide array of events from around the globe. It’s a type of discussion our upper-end press corps finds insuperably boring."<br /><br />I am glad you point this out. Were it not for your thorough, thoughtful review I might not have known enough about it to have gotten excited about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-43292129255300039362014-07-28T15:58:10.472-04:002014-07-28T15:58:10.472-04:00Anonymous @ 12:32 here, responding after comments ...Anonymous @ 12:32 here, responding after comments by<br />4 others to my original comment to Anonymous @12:00.<br /><br />Notice that all of you jumped in with Gore when I never mentioned him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-24032268346758140272014-07-28T15:31:08.078-04:002014-07-28T15:31:08.078-04:00Or . . . they were statements out of Gore's ow...Or . . . they were statements out of Gore's own mouth, embellished by the GOP, and picked up by a willing media, for which, for whatever reason, Gore could not seem to defend effectively. And Bob then blames "liberals" in the press for a code of silence that prevented them from not acting tribally emough to suit Somerby by rushing to fight Gore's battles for him.<br /><br />And now that we do have a network that has found its niche by pushing back, what is Somerby's response? "They are just as bad as Fox."<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-85575835974538931282014-07-28T15:27:01.885-04:002014-07-28T15:27:01.885-04:00Well actually, no.
With the stewardship of Cronki...Well actually, no.<br /><br />With the stewardship of Cronkite gone, we the people have been freed to be just as dumb as we want!<br /><br />Alas! We the people are enormously dumb; presumably, we always have been. <br /><br />We are a very dumb, very gullible people. The last several years have really brought home the range of crazy, ridiculous things we the people are prepared to believe.<br /><br />That said, we the people are amazingly dumb. In truth, we don't know squat from squadoosh; squadoodle is light-years beyond us. For that reason, we're prone to believing every damn-fool claim that comes down the pike.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-76163234670890870732014-07-28T15:16:57.418-04:002014-07-28T15:16:57.418-04:00SOMERBY: Halperin is a major press corps insider....SOMERBY: Halperin is a major press corps insider. He knows all the other press corps insiders. <br /><br />He attends the cocktail parties where media narratives slur their way into shape. Mark Halperin understands the way the press corps works.<br /><br />HALPERIN: .... there is no doubt that the press failed to scrutinize this program (Affordable Care Act) at the time of passage and during the context of the president’s re-election. Any reporter who would argue otherwise would be putting their head in the sand. As we write in “Double Down,” the problem for the Republicans in the re-election context was you nominated, Republicans nominated Mitt Romney, a guy who was not very well positioned, to say the least, to make the case against Obamacare because he passed the healthcare plan in Massachusetts....<br /><br />...Part of the flaws of the way the media works. If the candidates aren’t talking about it gets less coverage. No doubt a disservice was done to the country and to liberals. It didn’t get scrutiny on passage and then again when the president was running for re-election. Our cover story in the magazine lays all this out just how deep the president’s predicament is now politically and substantively.<br /><br />SOMERBY: That is a remarkable statement, for at least several reasons.<br /><br />For starters, insider pundits rarely speak in such awkward ways about the insider press. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-55748249739777963282014-07-28T15:16:34.199-04:002014-07-28T15:16:34.199-04:00It certainly looks like they are trying out story ...It certainly looks like they are trying out story lines, seeing which ones can gain traction and which ones won't. It will be somewhat more difficult because there is more knowledge of what happened in 2000 and there is little regard for the major press these days. <br /><br />The speaking fees won't gain traction because it's a free country and if people want to pay her that, so be it. If it's going into the foundation, too, then who cares? Going after Chelsea is dirty pool, so that won't work, either. They haven't found a tack that will work yet, and it's possible they never will.urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-86416685784944128872014-07-28T15:01:37.292-04:002014-07-28T15:01:37.292-04:00Ditto for Nixon. Impossible to see how the negativ...Ditto for Nixon. Impossible to see how the negative coverage didn't prevent him from winning. Then, one could argue, with a continuation of Eisenhower's policies in Southeast Asia, Vietnam could have been avoided. When the Civil Rights movement erupted, Nixon could have ignored the Southern Democrats, listened to Republican leaders like Javits and Dirksen and solidified a Republican hold on the black electorate that made Edward Booke the odds on favorite to become the first African American president until his affair with Barbara Walters was revealed. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-51612672904157725252014-07-28T14:47:57.764-04:002014-07-28T14:47:57.764-04:00In 1972, the Democrats were eating their own in th...In 1972, the Democrats were eating their own in the primaries, the Republicans weren't.<br />Nixon convinced working class Americans, even union members, that the Democrats were being taken over by immoral, hippie-type freaks of the drug culture. (Which had some truth to it.)<br />The silent majority took it to heart, and taught the undisciplined, self-indulgent hedonists a lesson.<br />And the press DID vilify McGovern, claiming much of his base was the drug culture, and that he was a fool for not vetting Eagleton, and a coward for dropping him.<br />Those were some of the happiest days of my life. (sigh).<br />Luv that Dennis Hopper!gravymeisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16075831177588700301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-18461868848151716632014-07-28T14:43:52.912-04:002014-07-28T14:43:52.912-04:00Sure Mr. Legend.
According to an author Somerby ...Sure Mr. Legend. <br /><br />According to an author Somerby quoted, the Clintons hated Tim Russert. Tim Russert hated them. Bob asks about the latter but not the former. <br /><br />He doesn't "seem to think" there might be a connection. He doesn't suggest or contemplate the mutual contempt between Clintons and press might be wider than what he seems to accept as the contempt between one member of the press and Clintons.<br /><br />Clear enough or shall I try again?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-56611144169210642322014-07-28T14:38:43.756-04:002014-07-28T14:38:43.756-04:00That is really beyond question. It's impossibl...That is really beyond question. It's impossible to see a good faith argument that the relentless negative coverage didn't cost Gore a few hundred thousand votes nationally, and a few tens of thousands more than the 500 he officially lost by in Florida, easily more than enough to have won the electoral vote. It is quite possible that without the negative coverage Gore would have won Missouri, Nevada and Ohio, too, making it a near landslide electoral win, but in any case Florida would have readily done the trick.urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-84486193623199560482014-07-28T14:31:27.397-04:002014-07-28T14:31:27.397-04:00Certainly I have considered it as it relates to th...Certainly I have considered it as it relates to the General Election. Gore won the popular vote by 5 times the margin of JFK in 1960.<br /><br />Kennedy was widely believed to be the recipient of more favorable press coverage than Nixon. Nixon supporters believe the elction was stolen in Illinois and Texas and have blamed the liberal biased press ever since.<br /><br />How do you explain the primaries? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-3031498954600235632014-07-28T14:29:56.866-04:002014-07-28T14:29:56.866-04:00This is not true. The article does attribute the s...This is not true. The article does attribute the statement about despising to a specific source, who is not Somerby.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-32425911385885935582014-07-28T14:26:52.649-04:002014-07-28T14:26:52.649-04:00They haven't been polling about Romney but Rea...They haven't been polling about Romney but RealClearPolitics shows Clinton's lead against Bush in 2016 cut by 18 points in presidential general election polls taken between April and July 2014.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-81138439245925269342014-07-28T14:16:14.679-04:002014-07-28T14:16:14.679-04:00Not sure where your recollection comes from, but n...Not sure where your recollection comes from, but not only was Nixon given wide benefit of the doubt coverage, his opponent in 1972 was vilified in the press/media.<br /><br />And Reagan got great coverage, very deferential. After the assassination attempt, he was spoken of in almost reverential tones. He would lie straight into the camera and the press/media response was, "Hey that's Reagan. And didn't he do it great?"James E. Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411674142419407865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-75746853203718085902014-07-28T14:14:45.076-04:002014-07-28T14:14:45.076-04:00That's why candidates poll numbers don't f...That's why candidates poll numbers don't fluctuate with media critiques? Oh wait, they do. Confidence in the media may be low, but that doesn't mean the public is unaffected by the news media. <br /><br />When someone wins in spite of the media, that doesn't mean the media had no effect. What else do you suppose might have affected the campaigns you use as your examples above?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-42787195274264777192014-07-28T14:11:33.559-04:002014-07-28T14:11:33.559-04:00Halperin says she is destined to get horrible cove...Halperin says she is destined to get horrible coverage if she runs for president. I think she has gotten horrible coverage of her book publication. If they wanted to decrease her book sales, they couldn't have done a better job of that either. They cannot keep her off the shows but they spend the time discussing other topics and have conducted a concurrent scandal campaign over speaking fees that are no different than any other politician of her stature gets. The focus has been on her earnings, so it is harder for her to complain that their neglect of her book is affecting her income. If anyone wanted to make sure fewer people read her book, they couldn't have done a better job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-67006093533271818532014-07-28T14:11:04.347-04:002014-07-28T14:11:04.347-04:00Bill Clinton was loathed by the media --- was twic...Bill Clinton was loathed by the media --- was twice elected (pretty handily the 2nd time) and his approval ratings peaked *during impeachment* (70%). I was no fan of Tricky Dick, but was there a recent president more loathed and outright despised by the media than Nixon? Elected twice --- the second time, a total landslide.<br /><br />I recall the press thought Reagan was a semi-literate boob. Two landslides.<br /><br />And so forth.<br /><br />The public doesn't take its cues from the news media, which it actually holds in very low regard: http://www.gallup.com/poll/171740/americans-confidence-news-media-remains-low.aspxGeoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-38250791154825230512014-07-28T14:10:56.865-04:002014-07-28T14:10:56.865-04:00It's entirely possible the press is not as pow...It's entirely possible the press is not as powerful as Halperin and Somersby think it is. A CNN poll out this morning shows that after six weeks of relentless attacks on Clinton by the media, she would only crush Romney in 2016 by thirteen points. Think what her lead would be without the ongoing jihad! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-18045448761473854302014-07-28T14:08:49.179-04:002014-07-28T14:08:49.179-04:00How about a translation?How about a translation?urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-60324916446604483912014-07-28T14:05:05.958-04:002014-07-28T14:05:05.958-04:00And maybe you should notice the actual history of ...And maybe you should notice the actual history of coverage of Gore. The so-called lies by Gore were pure, outright, fabricated lies by a raft of pundits and reporters repeated over and over throughout the campaign. With the public, Gore won the first debate by a large margin, and yet the press dreamed up stuff about off-camera sighs and sneers as if they were the most important information in the campaign.<br /><br />Man, there are apologists and then there are apologists. On this one, Somerby will eat you for lunch.urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-14475010519641532312014-07-28T13:51:45.565-04:002014-07-28T13:51:45.565-04:00Have you considered that he would have won by a wi...Have you considered that he would have won by a wider margin without the press against him, one that would have made it less possible for the election to have been stolen?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-48864134285325531862014-07-28T13:49:47.376-04:002014-07-28T13:49:47.376-04:00Speak for yourself.Speak for yourself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com