Josh Marshall caught the Washington Post shilling for the Republicans yet again. Seems the WaPo editorial board, not the least bit deterred by having been tragically and colossally wrong about the existence of WMDs in Iraq and Plamegate, have decided that Nancy Pelosi "should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad". Calling Pelosi's statement that she had carried a message of peace to the Syrians a "pratfall", the WaPo editorialists apparently didn't bother to check what the Israeli press had written just days ago. Josh has lots more to say, and I recommend you read it and his links, but here's the punchline:
So we've had a lot of fun over the last few days with the RNC political shop and Drudge leading a lot of dopes around by the nose. But let's hear a bit more about this. The message the Israelis sent to Damascus was intended to convince the Syrians that the Israelis were not planning to attack the Syrians in concert with an American attack on Iran. There was concern in Israel that this might lead to a preemptive Syrian attack. A message like that from Israel to Syria might be very unwelcome to some people in the White House. Did the White House pressure Olmert? If there was no message, why was the existence of the message being discussed by Israeli officials before Pelosi went to Damascus? Will the White House deny pressuring Olmert? And did any of this occur to the folks who write the Post's editorials?
More dirty tricks from the crooked crowd in the White House?
While we're all offering advice to each other, I'd like to suggest that the Washington Post fire the brain-dead Bush sycophants who write their editorials. They're clearly not able to do the most basic fact checking.
Taylor Marsh has some interesting questions about Israeli PM Ehud Olmert's part in all this.
UPDATE: Not to be outdone when it comes to shilling for the Bush Administration, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed claiming Nancy Pelosi committed a felony by going to Syria. Too bad their editorials don't come on paper any more. Their only real value is as tinder for the fireplace.
2 comments:
You and I sort of have our own Washington Post to deal with, from time to time, in the form of the Seattle Times opinion section.
All I can say is, I went to Pelosi's reception with Seattle's women's activist organizations yesterday, and she is nothing short of fabulous! She has the ability to cut to the chase and exude grace at the same time. Real Fighter + Class Act = Success.
Thankfully, if Crosscut is correct, the PI will go on a while longer. The Times has generally been more conservative, at least in its local outlook. It would be unfortunate if The Seattle Times became the only newspaper in this town. One could say the same about the PI, I suppose, if the financial situation were reversed. Having two papers gives us something resembling journalistic competition.
Post a Comment