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Title: Left-wing talking heads wrongly blame Andrew Breitbart while helping Anthony Weiner spread his lies
Source:
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URL Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions ... es_about_sexting_lewd_twi.html
Published: Jun 9, 2011
Author: Andrea Tantaros
Post Date: 2011-06-09 08:18:59 by no gnu taxes
Keywords: None
Views: 735
Comments: 5
Following the salacious tweets and Facebook posts seen by just about anyone with an Internet connection, it has been astounding to watch certain members of the mainstream media defend Rep. Anthony Weiner by either uncritically reporting his own lie that his account was "hacked," blaming the scandal on someone else (i.e., blogger Andrew Breitbart) or simply ignoring it altogether. Start with CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who opined, "In his [Weiner's] defense, the person behind this is Andrew Breitbart . . . and his stories tend to fall apart." So rather than examine Weiner, whose account was, of course, never hacked, many members of the media focused on the messenger, chastising Breitbart for his bareknuckled, uncompromising style. Yes, Breitbart is a conservative who has championed attacks on beloved lefty causes like ACORN (and rightly so). But so what? To discredit him on the grounds of his political convictions is to reduce journalism to a game in which truth and political ideology are joined at the hip. According to Alex Fitzsimmons of NewsBusters, CBS correspondent Nancy Cordes claimed that Breitbart has a "history of taking Democrats out of context and smearing people," a common charge that arises from Breitbart's selective editing of the Shirley Sherrod tape last summer - but one that had nothing to do with his exposé of Weiner's pervy tweets. It's troubling how many rushed to Weiner's defense, and how uncritically they did so. It appears that a conservative blogger about to take down a Democrat was more troubling than what that Democrat had actually done. So there you have Salon's Joan Walsh: "My position, from the beginning, has been, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt." It's precisely this air cover of liberal goodwill that Weiner was banking on when he crafted his web of lies. But then, I wonder if Walsh still feels so charitable toward Weiner now that he's admitted to being not only a creep, but a liar to boot. After all, giving benefit is not a journalist's job; it's getting to the bottom of a story until there's no doubt left. On this count, she, and many others, failed. Then there were the utterly bizarre rationalizations, with commentators coming up with contorted or flat-out wrong interpretations - anything to get Weiner off the hook. Barbara Walters surmised that, because his wife travels a lot, "It may be that he took that picture and sent it to his wife to say, 'This is how much I miss you.' " So much for a bouquet of flowers in Babs' world. Reuters editor-at-large Chrystia Freeland offered a similarly warped analysis, calling Weiner's tearful news conference on Monday a masterful performance - and calling him "classy" for not bringing his wife, Huma Abedin, onstage with him. Not having Huma at his side during the announcement didn't highlight his class; it highlighted hers. Nevertheless, Freeland insisted that Weiner's cringeworthy press conference will be used by crisis management trainers as a how-to. More like a case study in exactly what not to do, given the calls for Weiner to resign that have only grown louder since he took to the podium. Perhaps the most poignant moment of clarity by the lefty media came courtesy of the aforementioned Joan Walsh of Salon, who said: "Anthony Weiner made me look stupid." Don't feel bad, Joan. You're not alone. Weiner showed us his true colors. Many members of the press did, too.
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You certainly didn't need any help, bitch.
#2. To: no gnu taxes (#1)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestPerhaps the most poignant moment of clarity by the lefty media came courtesy of the aforementioned Joan Walsh of Salon, who said: "Anthony Weiner made me look stupid."
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