CJR Daily: The Not-So-Swift Records for Truth

[whometense]

Nice post here by Thomas Lang on CJR Daily about the release of Kerry's records.

First off, as Media Matters documented yesterday, the Boston Globe buried the piece about Kerry's 180 sign-off that vindicated his service record and discredited the dark suspicions of the SBVFT, running it on page 7. (Among other things, the Globe found that the records contained "numerous commendations from commanding officers who later criticized Kerry's Vietnam service.")

The Globe, however, thought something in the records deserved front-page coverage. That would be: "During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences. But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago." (Italics Ours.) And, sure enough, all day yesterday the Web sites of CNN, Fox News, and other outlets fronted the story on Kerry's college grades. And the AP story, which many of the sites published, made no mention at all of the other information found -- or, more accurately not found -- in Kerry's records.

Meantime, John O'Neill, long-time Kerry nemesis and one of the architects of the SBFVT, told the Globe that his opinion of Kerry would remain the same -- notwithstanding all the disappointed conspiracists left holding the empty bag of Kerry's Form 180. For its part, the Los Angeles Times lent a megaphone to O'Neill to stoutly declare, "We asked to universally release his entire file, and what we've seen instead is a parceling out of incomplete records." In truth, by signing the Standard Form 180, Kerry followed through with precisely what O'Neill's group had been demanding since May 2004 -- something the Times did not clarify for its readers.

That's it. Game, set, match. Time for Mr. O'Neill to pack up his mud balls, slink off the rhetorical playground and find another venue.

Alas, if he does, a press addicted to conflict -- manufactured or otherwise -- will be there, eager to print whatever spin is thrown its way.

Count on it.

[beachmom]

1. Globe Story in my local paper today

Of course, the first article about Kerry with his name in the headline to be in my paper since the inauguration was this one. Ugh. I'm sure all my Republicans neighbors loved it, and laughed and laughed. Meanwhile, the Senator is busy at work with other things. A thick skin one must have in this business.