The Washington Post is at it again. It's all right for Democrats to run for president -- as long as they don't get it in their heads that they might actually have a shot at winning. When someone like Howard Dean starts making waves, the corporate media comes roaring out of its cave like a Mama bear obsessed with protecting Dubbie the cubbie.
Few are better at sneering, editorializing, or "Gore-ing" Democrats than Bob Woodward's Washington Post. Well, maybe FOX, or pundits like the "liberal" Margaret Carlson, who openly admitted she routinely trashed Al Gore during the 2000 campaign because, well, sheesh, just because it was so damn much fun...
The Post's Evelyn Nieves had a long, rambling, contemptuous -- and contemptible -- diatribe on Dean Sunday. She couldn't wait to get into the story to bitch-slap Dean, but fired the first shot in the headline:
Short-Fused Populist, Breathing Fire at Bush. Nice going, Nieves -- nothing frightens both left and right more than a "short-fused, fire-breathing populist..."
Then she jumps in, all journalistic objectivity -- "Howard Dean was angry.
Ropy veins popped out of his neck, blood rushed to his cheeks, and his eyes, normally blue-gray, flashed black, all dilated pupils.""...Dean likes to hammer the
'radical right-wing wacko' Bush administration on nearly every issue."
Nieves wants us to remember that "pundits won't soon forget" Dean's
dour sparring in the first debate, or his
shaky appearance on NBC's "Meet The Press." She also wants us to know that Dean can speak so fast that words come tumbling out, landing in a
messy heap." She opines that since Dean is blunt in his criticism of the cub, "a few more choice words on his part, and critics will be questioning whether Dean has the
diplomatic skills needed to be the leader of the free world." And, oh yes, his
tongue is faster than his brain..."She says that Dean agrees that he is blunt, and admits when confronted on a recent "Meet the Press" program with a militant Tim Russert armed with RNC talking points, he was "nervous and cranky." Dean said, "Tim Russert asked really hard questions. No other candidate would take that kind of questioning for a full hour."
But Nieves quickly counters by quoting
unnamed "supporters on Dean Web logs," who say Dean looked
unprepared during the interrogation. He
fumbled on some basic questions, such as the size of the military,
hedged on the issue of gay marriage; and
couldn't or wouldn't say where he stood on mandating balanced budgets or the prescription drug plans before Congress.
When Nieves can manage to extricate herself from the story, the overall piece on Dean is quite good; we see an honest and enthusiastic candidate, angry and, yes -- fired up, as he should be.
But the Howard Dean that Nieves paints with her editorial code words is a short-fused, fire-breathing populist with dilated, flashing black eyes -- veins popping, blood rushing, whose tongue is faster than his brain, whose words fall in a messy heap -- fumbling, unprepared, and clearly not fit to be the leader of the free world...
Nieves is either a very sloppy journalist -- or a very dishonest one. Unfortunately, as the 2004 campaign revs up, we can expect more of such "fair and balanced" goring of Democrats.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11710-2003Jul5.html
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