Friday, August 27, 2004
The Latest from Howell Raines...
The column is a semicoherent, bloviating mess.
Ok, I'll answer the question: I have my doubts.
Does anyone in America think that this kind of dingbat speculation is responsible reporting?
That's a college newspaper mistake.
The irony--lost on Raines--is especially rich given this passage from later in the piece:
Since Raines puts more stock in his belief that Kerry has a higher IQ than Bush than he does in, well, actually mustering some evidence for his claim, I think it's fair to say that by his own definition, Raines qualifies as a "Journalistic primitive."
This guy was the Editor of editors at the Newspaper of Record?
And here he is blaming Kerry's ponderous ineptitude on...wait for it...Karl Rove!
My God...if John Kerry can't take responsibility for the car parked in his garage, can't we even hold him responsible for the words that come out of his own yap?
The fact that Kerry is trying to tell us we live in a complex world and that he doesn't have the intellectual consistency to articulate that is not Karl Rove's doing!
By Howell Raines' standard, Long Term Capital Management's investment strategy was wondrous as financial architecture.
Complexity is not a virtue. The ability to grasp complexity is good. But Kerry has not, in my view, evinced an ability to grasp complexity so much as the tendency to become entangled in it.
Question for Mr. Raines: is it your opinion, sir, that the 245 odd swift boat veterans bearing their witness as to Kerry's wartime record are "worms?"
Well, given the latest polling figures, it's pretty apparent that the public overwhelmingly considers Bush the better man for the prosecution of the war on terror.
Apparently, Kerry didn't have much of a warrior reputation among the swiftboaters themselves, huh?
Splash, out
Jason
Does anyone in America doubt that Kerry has a higher IQ than Bush? I'm sure their SATs and college transcripts would put Kerry far ahead.
Ok, I'll answer the question: I have my doubts.
Does anyone in America think that this kind of dingbat speculation is responsible reporting?
That's a college newspaper mistake.
The irony--lost on Raines--is especially rich given this passage from later in the piece:
But in reviewing what I wrote in 1982 after two years of close observation of Reagan on the campaign trail and in the White House, I saw a couple of points that seemed worth revisiting as Reagan's self-appointed heir seeks a second term. I characterised Reagan as a "political primitive" who valued "beliefs over knowledge" based on verifiable facts.
Since Raines puts more stock in his belief that Kerry has a higher IQ than Bush than he does in, well, actually mustering some evidence for his claim, I think it's fair to say that by his own definition, Raines qualifies as a "Journalistic primitive."
This guy was the Editor of editors at the Newspaper of Record?
And here he is blaming Kerry's ponderous ineptitude on...wait for it...Karl Rove!
Over the course of the summer Bush, or more likely his political adviser, Karl Rove, dictated the subject-matter of the campaign by successfully triggering Kerry's taste for complicated ideas and explanations. Kerry is telling voters that we live in a complex world. Americans know that, but as an electorate, they are not drawn to complexity.
My God...if John Kerry can't take responsibility for the car parked in his garage, can't we even hold him responsible for the words that come out of his own yap?
The fact that Kerry is trying to tell us we live in a complex world and that he doesn't have the intellectual consistency to articulate that is not Karl Rove's doing!
Kerry's explanations about his conflicting votes on the Iraq war and how he would have conducted it are wondrous as rhetorical architecture.
By Howell Raines' standard, Long Term Capital Management's investment strategy was wondrous as financial architecture.
Complexity is not a virtue. The ability to grasp complexity is good. But Kerry has not, in my view, evinced an ability to grasp complexity so much as the tendency to become entangled in it.
Kerry's demand that Bush condemn the commercial and Bush's hair-splitting refusal to do so dominated the news all week. Bush refers to Kerry's Vietnam service as "noble" while carefully avoiding a specific, direct denunciation of the veterans' grossly misleading ad. There's a good reason for this. The president does not want to identify with these worms who sponsored the ads...
Question for Mr. Raines: is it your opinion, sir, that the 245 odd swift boat veterans bearing their witness as to Kerry's wartime record are "worms?"
but he wants their commercials to keep eating away at the apple of Kerry's much stronger reputation as a warrior.
Well, given the latest polling figures, it's pretty apparent that the public overwhelmingly considers Bush the better man for the prosecution of the war on terror.
Apparently, Kerry didn't have much of a warrior reputation among the swiftboaters themselves, huh?
Splash, out
Jason
Comments:
No Jason,
You are WRONG! We keep going over this. Bush is an idiot. Here's some more proof
On environmental issues, Mr. Bush appeared unfamiliar with an administration report delivered to Congress on Wednesday that indicated that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming over the last three decades. Previously, Mr. Bush and other officials had emphasized uncertainties in understanding the causes and consequences of global warming.
The new report was signed by Mr. Bush's secretaries of energy and commerce and his science adviser. Asked why the administration had changed its position on what causes global warming, Mr. Bush replied, "Ah, we did? I don't think so."
See Jason-
Bush is so stupid he has no idea what is happening in his cabinet. And if you charge that he is playing games to avoid pressure from the press. Than Mr. Bush is a LIAR. Its the press's job to report to the people. Here is a clear case of Mr. Bush getting caught in his lies.
Bush is a bad person. You have gotta be stupid if you are going to vote for this guy. Your dedication to bush makes me sick. Are you secretly in love with this dude or what Jason?
Jesus Fuck Christ
Post a Comment
You are WRONG! We keep going over this. Bush is an idiot. Here's some more proof
On environmental issues, Mr. Bush appeared unfamiliar with an administration report delivered to Congress on Wednesday that indicated that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming over the last three decades. Previously, Mr. Bush and other officials had emphasized uncertainties in understanding the causes and consequences of global warming.
The new report was signed by Mr. Bush's secretaries of energy and commerce and his science adviser. Asked why the administration had changed its position on what causes global warming, Mr. Bush replied, "Ah, we did? I don't think so."
See Jason-
Bush is so stupid he has no idea what is happening in his cabinet. And if you charge that he is playing games to avoid pressure from the press. Than Mr. Bush is a LIAR. Its the press's job to report to the people. Here is a clear case of Mr. Bush getting caught in his lies.
Bush is a bad person. You have gotta be stupid if you are going to vote for this guy. Your dedication to bush makes me sick. Are you secretly in love with this dude or what Jason?
Jesus Fuck Christ
# posted by 
: 3:33 PM
: 3:33 PM
