The Kerry intern story seems to be over. Drudge... - Alterman

[dArKeR]

Drudge thinks it’s the rest of our business that the woman in question, currently in Africa and denying that she ever had anything to do with Kerry, may once have had a thing with someone who works on the campaign.  If true, this seems to me a new low.  Is everybody who ever did anything with anyone fair game merely because they work for a political candidate?  We have enough trouble already getting decent people to commit themselves to politics and this strikes me as a powerful reason to stay away.  Who the hell wants Drudge sticking his nose in your personal life, without even the pretense of any public interest whatever?

Mickey Kaus, who seems to have lost his grip entirely when it comes to Kerry, appears to be arguing that it’s OK to publish all this stuff because well, it’s about sex.  Clinton lied about sex and was impeached and since the Kerry story is about sex, well, … actually, to tell you the truth, I don’t follow it.  I thought the problem with Clinton was that he lied UNDER OATH.  Even if Kerry were lying about sleeping with an intern, it wouldn’t be anybody’s business, right?  Because there’s no grand jury, there are no oaths, there again, is no public interest whatever, save nosy busybodyism.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/

[bluestateguy]

1. Good point

We were repeatedly told by the Right in 1998-99 that it wasn't about sex, but perjury and obstruction of justice and that if it was just about sex it would be no big deal.

[priller]

2. Rush was desparately trying to keep this alive today

I was listening while in the car a few moments ago. Making wild accusations, saying people "got to" reporters and the family, scrubbed web site, etc, etc. Hilarious!

[non sociopath skin]

3. And not just Rush ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/165215p-144675c.html

The Skin

[emulatorloo]

4. I thought Rush was in prison for buying narcotics EOM

[Mountainman]

5. I like what he says about MSNBC. I have seen a change

snip>

But hey, Rick Kaplan is the perfect choice to take it over and turn MSNBC into something in which everyone associated with the network can (finally) take pride. He helped build Nightline into the best news show on network television--(and the second best, and the third best) by hiring a crack staff and letting them do their jobs. He paid attention both to news values and to production values. And CNN made a great deal more sense under his watch than it has in the recent past, though it's fair to say, not as much as it might have. At Harvard and at ABC during the war, Kaplan has had time to rethink what works and what doesn't and apply it to a place that has too much of the latter and precious little of the former.

With MSNBC he's got a near clean slate and plenty of resources to work with. Not everything he tries will work, but I'm guessing the days of Faux-Fox are over. Congrats to Rick and to whoever it was at NBC with the good sense to make this appointment. Finally, it's a new day on cable. Let's see what it's turns out to be good for.

[CatWoman]

6. what happens when a president lies about a stained dress?

[GRClarkesq]

7. The only way the story could resurface now is

if the "taped interview" mentioned in the UK press surfaced and contradicted the stories of the main players.

[snippy]

8. The White House semen sleuths will keep working on it.

[icymist]

9. They're just beating a dead horse.

Why not give these guys a long enough rope and see if they hang themselves? :) Ah, yes....wishful thinking.