I'm DONE with Bloggers and Smears...*cough* Politico *cough*

[vaberella]

Now, I know Politico has been labeled the right wing group. I thought they were fairly open minded and what not.

All I see on their site and most of the posts...think Ben Smith is about Khalidi. A bloody distinguished Professor at COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY and some crazy tape that the LA Times has (they actually endorsed Obama)that will bring down Obama. I read their article and I didn't see how it denoted something evil or nefarious.

Shoot, while McCain was known to give funding and support to Khalidi. But is anyone talking about this? Is anyone screaming and yelling about McCain? Only Huffpost said something but Politico nada, they keep up the drama that's being built by LATimes and perpetuated by Politico on this "supposed" tape which will harm Obama. Which I sincerely doubt, since Obama always had in mind to run, yet that's all I see. And it's not just there, when I click Obama on google...I see those links.

I'm tired of it.

Then a few of us read from a troll last night..."the tape, the tape will be released" so damn what?! I am sympathetic and understand both sides. But to throw this video out there, as though to release it or intensify the pressure on LA TImes to release it, so it could turn this around will only keep the crazy Repub base going.


But this is the killer of the whole thing. Those people don't even like Jews and make extremely racist comments about Judaism and yet they are pro-Israel and see Palestine as evil incarnate. Both have been oppressed and Palestine is currently suffering oppression.

Then pizza buyer got her tombstone and that's all Politico's Ben Smith is talking about. It's annoying since it's a non-story gaining precedence...sigh and unfortunately I am adding to it and I apologize for that. I've sent every link to Obama and let them know how far this non-story is spreading even though they put it on "fight the smears" already.

All in all I'm done with Politico and Ben Smith.

[stolivodka]

1. Sorry, but..

"I am sympathetic of Palestine and I want their occupation ended."

and

"However, I am a strong supporter of Israel and what it has become."

are mutually exclusive. Israel considers the occupied land to be part of "what Israel has become".

[vaberella]

2. Sorry I'll edit. I mainly used that wording because they're called Palestinians NOT Israeli's

If you get my meaning.

[rschmitt]

3. Oh, please

I find Politico to be remarkably fair, given the current environment. Accusing Ben Smith of being biased because he is pursuing a story that any reasonable news person would pursue ... that's just nuts.
I swear, the same people who rip Fox -- justifiably so -- clamor to have all their news delivered to them with only their slant. Nothing else.
I even saw people here yesterday getting on Rachel Maddow because she had the nerve to raise the possibility that (gasp!) some of the early voting returns in some states were lower than expected.
Bias!

[vaberella]

4. As a matter of fact...this wasn't news. He's a sensationalist.

I will say he's definitely promoting as though it was news. Did you read the posts? Probably not. Just to update you, LA Times reported on this back in April!!! April...that's like what?!6 months ago. Why has it been resurrected NOW so close to the end of the month and a few days to election day?!

That's my point. Ben Smith has in the past been accused as right wing, this resurrection is sort of evidence that those who claimed he was may be right. I think this entire story is ridiculous and I stated it quite clearly in this post.

For a story to have been dead for 6 months to be resurrected by him which in kind forced LA Times to release ANOTHER statement on not only this tape but this topic is the main problem I'm having. He could have pushed and prodded this story for months. The Conservative bloggers I don't care about because those guys are still arguing that Obama needs to show his birth certificate not to mention other lies that have been debunked to oblivion.

This is just another machination of the same nonsense. As for Rachel Maddow she definitely runs centrist and that's for her to do and she doesn't upset me at all for doing it. People can want her to be the female KO but that's on them, not me and not in this context.

Maddow stays on topic and on top of the news. This is not news but resurrected rhetoric in times of crisis for the Republican party and Ben Smith could dump it when he knew it was already over months ago...he decided against it and I take major issue since I saw him as a good guy. But this is by far not the first sensationalist post I've seen by him. But it's definitely the worst of the lot considering how over it was...

[rschmitt]

5. It definitely was news

It was the first time the Los Angeles Times explained its reason for not revealing the tape, that being that its source gave the Times the tape on the condition that it never be released. The Times is respecting its source, as any reputable news organization would.
That most definitely was news.

[vaberella]

6. Actually no it wasn't.

He was reporting first on how the McCain camp demanded the tape. Then later it says something about the McCain camp not asking for the tape but actually conservative bloggers demanding the tape. The second post you're talking is the explanation.

An explanation that was forced and NOT news, much like the McCain camp and conservatives demanding. Those are the only people and shoot even LA Times doesn't even have their response on their website---only Politico is reporting on it courtesy of Ben Smith.

In summary LA Times didn't have to give a response period. They waited 6 months to do it they could wait indefinitely. But it's now it's been forced out and in some way to cause an upset. All LA Times did, whom I think enjoyed some added publicity was by making a statement it didn't make 6 months ago and I saw no reason it needed to do it now since EVERYONE, except right wingers and Conservatives, didn't even remember it and in which Obama put on his whole "fight the smears" site. Of course it's not related to some video, which of course there must be other copies of...this wasn't just one or two people there and definitely not a quiet affair...so Obama would be on tape and more than one individual and definitely not only LA Times would have it.

I'm at the point where this "tape" is like the "whitey" tape so many Repubs are still looking forward too.

In any event, he posted on it twice when it was dead.

[rschmitt]

8. Two different discussions

There is no question the Times could have said nothing more. It knew its reasons for keeping the tape were sound, and that should have been good enough for readers who trust the newspaper.
But the Times DID respond. And, therefore, its response was news.

[vaberella]

10. If it's so much news then why is it only on Politico and by Ben Smith.

Give me a break. This is all sensationalism. Sensationalism, free press to the stupidity of the Republican campaign for demanding this information (since they're campaign has no where else to go), and something for Ben Smith to report on.

Ben Smith reporting at times and in this time paticularly is like legitimized tabloid fodder. This was not the first time he's done this...I remember a few weeks ago he had to give a nice little snippet about another Obama smear. Give me a break.

[rschmitt]

15. Regarding Smith

There are times I have been upset with his work, particularly in detecting a lean toward Hillary during the primary. But to ask why he had the story and no one else did ... that is illogical. He had the story because he has it right now and no one else does. Being the first outlet to report a story is no measure of a story's significance.
Geez, I'm starting to sound like I work for these people, and I don't even know all that much about them. (Most of my news comes from real newspaper sites.)
I just tire of these general labels that get applied to media whenever people don't LIKE what they read.

[progressivebydesign]

7. Politico has been linked with the right wing. A LONG history with them...

and anyone who doesn't believe it, has not done their homework.

There is only a news story if someone deems it so.. like the right wing bloggers who are on the payroll of the RNC.

[rschmitt]

9. You could be right

I am only one reader of that outlet, and I am generally skeptical of anything that is online-only. But my own experience has been that its sources extend to both sides and that it plays no favorites.
Ask yourself this: What was the single most damning story to the McCain-Palin campaign any outlet produced in this critical month?
My choice is Wardrobe-gate, which was broken by Politico.

[vaberella]

11. The results of troopergate.

Wardrobe gate would have died over by Tuesday last week if it wasn't for Hasselbeck and Palin. Troopergate is still haunting her, especially in the wake of Ted Stevens.

[rschmitt]

13. Not sure what that has to do with my point

Wardrobe-gate, regardless of where you rank it, was an immense embarrassment for the McCain-Palin campaign. And, unlike Trooper-gate, it came to the public eye as the direct result of one reporter's work. That reporter works for Politico.
Can you imagine the story breaking on Fox?

[vaberella]

14. I didn't see that as your point. I was only answering your question.

Figured it was as a whole and not respective to ONE reporter.

What was the single most damning story to the McCain-Palin campaign any outlet produced in this critical month?

No mention of "one reporter's work" in the question.

[progressivebydesign]

12. they're hit and miss, but their pedigree is PURE republican.

It's late and I don't have time to do the research, but it's there for the world to see, if they look.

I think McCain would be incredibly stupid to bring that tape up -- oops! I mean his surrogates in the media, because McCain's fingerprints are all over that group, funding it, honoring it, etc. But how could I expect them to show any kind of savvy political instinct that this point? They've messed up everything they've touched since choosing Palin.