Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Real Victims of Faux News are the Radical Right Who Believe Them	.Choux.	07/04/06
"When I was covering the war in Iraq, we reporters would sometimes tune to Fox News and watch, mystified, as it purported to describe how Iraqis loved Americans. Such coverage (backed by delusional Journal editorials baffling to anyone who was actually in Iraq) misled conservatives about Iraq from the beginning. In retrospect, the real victims of Fox News weren't the liberals it attacked but the conservatives who believed it. Historically, we in the press have done more damage to our nation by withholding secret information than by publishing it. One example was this newspaper's withholding details of the plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion. President Kennedy himself suggested that the U.S. would have been better served if The Times had published the full story and derailed the invasion. Then there were the C.I.A. abuses that journalists kept mum about until they spilled over and prompted the Church Committee investigation in the 1970's. And there are secrets we should have found, but didn't: in the run-up to the Iraq war, the press — particularly this newspaper — was too credulous about claims that Iraq possessed large amounts of W.M.D. In each of these cases, we were too compliant. We failed in our watchdog role..." Nicholas Christoff NY Times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Comments?
Answered By		Answered On
Itsdb		07/05/06
Thanks for my first good laugh of the day. I'm always amused when the left can't make up their mind on just who it is that's manipulating those conservatives. I thought it was Rush, no wait it's Fox News, or is it Medved? Coulter? Malkin? And who's attacking who? Ever watched Olbermann, listened to Air America (ok, so nobody listens to Air America), read the NY Times??? I think they're just aghast that conservatives don't take them at their word, that we don't fall for their editorializing and propaganda in the guise of 'news.' They're resentful over a shrinking market share (and sphere of influence), getting their butts kicked by bloggers holding them accountable (i.e. Rathergate) and they're starting to sound like whiney little babies throwing a tantrum over not getting their way. Boo hoo hoo. The sooner people like Christoff get over the fact that conservatives can and do think independently of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly (who is not a conservative) - and egads, the NY Times - the better for everyone. It's time for the arrogant, self-gratifying, egoistic wing of liberalism to concede the merits and intelligence of conservatives and find a common ground. Their no-compromise, omniscient posturing is not working, not welcome and in the case of the NY Times - dangerous. Tony Snow put it best I think, The New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public’s right to know in some cases might override somebody’s right to live. That those at the Times continue to justify printing a story that jeopardizes our security in undermining a successful program they themselves championed in Sept 2001, that they find no wrongdoing in or complaints about, is deplorable. If they can't see that then I would question their intelligence and ability to reason long before I would any Fox News fan. They deserve every ounce of scorn and scrutiny they're getting and then some. Steve P.S. I.E. the Bay of Pigs... "Ah, the Bay of Pigs. This must be what they teach editors at the first meeting when they are inducted into the secret society of the guardians of America: When in trouble, bring up the Bay of Pigs." -Hugh Hewitt

Additional Options and ratings are only visible when you login!