Jason Lefkowitz's forlorn hope
Today is the one year anniversary of the day ABC News admitted that they crucified Howard Dean for no reason.
Funny how you still hear people talk about the “Dean Scream”. Not so much about the belated confession that it wasn’t what they made it out to be.
Jason A. Lefkowitz is a programmer and writer. For his sins, he lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This is his "blog." (Kids, ask your parents.)
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Comments
Sandy Smith
January 30, 2005
11:56 pm
Where are the conspiracy theories that the Clintonites or the PTB (Powers That Be) in the DNC wanted Dean out and got their lackeys in the liberal media to do the knight of the long knives?
Or, that Rove knew Dean would win so he got his cabal in the right-wing media to do the knight of the long knives?
Or–both?
The sad fact is that somebody had already gotten the word out that Dean was untouchable, because he had already failed miserably in Iowa.
Stupid Iowans.
The Democrats should try at least holding their early primaries in states that don’t consistently go for the other party.
Jason Lefkowitz
January 31, 2005
12:50 am
Well, it’s not like the DLC types didn’t do plenty to throw Dean off the tracks (see the now-well-documented funding sources of the ads that ran in NH and IA comparing Dean to Osama bin Laden).
And it’s also not like Rove’s spin machine didn’t do its best either (remember all the ‘please run this guy’ hype they were bloviating, and the faux quaking at the thought of running against Kerry, all while they were prepping the Swift Boat slanders).
The essential difference, of course, is that both of these parties are partisans and thus expected to bring out the knives. It’s something else for journalists to purposely hide the facts that were right in front of them because they got in the way of a good story. That manages to be both lazy and reprehensible at the same time (a twofer!).
I think it’s worth remembering how they played the “Dean Scream” because it is emblematic of how cavalierly they treat the facts they are supposed to be reporting. They’d rather be in the business of telling fairy stories they think we’ll buy than of telling us what actually happened today. It’s that attitude that has so many people holding journalism, as a profession, in contempt.
Ginger Ammon
January 31, 2005
4:17 pm
All I have to say is, THANK GOD ABC News used their investigative techniques to analyze tapes and microphones and crowd noises and whatever else to come to the conclusion that Howard Dean’s scream wasn’t as weird as it sounded. That seems like a perfectly legitimate use of resources right now, especially since it’s going to make all the difference in the world for the presidential race. 😛
Ginger Ammon
January 31, 2005
4:19 pm
LOL I just paid attention that this was a year ago. So strike the “right now” part from my comment.