Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups

NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Details to follow


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« Schoolhouse Rock: "Tyrannosaurus Debt" | Main | Terrorist Soars Through Skies As Part of Baghdad Road Production of Peter Pan and As Victim of Balls-On Hellfire Missile Strike, But Mostly As Victim of Balls-On Hellfire Missile Strike »
July 01, 2009

Politico Beclowns Itself in Sanford-esque Love of Mistress Obam; Claims, of Its Own Authority, That Obama Did Not Know Questions Which His Staffers Chose for Him

Earlier Chip Reid and Helen Thomas (!) slammed Gibbs for Obama's fake "town hall," in which questioners and questions would be chosen by Obama's staffers.

Although both objected to the process, neither remembered to ask about the fact that Obama would know the questions ahead of time. Thus giving a false appearance that he was prepared to answer any question put to him, when in fact he'd already worked out the answers for the questions he chose to ask himself.


Check out Politico's claim:

After receiving hundreds of questions through the White House website and social networking sites, President Barack Obama took up just seven of them Wednesday at a health care town hall.

The event was touted as a way to open the process and invite questions from voters around the country via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. But two of the three audience questions came from two groups that are largely supportive of the president, Health Care for America Now and the Service Employees International Union.

...

Before the event even began, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs took heat during his daily briefing for the White House prescreening questions and hand-selecting the invitees. Northern Virginia Community College, which hosted the event, and the White House Office of Public Engagement chose the 200 people in attendance, and other aides selected the questions — although the president did not know what he would be asked.

Read that again: Politico is not reporting that the White House claims Obama did not know what he would be asked. It is reporting, as a fact, not "claimed" by anyone but independently verified by Politico, that Obama did not know what he would be asked.

This is laughable. We are talking about a thin-skinned, media-controlling, image-obsessed Teleprompter-addicted celebrity-in-chief. But Politico tells us, straight up, no caveat, he just didn't know the questions ahead of time.

I have long been annoyed by the way the media chooses to say one side or the other argues something. I have long noticed that when Republicans say something, the media says Republicans claim, which is a scare-word suggesting that while they claim it, it's untrue. "Claim" usually has that negative connotation. The "false" of "false claim" is usually read as gloss on claim.

When Democrats argue something, the neutral words "argue" or "say" are used. Or, better yet still, the positive word believe. "Believe," notice, is unlike "claim" in that someone can claim something they don't actually believe, but if you believe it, obviously you're not lying about your beliefs.

Thus my favorite form of reporting: "Republicans claim... but Democrats believe..." Never the opposite, unless the reporter gets carelress. The positive-sounding word is used for Democrats, the negative-sounding one for Republicans.

If someone truly believes something, and his opponent merely "claims" the opposite, who are you predisposed to believe? Right. Well, that's quite intentional.

I do this myself. When I want to express skepticism about a report, I'll start the headline "Claim:" and then restate the claim. When I'm less skeptical, I'll use the less-negative, less-doubtful "Report:".

But even worse than this is the media's tendency to omit the "argue" or "claim" word entirely when it comes to Democrats, and simply report as verified facts what are more accurately described as the claims as of an interested party.

As Politico does here-- no one in the White House "claims" Obama didn't know the questions. To even report someone is "claiming" this would raise questions in the reader about how credible this claim is in the first place -- which Politico doesn't want to do. So they just take out the "claim" entirely and report it as objective fact.

When this reporter/fan club chapter president was typing up her little newsletter, she realized the word "claim" had negative connotations and tended to draw attention to a claim which was risible on its face. Not being able to think of any synonym which didn't call attention to the ridiculous claim, she simply edited out "claim" and reported it as a fact.

Nicely done.

Thanks to AHFF Geoff.



digg this
posted by Ace at 04:31 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
[/i][/b]andycanuck (2yu8s)[/s][/u]: "750-pound alligator seized from home near Buffalo, ..."

Ben Had: "Only 30 more years of these moronic statements ft ..."

2008 is calling: "Mahalia Jackson>>>>>>>>>>>Affimative Action Jackso ..."

BillyD: "[i]158 Mind you, a Moron claimed the car would sti ..."

Diogenes: "DEI in action, and that's a good thing! Posted by ..."

Piper: "Have we discussed KBJ and her gripe the 1sr amendm ..."

Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ This year in Corsicana - [b]again[/b]! ~ [/i][/b][/u][/s]: "[i]257 Watching another Boeing United Airlines iss ..."

Loose Emergency Door Plug: "Return to Newark? I'd rather ditch. Posted by: D ..."

J. Random UA Flight: "[i]Return to Newark? I'd rather ditch. Posted by ..."

Diogenes: "Watching another Boeing United Airlines issue in r ..."

Truthbomb : "Watching another Boeing United Airlines issue in r ..."

Ciampino - on time: "About 43 minutes [b]SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Starlin ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64