The ‘Times’ Takes a Healthy Lesson From the Blogosphere

by Philip Weiss on January 27, 2008 · 3 comments

I loved the Times editorial Friday that endorsed McCain and slagged Giuliani:

The real Mr. Giuliani, whom many New Yorkers came to know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police power…. Mr. Giuliani’s arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking…. The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city’s and the country’s nightmare to promote his presidential campaign.

It’s not just that the Times is spot-on about Giuliani’s character. It’s great to see a big newspaper take the gloves off and really let someone have it and not worry about sinking the guy’s campaign. The editorial wasn’t fair or balanced, but it for-damn-sure knew what it was talking about. I feel that the Times was influenced by the blogosphere in those rhetorical liberties, and I hope the trend continues. Can you imagine someone saying what they really think about the Israel lobby on the Op-Ed page, instead of saying what they’re supposed to be saying? Now that would be progress.

Related posts:

  1. Blogosphere Kills the Newspaper Argument, Etc
  2. ‘LA Times’ Bravely Addresses 1-State Solution
  3. Rooney’s Racism, on ‘60 Minutes’
  4. anxiety and influence, re the Times
  5. The ‘Times’ has an Orwell moment on Gazan slaughter

{ 3 comments }

1 David January 27, 2008 at 9:38 pm

Or, better yet, imagine saying how we really feel about Palestinians, instead of pretending we don't want them to suffer.

2 David January 27, 2008 at 9:39 pm

Or, better yet, imagine saying how we really feel about Palestinians, instead of pretending we don't want them to suffer.

3 Charles Keating January 28, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Truman said he had no Palestinian constituency, and, down in the polls, he was happy to hear he was the reincarnation of Cyrus The Great. Some things never change.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post: How Many Years Before U.S. Policy Toward Palestinians Shifts?

Next post: The Madman Was a Realist (Saddam Feared Al-Qaeda and Iran)