Thursday, April 05, 2007
The New York Times denounces itself
In an editorial on page A18 of this morning's edition, the New York Times complained that fund-raising had become its own means for handicapping next year's presidential election:
This is already a record-breaking campaign for the sheer volume of money it is generating. It also is setting a new low with a ludicrously premature handicapping of the race based on the ability to raise cash. It is 19 months before the election, and the quarterly fund-raising data were treated this week like the dawning of poll results from Dixville Notch, N.H.
Painful as it is for me to agree with the editors of the Times, I also think that the coverage of the fund-raising has been absurd. Fortunately for me, I only have to agree with some of the editors of the Times! The following headline appears on page A15 of the same issue:
"Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton"
Call me a bonehead, but isn't that "ludicrously premature handicapping of the race based on the ability to raise cash"? Don't these guys read their own newspaper?
7 Comments:
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Thu Apr 05, 11:04:00 PM:
"Don't these guys read their own newspaper?"
Actually, that is a complaint of more than a few managing editors about some of their staffers.
When I worked as a newspaper reporter, I never read the editorials in my paper. In my opinion, the editorial writers were provincial fools. Many of the other reporters on the staff agreed with me.
By 
, at
Fri Apr 06, 12:42:00 AM:
It looks like the sewer rats are complaining about their own smell of the place where they live
By Purple Avenger, at
Fri Apr 06, 07:45:00 AM:
The ultra-liberal editorial writers for Pravda in Paradise (i.e. Palm Beach Post) routinely contradict themselves within the span of a few sentences or from one column to the next.
By , at
Fri Apr 06, 11:53:00 AM:
I am sure that the editors' dogs and birds read it.
chsw
By Georg Felis, at
Fri Apr 06, 12:14:00 PM:
Well, technically campaigning for the Presidency starts years before the election, building experience and a donor list. For example, Reagan and Dole’s multiple attempts. As an aside, that’s one of the reasons I don’t support Brownback’s Presidential aspirations, if he was serious about it he would get some experience and run for Kansas Governor instead of the socialist we have now, but I digress.
Anybody who has ever run for a state or national office knows that just about your whole life revolves around talking people out of money. Besides, money is not speech. Don’t you listen to the Supreme Court?
By , at
Fri Apr 06, 02:15:00 PM:
This may just be an example of the editorial "wall" that the NYT is supposed to have in place, and a criticism of the NYT reporters by the editorial page writers.
In that sense, it's a good thing.
By , at
Fri Apr 06, 11:53:00 PM:
Sorry CHSW i dont read that paper it stinks too badly it would make avulture gag SQUAWK SQUAWK
