MyDD :: When Petty Reporters Get Mad

When Petty Reporters Get Mad

by Matt Stoller, Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 09:24:06 AM EST

Looks like the blogs are going to be busy this cycle rebutting smears against our candidates. This latest is penned by Mike Allen.

Now, Obama's about to endure a going-over that would make a proctologist blush. Why has he sometimes said his first name is Arabic, and other times Swahili?

How suspicious! The answer, as both Brad Delong and The Poorman note, is that Swahili and Arabic are extremely similar languages because of millenia of trade between East Africa and the Middle East. Delong writes, ""Barack" is both a Swahili word meaning "blessed by God" and an Arabic word meaning "blessed.""

Whoever gave Allen the smear sought him out because they are building a political narrative around Obama divorced from important political issues. And Allen repeated the smear without checking because it seemed to fit into the story he wanted to tell. In this same article, Allen said that party strategists argued that Obama is vulnerable because of "his frank liberalism in a time when the party needs centrist voters." Where does this come from? According to recent polling data I dug up in one minute, Obama is stronger among independents relative to Clinton than he is among any other block of voters. Yet there Allen is, writing a conventional wisdom that 'party strategists' are telling him, even though it's patently false.

Just perusing Media Matters' archive of Mike Allen shows that his reporting is a trainwreck of dishonest hackery and conventional wisdom. Yesterday, Allen went on Fox News and reiterated Donohue's smear of Edwards without referencing any other context. He has called McCain 'honest' and 'authentic'. And this isn't the first time he's unfairly and dishonestly gone after Obama. Here he is on Glenn Beck:

Now, one of [Obama's] colleagues points out to me that none of these are likely to hurt him in a Democratic primary, but there's probably not many people who watched that clip of Senator Obama saying at the convention, "We worship an awesome God in the blue states, too," who know that Senator Obama had 100 percent from Planned Parenthood when he was in the state legislature.

According to Allen, being pro-choice means that you don't believe in God. There's something deeper here going on, and if you read between the lines, you can sense that Allen is a petty, selfish and entitled reporter who wants to cut Obama down to size. Just read this report of Obama at the DNC meeting, the entire subtext of which is that Mike Allen is not getting the access he wants.

Senator Clinton's opening slogan was, "Let the conversation begin." Senator Obama just wanted the conversation to end....

But it turns out that Obama, riding an astonishing wave of glowing publicity for a candidate 21 months from an election, already has a bubble around him that is tighter than the one that surrounded Texas Gov. George W. Bush, who spent long hours of the fledgling days of his candidacy in bull sessions with reporters....

As Obama left the hotel reception, smiling and saying, "Thank you AGAIN," I introduced myself and said, "Good evening, Senator, may I walk with you?" He replied, "You can walk with me. That doesn't mean you can ask questions." I chuckled, thinking he was kidding. "But you can certainly walk with me," he added. The Senator then underscored, "I'm sorry. I'm not answering questions."

Allen's model for a candidate is George W. Bush in 2000, someone who patently ran on a false platform of openness and humility, and has then operated the most secretive and dishonest White House in history. In his campaign in 2000, Bush lied about the effect of tax cuts, he lied about not wanting to 'nation-build', and he lied about the size and intrusiveness of government, and he did so under the cover of a press that took frat-boy jokes as a favorable substitute for actually answering questions coherently and honestly.

That's the kind of campaign Allen wants to cover, and Obama's not giving it to him. So Allen's mad, and it shows.

Tags: Barack Obama, 2008, President, Hillary Clinton (all tags)

Permalink :: 47 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

I guess Obama is smarter and tougher than I gave him credit for.

by idahojim on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 09:39:05 AM EST

I'm not so sure... (none / 0)

When Obama chose to address the mega fundy forum (I forget exact name of event) several months ago, there was plenty of blogosphere speculation as to the wisdom of that. Regardless, the event's organizers were among most vocal in the fundy, GWB supporting, political arena.

That this type of(eg: Allen) article should be expected... over & over, relentlessly... seems to me a given. That authors of such screeds come from the fundy base... also a given.

This bunch, AFAIC, are not representative of Christians, and have hijacked their religious forums as a vehicle mobilize all kinds of whacko agendas. Schiavo, "strict constructionist" judges (eg: anti abortion), apocalyptic motivated support for Israel's hardliners and GWB's Iraq/ME adventure... it's a long, long list.

These guys are no more religious than was the Christian invoking KKK. They are a cult, they're nuts, and they're destructive.

That Oboma chose a path to try and "reason" with 'em... find common ground, does not strike me as any more "smart" than dems post 2k election weak kneed attempts to do the same with GWB & co.

Obama has appeal. He may be the most gifted orator from any party since JFK. However, for me, he has much to prove and has until this point exhibited naivite (to put it gently) as to just what kind of cabal the next dem prez candidate is up against.

Kerry did the same last time around, and we know how that ended.

So far, I'm not really taken w/any of the "hopefuls". I would've quit my job to work for Feingold, but he's out. I'd do the same for Gore or Dean. I might do it for Wesley Clark.

With Obama, I'd just be crossing my fingers.

"There is nothing easier than lopping off heads and nothing harder than developing ideas." Dostoevsky

by jdmckay on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:16:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I'm not so sure... (none / 0)

I think he knows EXACTLY what he will face. As he says, we need to compromise WITHOUT compromising our values.

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours!" - Sen. Barack Obama

by yitbos96bb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:52:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I'm not so sure... (none / 0)

I think he knows EXACTLY what he will face.

That's not my impression. I hope I'm wrong.

As he says, we need to compromise WITHOUT compromising our values.

... a quote which, IMO, typififes Obama at this point: sounds "stately", warms the cockles desiring peaceful coexistence, but entirely lacks specificity.

Compromise whith fundies... how? On what?

Personally, I'm hoping for Gore/Dean/Feingold (I know it's a long shot) because they are unequivocal in rejecting the rw extremists. I would include AIPAC/AEI in that group myself, and like to see a dem candidate publicly & thoroughly reject 'em all, citing precisely why.

Chris Floyd has book review/commentary today on new book by ex NYT reporter (Chris Hedges: fired for questioning NYT's pre Iraq invasion reporting) on extremism of the X'stian right, titled:

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America

Floyd's post is here . This short synopsis is very consistent w/my experience of the fundies. In particular, Floyd's quote describing means by which these guys achieve leadership of (my words) "blind leading blind" is right on the money.

It also supports my personal opinion these guys, also, are (literally) nuts... crazy. Among other things, that means unreliable and unpredictable. You just don't compromise on principle w/such folks.

"There is nothing easier than lopping off heads and nothing harder than developing ideas." Dostoevsky

by jdmckay on Sun Feb 11, 2007 at 09:24:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I'm not so sure... (none / 0)

Iam not saying obama is my prefered candidate.Iam a russ and gore man myself,but at least obama had enough sense to be against the war with iraq from the begginning.that took courage and wisdome,it took leadership instead of followship.

by idahojim on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 04:15:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Mike Allen writes for the Politico I see, a sort of start-up giveaway little newspaper in Washington, DC that intends to duplicate the Hill & Roll Call model selling lots of print ads to lobbyists. For what it's worth I've never heard of him and I'm not too sure why I would have paid him any attention. If he wants attention he should consider moving to Des Moines and working for one of the "shopper" newspapers there.

Of course, Obama is going to get all sorts of fair & unfair scrutany. It's a long campaign.

by howardpark on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 09:51:18 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Allen was a correspondent for Time for six years, and is on TV frequently. The Politico is growing in influence and has prestigious backers.

by Matt Stoller on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 09:58:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Do you mean "prestigious" in a good way (intelligent, thoughtful, fact-oriented, honest), or in a bad way (well-financed, high-profile, WSJ-editorial-page-type disinformation)?

Honest question. I haven't seen an issue yet.

by Master Jack on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:02:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Bad way

by Matt Stoller on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:06:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Wasn't he with WaPo first?

Join us at Show Me Progress!

by clarkent on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:14:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

What is it about the profession of journalism nowadays that attracts so many dull, juvenile, smallminded twits like Mike Allen?

Obama's #2 on my charts, still behind Edwards. But his putting of this self-absorbed putz Mike Allen in his place narrows the gap.

Though I still hold out hope for Al Gore to dramatically crash the gates, say, in September...

by Master Jack on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 09:55:28 AM EST

Twofer (none / 0)

If Gore gets a Oscar for 'Inconvenient Truth' and in the next month (I think) gets a Nobel for his global warming work then Katy Bar the Door.

And the chances for both are pretty damn good. After all they are merited on the substance and I don't see a lot of resistance from either Hollywood or the world community at large to jab a very sharp stick right in Bush's eye.

I don't see a Gore/Clinton ticket. The ironies would be too deep and the egos too conflicting. Gore/Edwards? Maybe, but some odd resonances there from 2004 as well. But Gore/Obama? Maybe with a public pledge to make Bill Richardson Secretary of State? and Edwards Universal Health Care Czar? Heck while we are at it Brad DeLong for Secretary of Treasury?

A boy can dream can't he?

PollKatz: Bush Approval in 15 polls

by Bruce Webb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:25:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Twofer (none / 0)

If Gore gets a Oscar for 'Inconvenient Truth' and in the next month (I think) gets a Nobel for his global warming work then Katy Bar the Door.

Kos is right: Gore can announce in November and still get $100m by the primaries. This is a phony war, and it's going to tire the candidates, the pundits and the over-saturated early primary voters.

If he wants to run, that is. And I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. The only campaign he can really have, if it happens, is one that's propelled by a tsunami of support. And a late, late announcement can do that.

by etagloh on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:41:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Twofer (none / 0)

Gore would be NUTS to wait until November.

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours!" - Sen. Barack Obama

by yitbos96bb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:54:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Twofer (none / 0)

I really don't think he wants to run, though I wish he would.

by antidoto on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 04:30:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Twofer (none / 0)

I think Gore is reluctant to run due to how the MSM was led around by the nose by the right wing during the 2000 campaign.

by JohnW on Sun Feb 11, 2007 at 02:57:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

I recall Mike Allen being much better back '04 and '05. Maybe it was a false impression.

Join us at Show Me Progress!

by clarkent on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 09:56:58 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I need to comment on Mike Allen.
I had an incident with him when he was a guest on C-SPAN when I called in. It was just after the Katrina flood and I read that Karl Rove would be on a committee overseeing the recovery effort. No sooner had I mentioned this when Allen jumped in
in defense of Rove saying too many people see his supposed evil hand behing everything. Allen's comment was Pavlovian in his defense of Rove. The gist of my comment was simply that Rove wouldn't be a back bencher on this committee and he
would haver a lot to say, as Allen finally agreed to. This incident caused me to watch Allen more closely and I've discovered he has a definite bias toward the Republicans and the Bush gang.
Try it.

by JohnW on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:07:55 AM EST

Swahili and Creole and Pidgin and Lingua Franca (none / 0)

These are all blended languages which originated in the needs for traders to communicate with natives across broad stretches of territory which might have tens of basic languages and hundreds of dialects.

Over the course of time some creoles like Swahili and Creole developed into real native languages with real literatures, but in origin they are bastard blends that take a foreign vocabulary and layer it over a native grammar.

Which oddly enough is a pretty precise description of English. We have a largely French vocabulary layered over a Anglo-Saxon grammar. English is what happens when French overlords need to communicate with Saxon subjects.

The global dominance of English is pretty much the result of it being Swahili with better guns. Both are flexible languages whose origin are in cross-language and regional communication.

India has many official languages depending on which State you are in. But all official documents are also published in English which is the only common language across the country. You can be a highly educated Indian, an elected congressman and not speak a word of Hindi or for that matter Urdu. Maybe your native tongue is Gujarati and you went to school and university of a Gujarati speaking campus. Well there is a 100% chance that you are fluent in English and that when you meet at an academic seminar you will be communicating in English.

Richard Feynman had a touching story that bears on this. In "Surely You're Joking" he recounts being invited to deliver a lecture to the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. So he taught himself Portugese and developed a text for delivery. Only to find out that the language of record for the Academy was English. Not being willing to try to reverse translate his prepared text he apologized and delivered it in Portugese anyway. And the crowd went wild (or as wild as physicists go).

PollKatz: Bush Approval in 15 polls

by Bruce Webb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:11:47 AM EST

Great Chart (none / 0)

I love your poll chart. Thanks a lot.

And your post about Swahili as pidgin Arabic is right on target.

by Hellmut on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:51:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Stuart Eugene Thiel's Chart (none / 0)

Far from me to steal credit from Prof. Pollkatz/Dr. Limerick.

A mostly unsung hero. Man it has been some dark days, but linking to Prof. Pollkatz and seeing that plunging graph got me through to realize that you can fool (almost) all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Bush sucks, people increasingly have recognized the suckage. And the good Prof puts that in graphic form. (Also available as a mousepad, coffee cup and sweatshirt - I have all three. Static numbers yet still satisfying in the shape of the chart.)

http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/

PollKatz: Bush Approval in 15 polls

by Bruce Webb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 12:34:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (3.00 / 3)

It's interesting that Obama gave an interview to Jonathan Singer of MyDD right after his DNC speech but blew off an established type like Mike Allen. Of course, I'm sure Singer did the proper work to set it up beforehand. Anyway, it's just a small example of how things are changing, and the mainstream media does not like it.

by howardpark on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:21:05 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

I'm sure he did, but it seems like he is giving a bit of an F-U to those reporters who attack him constantly. First Fox News, now Allen...

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours!" - Sen. Barack Obama

by yitbos96bb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:56:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

He's not just denying access to certain media representatives, there is a broader context here, he is re-establishing the relationship of the media to politics.

All things being equal the media is more dependent on access to candidates than candidates are on access to the media. Take the venue of his announcement, the media had to take more trouble for outdoor coverage and had apparently asked him to reconsider. He just did it his way, had a crowd of 15,000 or more as he had hoped, and they obligingly covered it.

I like it and it is not before time. I enjoyed watching the talking heads stamping their feet in the cold, frankly.

by Shaun Appleby on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 06:27:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Senator Obama just wanted the conversation to end....

No, Mike: you want extra-super-special access, because as a privileged DC Ho, you think that's your divine right.

Sorry, no go. Especially now you're working for a primped-up 'serious' version of the Drudge Report.

by etagloh on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:37:27 AM EST

Is Fox relevant anymore? (none / 0)

Black guy with Arabic name and an honest liberal...no doubt Fox and the McCain/Swiftboat team will be all over it.

But who cares? Fox is built on Roger Ailes right wing agenda.

It is interesting that Obama has taken on Fox, cutting them off from interviews, from the get go. The more Fox complains about it, the more Obama gets to make Fox News the issue.

I'm not sure the Fox forumula's going to work so well against Obama for a couple reasons.

1. Public is looking for an authentic and honest candidate (Allen was right there) and that's Obama's strong suit. It's what McCain used to be before he sold out to Bush Jr.

2. Public is tired of the old politics. McCain vs. Obama is going to be like "The Last Hurrah".

by BrionLutz on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:42:00 AM EST

Linguistic Trivia (none / 0)

It's not really that Swahili and Arabic are similar as languages, only that the millenium of trade has yielded a great deal of overlapping vocabulary. Swahili is not a Semitic language in structure but has a great deal of vocabulary from Arabic. Sort of like English is not a "Latin" or "Romance" language but half the words in any U.S. newspaper article are Latin.

For example, Michael is an English name. It is also a German name, a Hebrew name, and with slight adjustments for orthography a name in every European language. English and Hebrew are not similar langauges, however.

Maybe a better example is the name "George", which hundreds of thousands of Greek men and millions of American men including three U.S. Presidents have. Greek and English are not similar languages unless your point of reference is 5,000 years of Indo-European linguistic development.

I mention this not to be a pedantic asshole but because Obama's heritage is in play whether it's fair or not, so may as well be more accurate than the wingers.

by Crablaw on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 10:52:00 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Barack, baruch, blessed ... yeah man, it's all so TERRIBLE and HEATHEN and all...

I have to say, the onslaught of ignorance and unfairness has done what Obama so far hasn't been able to do on his own, and that is raise my sympathy and respect for him about 20-fold. So maybe these idiotic attacks aren't a bad thing at all.

Fine, then. At least this gives him a chance to show what he's made of, and so far, he's gotten my attention in a way no amount of triangulating would.

by John from Taos on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:04:48 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (3.00 / 1)

Barack, baruch, blessed ... yeah man, it's all so TERRIBLE and HEATHEN and all...

So much so the Cardinal Ratzinger used its Latin equivalent as his papal name. Someone get Bill Donohue on the phone: he's bound to pick up.

by etagloh on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:12:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

I've been watching out for Mike Allen for a while now. When he was with Time, he was regularly on MSNBC shilling for the Whitehouse. He always painted the rosiest picture possible even as things went to shit all around the WH and the GOP. I don't believe I've ever seen him give an objective report. His mannerisms are particulary bizarre. He squirms and smirks like a precocious ten-year-old as he defends the indefensible. You can just tell he's got some inside connections that make him feel big and important beyond his abilities.

He is so bad at what he does that I feel encouraged that, perhaps, the GOP can't find really skilled shills who are willing to flack for them at this late date. When even humps like Norm Coleman begin to wake up to reality, it must be harder and harder to get anyone with any credibility to help them. Hope springs eternal.

by erasmus on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:36:02 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Mike Allen will be on CPAN in a few to discuss Obama. Let the smears begin...

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours!" - Sen. Barack Obama

by yitbos96bb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:49:48 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

mike allen is live on cspan discussing obama, call in now.

by tpiddy on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:51:09 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

He's a pompous ass. But I did like the "They think they own the government but we are here to take it back." So allen is right on that, it is a great soundbite.

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours!" - Sen. Barack Obama

by yitbos96bb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:59:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Mike Allen is being interviewed on C-Span now.

by Bee on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:53:22 AM EST

Oops (none / 0)

Sorry for the unnecessary post.

by Bee on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 11:54:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (3.00 / 0)

Just start calling him a Republican reporter. These guys with go crazy denying it, but it should become part of the buzz that is someone is this consistently skewed, they should be blatantly labeled. That is probably the best way to play the refs. He may start self-cendoring his bias.

by dmbeaster on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 12:04:23 PM EST

Also close to 'baruch' (none / 0)

In addition to Swahili and Arabic, Barack is very close to the Hebrew word for blessed which is 'baruch' (that's a hard 'ch' on the end there - closer to a 'ck'). Isn't it astonishing when the etemology of a word can be traced in many different directions? You can tell just by his name that Barack Obama is a prevaricating ninny and is well deserving of the 'going-over' that Allen and his cohorts are about to give him.

Bitch is the New Black

by Iphie on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 12:16:47 PM EST

Hebrew is a Semitic Language? (3.00 / 1)

And Arabs and Jews both claim descent from Abraham?

Stop the presses.

In the normal course of events Arabic and Hebrew would have strongly diverged during the course of the Diaspora. And in point of fact did, Eastern European Jews spoke Yiddish, which is German with a Jewish vocabulary laid on top.

Hebrew like Latin and classical Greek was preserved mostly because they were the Language of the Book. Modern Hebrew is a fantastic success story of a conscious process to preserve and in large part recreate a language gone moribund. An effort that has been mirrored with varying degrees of success by the Welsh, the Irish, the Bretons, and various American Indians tribes.

Modern Welsh is essentially the language of the Welsh translation of the Bible which like the King Jame's Version for English makes it a Reformation dated language. Modern Hebrew was simply pegged to an earlier version of the Book and so is closer to the cognate Semitic languages.

(I could claim that I don't intend to be a pedantic annoying kind of guy. But Mom and Dad taught me not to lie.)

PollKatz: Bush Approval in 15 polls

by Bruce Webb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 01:03:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

here he is on glenn beck

that says all i need to know about mike allen's validity.

"blogtopia - yes, i coined that phrase!"

by skippy on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 12:28:49 PM EST

I still don't get that (none / 0)

I mean I understand how and why CNN started catering to the conservative audience, but how and why they decided to hire a blowhard that insists on having his own bleeping logo rotating on screen at all times baffles me.

At least Nancy Grace has a plausible explanation for her fixation with blond victims of violence. She is blond and her boyfriend/fiancee was gunned down. That she managed to blend this together is understandable, although you would think treatable, and given the success of the OJ/Nicole thing even explainable. Dead pretty blonds sell airtime.

But pompous self obsessed assholes? I don't know how Beck's ratings are faring, but the timing of his hiring was kind of odd. The wheels were just beginning to fall off the Bushwagon and CNN decided that the answer was to put on a wannabe Limbaugh.

With a revolving logo that shouts "I'm Glenn Beck and you're NOT". Well thankfully that is a feature and not a bug in the Webb household.

PollKatz: Bush Approval in 15 polls

by Bruce Webb on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 01:14:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

This is why we must all stick together (3.00 / 1)

I'm an Edwards supporter. Others here are Obama supporters. However, we are all in this together when confronted with folks like Mike Allen.

When confronted with junk like Allen writes, I hope every Edwards supporter gets Obama's back and vice versa.

Here's a challenge. Let's see which campaign can do the best defending their rivals from scurrilous attacks from the right.

by aldon on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 05:07:27 PM EST

Hear, hear! (none / 0)

Allen's also the chief guy behind the attack on the Edwards bloggers. (And I seem to recall that Allen's brother is himself a blogger -- a wingnut blogger.)

by Phoenix Woman on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 06:56:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Brionlutz-
You're wrong about McCain. He started out as a carpetbagger, was rabidly pro-mandatory-drug-sentencing until his wife got caught stealing scrips from a children's charity, and, while rumors of his instability may have been overstated, his temper is the stuff of legend.
His whole maverick image is just that--an image. He's been pretty reliable for the Republic party--except when it was safe to feed his maverick image.
You give him far too much credit.

by myddsks on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 06:19:25 PM EST

The whole "reformist" fakery started (none / 0)

...when he barely escaped going to prison as one of the "Keating Five". If he were a Democrat, he couldn't have a single press conference without being quizzed about his role in the Keating scandal. But he's a Republican, so he gets a free pass.

by Phoenix Woman on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 06:59:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

We need to do a list of irredeemable hacks (none / 0)

John Solomon's #1.
Mike Allen's #2.

by Phoenix Woman on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 07:00:53 PM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

300,000,000 people in this country and this is the best we can do?

by beefeater on Sun Feb 11, 2007 at 12:11:46 AM EST

Re: When Petty Reporters Get Mad (none / 0)

Mike Allen, when appearing on TV as a guest commentator, can't hide his favoritism toward the Repubs and the Bush gang. Watch him.

by JohnW on Sun Feb 11, 2007 at 02:59:06 PM EST

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