Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Cheney's Pre-Existing Condition

Oh, and Dana, any second thoughts about this appearance? “Well, yeah, perhaps we'll skip the hat next time. The right-wing thought it was biased. The left-wing thought I was not taking a very serious crime seriously enough. But I was really just celebrating the colors of the Dutch national ice skating team.” (source: “Reliable Sources”)

Howard Kurtz on CNN's “Reliable Sources,” asked why Dick Cheney picked
Fox “News.”

Bill Plante of CBS News said today that Cheney chose Fox because he considers
it “a friendly venue and I think he trusts
Brit, and there's no reason why he shouldn't. Brit Hume is a fine reporter and
a fair reporter.” Well, hell, Bill, why not just
say he's “balanced” too?

Going on, Plante said it was easy for Cheney to do only one venue, with his
staff then saying “that's it, that will get played
everywhere. That's all that has to be done.”

Kurtz then asked if it “was it a solid interview? Plante's answer, “It
was a solid interview. I have no problem with the interview.”

Do you understand now why we have Open
Letters to the media? It's not just about a right-wing slant, either, contrary
to some who believe this is just a partisan issue. It's that the national media
is just too cozy with each other, are lazy, with the reality being it takes
the vice president of the United States shooting somebody to get them out of
their access haze.

Dana Milbank suggested Cheney could have done a “web
chat at WashingtonPost.com.” Har-har, yeah, like that'd
work. He went on to say that Fox “News” is “perceived
as more friendly. They had the benefit here of, the rest of us in the press
corp trust Brit Hume as being a fair journalist, plus they had the advantage
of Fox, which is seen as being a friendly network.”

Geez, Dana, I know Deborah
Howell took you to the woodshed over your “Countdown” hunting
costume, but your obsequiousness to the inside media boys made me gag. The way
you touched Plante's arm, telling him he did such a fine job was also a little
too much given the hour. Another question, I'd really like to know what liberals,
left-wingers, or whomever, thought you weren't taking the shooting seriously.
Let's get real, you added left wingers just to balance out your cya nonsense
because you took heat back at the Post
for your performance. It must be nice to have the Washington Post's own Howard
Kurtz invite you on TV to explain your “Countdown” moment.

As for Candy Crowley, she said Cheney's trouble is a
result of a “pre-existing condition.” But at least she had the spine
to give a frank assessment of the Hume interview. Maybe it was because she is
minus the penis factor, which puts her outside the cozy male press club of the
Washington elite. She said that Cheney “didn't have to expose himself
to many questions, although Brit got some in about other issues.”
The emphasis in that statement were Ms. Crowley's. Her assessment speaks volumes.

Thank the gods for a woman who doesn't have to, nor does she want to, kiss
up to Brit' Washington boys' club. And speaking of stand up women, enter Arianna
Huffington.

Alert the media, Howard Kurtz's “blogger buzz” is finally back, after
a sabatical during the time the Deborah Howell – Jim Brady brouhaha blew up.
Scott Johnson from powerlineblog called liberals challenging Cheney's story
“deranged” and “sophomoric.” Accusing Huffington Post of
being “all Cheney all the time.”

But is there any partisanship on the right, asked Howie? What if this had happened to Al Gore?
I “plead guilty,” said Johnson, also believing Cheney wasn't guilty
of dishonorable conduct. Maybe Scott needs to get out of his bubble and read
some of the things I've posted around here, which are backed up by many, many
others.

Arianna Huffington ignored Johnson and did her job. She even raised the 30
yards question. Good for her, now that's showing some spine. At least one progressive
has media access and knows what to do with it. In honor of Arianna, links, links
and more links. If you haven't visited these posts, please do so to show your appreciation for Arianna.

First
Cheney Statement Didn't Admit He Was Shooter…
Shooting
Is Metaphor For Cheney…
Cheney's
Taxpayer Hunting Trips
Bush
Never Picked Up Phone
HAGEL: “If
He'd Been In The Military, He Would Have Learned Gun Safety”…
Cheney
Shooting Filled With Discrepancies…
Frist
Makes Another Video Diagnosis: Whittington Looks Great…
65%
Says Cheney Should Have Been Straight With Public…

UPDATE: The wingnuts are getting restless, so they're on the attack. Oh, and by the way, the only argument against any of my posts, found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, HERE, here and here (more here), is that I swiped the Alex Jones video, giving him credit and only based upon offering it to a larger audience. The ruling Republican elite (I call her Mary Queen of Carville) and their drive-by hunters don't like our blue collar questions. They just don't like I hosted the video so a larger number of people would be able to view it without a lousy download. Aaaaawwwww, what's wrong, boys, not playing by your rules? Girls these days don't have to.