Althouse: "We wanted to engage in Libya but the administration told us to stand down...."

November 5, 2012

"We wanted to engage in Libya but the administration told us to stand down...."

(Via Power Line.)

52 comments:

pm317 said...: Yeah! Defeat the media and Journolisters. Vote Romney.

{Obama losing is collateral damage but just as well, he is incompetent.}; 11/5/12, 6:57 AM
Humperdink said...: While in college in the early 70's, I cheered when the media went after Nixon with guns blazing. Turning over every rock. After all, that was their roll - to keep the government honest and expose the truth.

Now they are gutless wonders. Their credibility will never, repeat never, recover. The new media will crush them and I will dance on their grave.

"Fake but accurate" will be their epitaph.; 11/5/12, 6:58 AM
pm317 said...: If you have college drop outs like Brian Williams, Chucky Todd, Tingle Thighs manning the MSM, what else do you expect?; 11/5/12, 6:58 AM
Humperdink said...: "roll" = role; 11/5/12, 6:59 AM
pm317 said...: Poor Bob Woodward. He has been ostracized by the in crowd so much that he is kissing Hannity's butt.; 11/5/12, 7:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Gotta do what they tell ya, man.

Otherwise your invites to the WH BBQs and other parties dry up.

Plus, you wouldn't want to jeopardize that exclusive one-on-one interview with the guy hiself, would you?; 11/5/12, 7:02 AM
Bob Ellison said...: I wonder what the world would be like if journalists were closer to objectivity. Tim Groseclose makes a strong argument about the nature and strength of the existing bias. He also has a great book on the subject (tried to hook through the Althouse link here; sorry if it doesn't work).; 11/5/12, 7:03 AM
machine said...: Swiftboat....Fail!; 11/5/12, 7:04 AM
Humperdink said...: Every media person has a bias. Right, left, commie pinko - it matters not. Just admit your bias as you report and we'll all get along fine, thank you very much. Don't mask it - it makes you look like a collection of Baghdad Bob's.; 11/5/12, 7:10 AM
CWJ said...: With neither a curious media nor a credible official explanation, we are left to debate rumor and opinion shouting "fact" and "truth" at each other like yesterday's thread.

I have an opinion, but I can't say I know all the facts. I do believe though that if the administration had a legitimate, consistent, exculpatory explanation of the various Libyan events both before and after 9/11/12, we would have heard it by now.; 11/5/12, 7:12 AM
Hagar said...: "Objectivity is just your subjective opinion of objectivity."

I think the pretense to "objectivity" is the most objectionable. It works better when a news publisher declares itself to belong with one party or another, and the readers, or listeners, can consider the source in evaluating their stories.; 11/5/12, 7:20 AM
Hagar said...: Striving for "objectivity" also leads to hiding your bias from yourself, so that your reporting is bound to ooze of phoniness.; 11/5/12, 7:26 AM
Humperdink said...: Hagar said " It works better when a news publisher declares itself to belong with one party or another ...

Yes, if they were truly objective as they claim to be, the newspapers would not participate in the farcical candidate endorsement ritual.; 11/5/12, 7:27 AM
sakredkow said...: ZI think the pretense to "objectivity" is the most objectionable. It works better when a news publisher declares itself to belong with one party or another, and the readers, or listeners, can consider the source in evaluating their stories.

Legitimate publications like the New York Time or Wall Street Journal never made any bones about where they stood on their editorial pages.; 11/5/12, 7:27 AM
Bob Ellison said...: I agree, Hagar. Better to admit one's bias so that consumers can judge accordingly than to pretend one has no bias. That conceit has only been around for less than a century, and it's silliness.

I'd like to see a short blurb at the top of each byline that describes the journalist's voting and issue preferences. No more hiding.; 11/5/12, 7:29 AM
Michael K said...: "Poor Bob Woodward. He has been ostracized by the in crowd so much that he is kissing Hannity's butt. "

Woodward was Mark Felt's stenographer but he remembers when the press wasn't unpaid DNC staff.; 11/5/12, 7:36 AM
Unknown said...: I'm with Greenwald on this one.

Objectivity can't be located on a line between the R's and the D's. Disputes about where the center point is and which side of it anyone falls on provide no useful perspective.

The media favor the left and make little pretense about it. What they venerate above all things is the Power of the State. True objectivity is an elusive thing but it's safe to say that it's located somewhere off the main line between American politial parties.; 11/5/12, 7:40 AM
Curious George said...: I think a lot of you are missing the point. The more damaging bias never comes out in print. It is displayed in ignoring a topic. Lies of omission.; 11/5/12, 7:42 AM
traditionalguy said...: The leadership success of a national politician still depends upon follower respect for a Commander as a fair man. This is true no matter his style.

Therefore the MSM aiming full Alinsky revenge upon every GOP candidate is a poison that is destroying the USA.

It's one thing when an MSNBC commentator spews that trash, but for MSM journolisters to grin and do it mortifies their few remaining listeners.; 11/5/12, 7:44 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Yes, Curious George. A lefty friend of mine who managed radio news stations told me the most important power comes from the "gatekeeper" role: the power to decide which stories make the news in the first place.; 11/5/12, 7:45 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Valerie Plame in the other hand... that was a story.

I now this is not all that 'scientific', but its a quick way to make a point.

A Google search of 'Chris Stevens news' yields About 38,300 results (0.30 seconds)

Where as a Google search of 'Valerie Plame news' yields About 1,060,000 results (0.33 seconds)

Mind you, the search does not account for my assumption (which I believe is correct) that Chris Steven is a more common name than Valerie Plame... so, even when the statistical possibilities are against her, (that woman) Valerie Plame still pops-up/racks-up a ratio of 27 to 1.

btw..

Chris Stevens is dead, Valerie Plame is alive.

Put that in a bumper sticker.; 11/5/12, 7:50 AM
Roger J. said...: A bit off topic, but I am tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney. I do love Ramirez's cartoons--of course I am a card carrying /libertarian so my prejudices runs that way. The other truly great conservative cartoonist was Jeff McNeeley who died an untimely death. No one who saw his work could ever forget his skewering of the United Nations General Assembly.; 11/5/12, 7:55 AM
Roger J. said...: A bit off topic, but I am tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney. I do love Ramirez's cartoons--of course I am a card carrying /libertarian so my prejudices runs that way. The other truly great conservative cartoonist was Jeff McNeeley who died an untimely death. No one who saw his work could ever forget his skewering of the United Nations General Assembly.; 11/5/12, 7:59 AM
Kelly said...: Kind of like they aren't engaging in the hurricane aftermath. I have relations in Rockaway, NY. Their house burnt down. It's interesting reading the Rockaway emergency Facebook page. They're doing all their own volunteer coordination, rare sighting of the Red Cross, even less of FEMA. Local business and churches are the ones feeding people and handing out supplies.

It's day 7 I think, since the hurricane struck. The toll for people getting into Rockaway has now just been lifted. Guess the Presidential election and dragging Obama over the finish line are more important then hurricane victims and the Libya debacle.; 11/5/12, 8:07 AM
Anonymous said...: remember, when it's outing the left it's "swift boating".

when it's outing the right, it's pulitzer.; 11/5/12, 8:19 AM
MadisonMan said...: If Romney is President, when the Press re-finds their teeth, I hope every presser includes the following phrase from the Press Secretary, delievered in a bemused voice: Gee, where was the will to oversight during the previous Democratic Administration?; 11/5/12, 8:45 AM
Seeing Red said...: I have to start reading the NYP for the Sandy gossip - Cuomo & Nanny B were arguing about the NYNG, Cuomo wanted to deploy them, Nanny B said no - bad optics for him. The generators are still sitting in Central Park & Rockaway Gardens just got a contingent of Marines from Camp Lejeuene who drove up to volunteer their services.

And NGmen were tossed out of an armory to put on a Victoria's Secret show, I still have to read that one.

The divide between the rich & poor, think of the ads.......; 11/5/12, 8:45 AM
test said...: rick said...
While in college in the early 70's, I cheered when the media went after Nixon with guns blazing. Turning over every rock. After all, that was their role - to keep the government honest and expose the truth.

I wonder what Journalism 101 profs are teaching the next generation. They used to claim the media is a watchdog, but how can anyone make that claim today without being laughed out of class?

Is this why only the silly and ignorant become journalists these days? Everyone else is turned off by the cognitive dissonance? If so, do you suppose the practice is an intentional weeding process?; 11/5/12, 8:45 AM
Known Unknown said...: Local business and churches are the ones feeding people and handing out supplies.

Of course they are. That's what happens.; 11/5/12, 8:53 AM
Anonymous said...: The cartoon is perfect.; 11/5/12, 8:53 AM
Matt Sablan said...: I think journalists will have a more fulfilling career if Romney is elected. Then, they'll actually be able to do their jobs.; 11/5/12, 8:56 AM
Chip S. said...: This is kind of interesting, in an unsurprising-yet-somehow-still-shocking way.; 11/5/12, 9:01 AM
jr565 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/5/12, 9:02 AM
jr565 said...: Lem wrote:
Chris Stevens is dead, Valerie Plame is alive.

not only that, but the leaker was revealed to be Richard Armitage , and he didn't do it because of some grand coverup to out a CIA agent in coordination with the Bush White House.
And a Hollywood movie was made about THAT incident. And a special prosecutor was hired to look into THAT incident.

this incident involved not one death but four. Not to mention an assault on our embassy.
Granted, it's still relatively early in comparison, but if you compare and contrast the responses you are struck with the medias singular lack of response. Not to mention the lack of calls of frog marching people out of the White House by the various speak truth to power types.
It's sickening, but expected.
The positive is, we have a record of this blatant jury rigging and can find ways to hold the press in particular accountable.; 11/5/12, 9:05 AM
Carnifex said...: Journolism professors(is that an oxymoron?) teach their students how to make the world a better place, not how to report the news. I haven't watched a news program for 3 years now, and I daresay I'm more in tune than someone who does.

Ie)my dad watching the news yesterday saw that CNN had Zero and Mitt tied in their poll, and was worried. I tried to explain to him about how the poll was weighted D+11, and how that skews the results. My dad is a pretty sharp cookie but he grew up in the days when the news was reported not managed, so he just shrugged my assurances off. Well, whatever gets him motivated to vote is a bonus.; 11/5/12, 9:12 AM
Calypso Facto said...: remember, when it's outing the left it's "swift boating"

My working definition of "swift boating" has evolved into, "embarrassing and accurate revelations made about a person's past that completely shred his facade of self-congratulatory bullshit".

So, a compliment, really.; 11/5/12, 9:24 AM
Kelly said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/5/12, 9:26 AM
edutcher said...: Ramirez has been knocking them out of the park all year.

In a just universe, he'd get at least a couple of Pulitzers, but that would shame the Establishment crowd.; 11/5/12, 9:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Eustace Chilke said...
What they venerate above all things is the Power of the State.

unlike yesteryear, when the press saw its role as a counterbalance to government. exposing graft, corruption and incompetence.; 11/5/12, 9:28 AM
Kelly said...: EMD, but I learned from journalists during Katrina that the President should personally be feeding the hurricane victims.; 11/5/12, 9:28 AM
YoungHegelian said...: @jr565

And it just gets worse. You remember that Valerie Plames's husband, Joseph Wilson, was supposed to check out if the government of Niger had sold Iraq yellow cake (uranium ore). Well, Wilson did some cursory checking and decided, that, no, the Niger guys hadn't sold any yellow cake to Iraq. The Bush administration thought this claim preposterous.

So, about Iraq & yellowcake, Well, lookee here. Someone sold Iraq yellowcake, and quite a bit of it. I wonder why we never found out where it came from.; 11/5/12, 9:32 AM
machine said...: wow, you all are right!

Maybe former members of the GOP should get together and form a media empire, built solely to bring down Democrats and build up the GOP....then the head of this empire could write notes to the GOP when in power of the White House and offer to personally help....

and then when this empire was larger than all other media combined, and when the GOP messaging machine could put out a disciplined message across all forms of media because this empire dominated the TVs, radio stations, and internets...

it would still complain and whine about the lamestream media...WATBS!; 11/5/12, 9:42 AM
MayBee said...: The cartoon is especially perfect in light of CBS not posting (until today) video of Obama distinctly refusing to call Benghazi a terrorist attack in his Sept 12 interview. They had previously only posted video of a follow-up question to what he had said.

Regarding Libya and Iraq, let's don't forget that Saddam's downfall led us to catching Libya's nuclear program. IAEA inspectors had not found the program.
Imagine the mess if Qaddafi had had nuclear capabilities, and Saddam was still in power.; 11/5/12, 9:55 AM
bagoh20 said...: This is the most disappointing thing about this administration. I expect politicians to screw me over, lie and obfuscate. The system is designed with that assumption, and has protections, but if the press is part of it, we are truly left to the wolves, and not an exceptional people or system at all.

The abandonment of duty by the press has risen to the level of treachery. Those involved need to be starved of resources until they get replaced. Don't watch, don't read , don't link, and definitely don't subscribe. They use your money against you.; 11/5/12, 10:11 AM
bagoh20 said...: If someone has lied and obfuscated in the past, why would you ask them for info ever again. There are endless alternatives to the MSM. Why pick the ones you already know will lie to you.; 11/5/12, 10:15 AM
Clyde said...: "Swiftboating" is when you tell a vicious truth about a liberal.

They don't like that, for some reason!; 11/5/12, 10:23 AM
Clyde said...: And this cartoon goes perfectly with the one of the three monkeys with the ABC, CBS and NBC logos on them, doing see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, report-no-evil.; 11/5/12, 10:24 AM
Rusty said...: machine said...
wow, you all are right!

Maybe former members of the GOP should get together and form a media empire, built solely to bring down Democrats and build up the GOP....then the head of this empire could write notes to the GOP when in power of the White House and offer to personally help....

and then when this empire was larger than all other media combined, and when the GOP messaging machine could put out a disciplined message across all forms of media because this empire dominated the TVs, radio stations, and internets...

it would still complain and whine about the lamestream media...WATBS!

In what universe is this considered a thoughtful insight?; 11/5/12, 10:52 AM
William said...: Lem presents a damning statistic on the relative publicity of the Valerie Plame vs Chris Stevens case. Fast & Furious and Benhazi are scandals. The press has not lied about them. It has simply not reported them. That's the way it works.....And it was always thus. There was never a golden age of journalism when the news was fairly and objectively reported, although there was perhaps a time when the biases of reporters and musical performers was not so out of alignment with ordinary Americans......I read the McCullough biography of Truman. Everyone who saw FDR that last year knew that he was going to die soon. The state of his health was tactfully ignored by the press. We got Truman by happenstance. It could just as easily have been Wallace and millions more would have perished under Communism. But the important thing was FDR got elected.; 11/5/12, 11:07 AM
kcom said...: Here's another MSM favorite that I've noticed over the years. Say an economic report comes out that contains a piece of positive news (unemployment falling maybe) and a piece of negative news (say inflation going up). If there's a Republican in the White House, the negative news makes it in the headline and the positive news is buried in the fifth paragraph. If a Democrat is in the White House, the positive news is trumpeted in the headline and the negative news goes into paragraph four. See how wily that is? They're reporting the same news either way, no one can accuse them of lying or leaving anything out, but the spin is decidedly in one direction only.; 11/5/12, 11:24 AM
kcom said...: Then there's the whole 5.4% unemployment is a "jobless" recovery in the Bush administration but 7.8% unemployment is a "good" number in the Obama administration.; 11/5/12, 11:25 AM
Bryan C said...: "The abandonment of duty by the press has risen to the level of treachery."

What was most revealing to me was the chorus of agreement when the Administration started advocating for speech restrictions because of that video.

The members of the professional press now largely believe that government censorship is a good and desirable thing. And when it happens, they want to be in a position to make the rules.; 11/5/12, 12:11 PM