NYT Scrambles to Outdo WaPo's Bush-Propping
In a Solidly Conservative State, a Loyal Core of Support for Bush -- Choice quotes:
- "When I watch him, I see a man with his heart in the right place," said Delia Randall, a 22-year-old mother from Provo, the hub of a county that gave Senator John Kerry just 11 percent of the presidential vote in 2004. "I like George Bush because he is God-fearing, and that's how a lot of people in this area feel."
- "These voters are among the committed Bush supporters who are standing proudly by him as he tries to reverse the poll numbers that are sliding even in Utah, hang on to Republican control of Congress, revive his agenda and stabilize Iraq."
- "This core group is a highly concentrated version of the Bush base, one that appears to be motivated more by general principles and a comfort level with the president than by specific issues or political trends."
- "The redemptive narrative that Mr. Bush has often told about his life — a frequent drinker who found God and his political purpose in early middle-age — has greater resonance here than in other parts of the country. And people say they are willing to overlook major problems, or not blame Mr. Bush for trouble spots, because they like his personality."
- "He's strong, and he doesn't waver," said Jaren Olsen, 18, a freshman at Brigham Young, the nation's largest religiously affiliated private university, who is from Albany, N.Y. "I like that he is for the family, that marriage should only be between a man and woman. And the war, we need to finish what we started."
posted by Peter Daou at 6/03/2006 12:59:00 PM
11 Comments:
See also the NY Tomes article describing Boy George as actively engaed in the evolving policy discussions about Iran.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html?ex=1307073600&en=c807d354712f4216&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
Does anyone believe this crap is for real?
Hi Peter. Love your new blog!
I have to wonder what heinous act Bush has to commit to get honest coverage from the NY Times and the Wash Post. I'm betting that Bush could be caught married to two women while having an affair with a goat, describe it as a wakeup call, pronounce himself a recovering goatophile and still garner "values" Brownie points.
Mad Kane
http://www.madkane.com
Noy if they have sense enough to coime in the house when it is raining pitch forks and cow pies out side!
Thanks Peter!
I think that you have just demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between religious rigidity and delusion.
Anybody hear anything about some kinda bust in Canada? I think it was Toronto or something. And they got two dudes in Atlanta too for something called Ammonium Nitrate.
Think it has something to do with terrorism? Nah, lets talk about more important things, like "why we hate Boooooosh," you toads.
Yeah, anonymous: Booosh did such a great job "protecting" the country when he was sitting there in the Florida classroom reading his children's book like the scared little sheltered rich kid that he is and always will be.
But forget about that. Let's just submit to his propaganda and be scared by furriners! And I bet those furriners are gay, too! Booga booga!!!
Since he's been so competent with everything else, let's just keep trusting in his well-proven ability to protect us from TERRUH!
Look out behind you: I think there's a gay black atheist transsexual librul A-rab a-fixin' to terrorize you!
I think the point is that there are still people in Utah divorced from reality. Consider it akin to the stories about the hobbit fossils found in New Guinea. A scientific curiosity.
It's pretty telling when the Times has to venture to Utah to prop Bush up.
I think I just threw up a little.
Oh, there it goes...
I think this would be a good time to drop a thought I've had for some time regarding a certain running line among left/progressive folks regarding MSM news.
What the MSM news largely does is stick microphones and cameras in people's faces.
The "left" and "right" are fond of accusing each other of saddling and riding the MSM. There may be some point where specific products are involved (e.g., Fox shows), yet I recall watching the MSM news during the runup to the 2001 election and the early Bush II years, and parsing the raw data to witness quite plainly the emergence of an immoral, unthinking, undemocratic, and even unrepublican far, far right ideology in America.
In other words, the MSM did its job, and did it well enough for me. Why it didn't seem to do it for a significant majority of Americans remains a question which needs to be pointed at those (putative) Americans; not the MSM.
And this is just another case in point.
I'm glad to hear the NYT covered this. Aren't you glad to know this? If you're not glad, I would humbly submit to you that you may be failing to recognize the precise nature of your uneasiness. You would like to think this is a failure of MSM focus. What is more challenging is the thought that the MSM is doing its job, and that left/progressive people are failing in theirs; to win the hearts and minds of what we must continue to believe is a majority of people in our republic who believe in good government, the relevance of basic morality in official behavior (e.g., not invading defenseless countries), and real democracy.
That's where the job is, and scapegoating the MSM is a red herring.
I disagree with that "MSM is innocent" comment above....it has been a published and often repeated philosophy of the modern conservative movement to gain dominion over the the traditional media when they recognized that the MERITS of their best ideas could not be heard through the herd-mentality haze of 'objective' journalism.
Contemporary Conservatives have exploited this lazy cohort so much that they have converted the validity, truth and merits of their ideas into dogma.
Progressives attack the traditional press because the dogma is visible and vulnerable - as the Conservatives themselves previously discovered with liberal dogma. Perhaps once the Progressive assault on the MSM is over and the Conservatievs put aside the desire to dominant discourse - each position will have learned how their shared pathologies ruined their intentions and a period of rational dialog can commence but it sure ain't happening now.
The question that Mr. Daou was asking was legitmate - and the paper could have approached their inquiry seriously. Instead they choose to to endorse a lazy style piece and we understand nothing more about the place or issues involved. We get a condescending tent revival article which further presses the association that "Bush Wears God".
John Kerry possesses a deep faith - he also supports God, but to wacky press herd cowered by conservatives - Kerry would have to descend from a Mountain with the fire of god in his hands and all the Archangels lined up behind him blowing trumpets in order to counter such god stylings - plus the Swiftboaters for Dogma would have photoshopped Jane Fonda into the heavenly choir.
I live in Indiana, which votes reliably Republian for president, election after election.
Bush is down to 37% approval here. That's why the Times had to go to Utah for pro-Bush sentiments, because if he's lost Indiana, he's lost everywhere but Utah.
It just seems weird that they bothered. They're in NYC, so I guess they couldn't find any Bushies there.
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