BY DAN
KENNEDY
Serving the reality-based community since 2002.
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Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Maggots of the media. A
wonderful phrase for you old-time Boston political junkies. And it
fits!
I'm not sure whether this is good
or bad, but Wonkette
has the same take on Elisabeth Bumiller as Media Log. She
writes:
"She just turned in what may be the worst debate performance since
Nixon sweated through his makeup." There's something about a kitten
being strangled, too.
On Slate, William Saletan
blasts all three inquisitors - Bumiller, Dan Rather, and WCBS-TV
reporter Andrew Kirtzman - writing,
"And we wonder why people hate the press."
Actually, no, we don't. The reasons
are many, and have been on display for quite some time
now.
The giving of the green. No
doubt Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran hates the press today.
The Boston Globe's Raphael Lewis reports
on some mighty strange donations.
In December, according to Lewis,
Finneran donated $24,500 to the Massachusetts Democratic Party. The
party then turned around and donated $26,000 to 10 House members who
have been loyal to Mr. Speaker on some contentious issues.
What may have been going on was
that Finneran took advantage of a legal loophole to make campaign
donations to his supporters far in excess of what he could give via
the direct route.
As it stands, the story is
incomplete, but Media Log looks forward to the follow-up.
The end of the beginning.
John Kerry stands an excellent chance of carrying all 10 states
today, according to the final tracking polls. Click here
for the Real Clear Politics roundup; here
for Zogby.
The Kerry campaign is known to be
concerned about Georgia, where the lead over John Edwards is narrow,
and the Minnesota
caucuses. There's also a
chanced that Vermont will reward its former governor, Howard Dean,
with a symbolic victory. But Edwards now seems unlikely to carry
Ohio, where his populist message has some appeal.
Will Edwards quit
tonight?
As for what's next, Media Log does
not often agree with Mickey Kaus. But if you look at his
piece today as things to
worry about rather than as a blanket indictment, I think you'll find
that Kaus has pretty much nailed it.
posted at 10:03 AM |
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MEDIA LOG ARCHIVES
Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
